In 1857, amid national strains that included looming civil war, trouble in the New York stock market, and federal troop deployments to Kansas and Washington D.C., mutual distrust, suspicion, and poor communications between Washington and Salt Lake City culminated in a confrontation over federal authority in Utah. In Washington, Brigham Young, church leader and territorial governor, was seen as challenging that authority, and President Buchanan decided to replace him as governor. Expecting resistance, Buchanan dispatched 2,500 troops to Utah from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in July, sending them 1,000 miles along the Oregon Trail. Their commander, Brevet General Albert Sidney Johnston, did not reach the army until near Fort Bridger. In Utah, the territory mobilized to resist what it regarded as an invasion, and plans were made for a scorched-earth defense. After a brief clash with Utah militiamen, acting commander Colonel F.B. Alexander was persuaded to improve preparedness. Because the army and its supply trains were stretched along the trail for more than 50 miles, and many supply trains lacked military escorts and were told to wait for soldiers before moving on, three wagon trains would not receive their escorts in time.