The ship Brooklyn Saints were pioneers who sailed from New York to California (February 4 – July 31, 1846) to establish the first Mormon colony in the West. Due to religious persecution, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) planned to relocate the Mormon populace outside the United States. Two hundred thirty eight pioneers were recruited to sail around Cape Horn with heavy equipment for a large colony. They would plant crops and build infrastructure to receive the larger migration coming west by wagon the following year. Brooklyn took six months to sail 24,000 miles around Cape Horn to Alta California, surviving two terrible storms. Upon landing, the Brooklyn Saints were instrumental in building San Francisco and helped to kick off the California Gold Rus