During that autumn, he was busy settling his soldiers and civilians in the city, and had no knowledge that President Franklin Pierce was considering appointing him as Governor of Utah Territory to replace Brigham Young. A letter arrived on 21 December informing Steptoe that the official commission making him governor was on its way; however, it did not arrive until the following March. By that time, Steptoe had decided to turn down the appointment and to continue on to California with his troops. He had evidently come to the conclusion that it would be impossible to be an effective governor when the Mormon people wanted Young to be their executive.