During this time, a group of Mormon people from Iowa joined the United States Army. They were known as the Mormon Battalion. The army battalion wanted to show its loyalty to the United States by helping in the war. They also wanted to find a new place to live. They were being driven from their homes in Iowa because of their religious beliefs. Under the command of Captain Philip St. George Cooke, the Mormon Battalion cleared a wagon road through southern Arizona. Their road soon stretched from Santa Fe in New Mexico to California. On December 17, 1846, the Mormon Battalion took control of the Presidio of Tucson. They raised the American flag for the first time over Tucson without having to fire a shot. By the time the battalion got to California, the war there was over. But the road that they built was later used by wagon trains traveling to Arizona and California. What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? In 1848, the United States won its war with Mexico. The peace terms were signed in a small town near Mexico City called Guadalupe Hidalgo. The agreement became known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It was signed on February 2, 1848. The treaty stated that Mexico was to give up half of its territory to the United States. The United States government paid Mexico fifteen million dollars for the land. This was called the Mexican Cession. This land included all of California, Utah, and Nevada. The United States also got parts of Colorado and Wyoming, most of New Mexico, and the part of Arizona that is north of the Gila River. In 1850, the land that would become Arizona joined the United States as part of the New Mexico Territory. A territory is land that is owned by a country but is not a state. It would remain a part of the New Mexico Territory for twelve years. This old monument, dedicated to the Mormon Battalion, is found in Armory Park in Tucson, Arizona. It is one of many historical monuments found in this Tucson park. Chapter 6 • Territory of New Mexico  67