Sylvester Mowry

Sylvester Mowry (January 17, 1833 – October 17, 1871) was an American politician, miner, and land speculator. He is best remembered as an early advocate for establishing the Arizona Territory. He was also a West Point graduate and officer of the United States Army who was later arrested as a traitor during the American Civil War.

Early years

Mowry was born January 17, 1833, in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Charles C. Mowry and Celia E. (Aldrich) Mowry. As a child Mowry was described as big for his age and "inclined to be wild." He entered West Point in 1848 at 16 and graduated in 1852, finishing 16th out of 43 classmates. Well educated, he spoke Latin and later became the author of the 1863 book The Geography and Resources of Arizona and Sonora.

After graduation from the military academy, Lieutenant Mowry was sent to the West Coast and assigned to the Pacific Railroad Survey near the Columbia River, serving under Isaac Ingalls Stevens, the governor of Washington Territory and a fellow West Pointer. During the winter of 1854–55 he served under Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe in Utah. Steptoe had been sent to investigate the massacre of John W. Gunnison and his survey party the previous year. While stationed there, Mowry seduced the married niece of Brigham Young. When Young learned of this, he was furious with Mowry and threatened his life. Steptoe hastily ordered Mowry to leave Utah and lead a detachment of soldiers southwest through the Great Basin to Fort Tejon, California, a difficult journey across 750 miles of desert and mountains.