History of Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, where it has stayed ever since. The city's name was officially changed to "Salt Lake City" at the same time. In 1857, when the Mormon practice of polygamy came to national awareness, President James Buchanan responded to public outcry by sending an army of 2500 soldiers, called the Utah Expedition, to investigate the LDS Church and install a non-LDS governor to replace Brigham Young. In response, Brigham Young imposed martial law, sending the Utah militia to harass the soldiers, a conflict called the Utah War. Young eventually surrendered to federal control when the new territorial governor, Alfred
John Sharp (Mormon) the Mormons' opposition to the law". Sharp died in Salt Lake City of intestinal cancer. His son James Sharp was the mayor of Salt Lake City and succeeded in his position as director of Union Pacific Railroad. Sharp is also the great-great-grandfather of writer Anne Fadiman. John Sharp (Mormon) John Sharp (9 November 1820 – 23 December 1891) was a 19th-century leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Utah Territory. Sharp was the LDS Church's representative in negotiations regarding the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad through Utah Territory. He represented the LDS Church