In the icy grip of winter, a thin line of wagons set out from Nauvoo, Illinois, and crossed the Mississippi River, laden with passengers and provisions. Those inside belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormons), and they were fleeing their city in search of a new home. They were headed for the west.
FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES
Mormon prophet Brigham Young (second left), who led the exodus from Nauvoo, pictured with his brothers in 1866