John Christopher Armstrong

John Christopher Armstrong went south with Pratt's company in 1849 as its bugler, a tailor by trade who had sewn for Brigham Young. He kept a journal through the winter crossing, writing of oxen falling through river ice and of nights so cold his teeth chattered as he blew the trumpet for prayer. On December 21 he cut his name into a sandstone face up Fremont Canyon; the carving is still there. Because no one knows where he was finally buried, this monument stands in place of a grave.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Beaver — 10 mi
  A charming main street town with surprisingly good food
• Butch Cassidy Boyhood Home — 19 mi
  The restored Circleville cabin where the West's most famous outlaw spent his teens
• Panguitch — 23 mi
  A well-preserved pioneer town and gateway to Bryce Canyon
• Parowan Gap Petroglyphs — 28 mi
  An ancient rock art gallery hidden in a desert canyon

More markers nearby

• The Old Spanish Trail — steps away
• Southern Utah Expedition of 1849 — Winter Trail in Fremont Canyon — steps away
• Lee's Ranch Indian Raid — 8.8 mi
• Pioneer First Camp Ground — 9.4 mi