Chapter 8: The Battle between Mormon and Missouri Militia at Crooked River

The stand-off in Daviess County between the Mormons and the Missouri vigilantes shifted the seat of war from Daviess in the north to Ray in the south. Following the two-week October operation in Daviess County, the Latter-day Saints had no intentions of extending their activities against non-Mormons, particularly outside Daviess County, but the citizens in the adjoining counties had a different perception. After being removed from their homes and property, the exiled non-Mormons from Daviess became the primary instruments in fanning the flames of discord, distress, and alarm among the citizens, issuing numerous exaggerated reports about the designs and aims of the Mormons.¹

Mormon dissidents also helped raise the anxiety of the local settlers. On October 24, Thomas B. Marsh, a Mormon apostle and president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with fellow apostle Orson Hyde, left the Church. Both men became disturbed after witnessing the actions employed by the Latter-day Saints against the inhabitants of Daviess and together swore out an affidavit in Richmond reporting that the Mormons were planning to burn Richmond, Buncombe (now Knoxville), and Liberty if the local population committed any deprivations against the Mormons in Caldwell.^{2 [218]}

Reports such as these caused a number of Ray’s citizens to take extreme action. Richmond residents, believing the possibility existed they would be attacked next, “removed[ed] their women and children across the [Missouri] river and kept a vigilant guard on the road to Caldwell.”³ The citizens of Carroll, Livingston, and Clinton Counties also feared the Mormons would carry out similar acts of violence among their populace.⁴ These feelings of war hysteria became a major contributing factor leading to the most consequential contest between Mormon and Missouri forces—the Battle of Crooked River.⁵

The Call-out of the Ray County Militia

The immediate events surrounding the Battle of Crooked River began on October 23, when Captain Samuel Bogart of the Ray militia, who was also an itinerant Methodist minister, wrote a letter to Major General David R. Atchison, supreme commander of the state militia in northwestern Missouri. The letter informed Atchison that he and his troops would patrol the line between Ray and Caldwell Counties because “The Mormons have burnt Gallatin and Mill Port, and have ravaged Daviess county . . . and they have threatened to burn Buncombe and Elk Horn and have ^[219] been seen near and on the line between Ray and Caldwell.” Bogart then stated that his main objective was “to prevent, if possible, any outrage on the county of Ray.”⁶ Later that same day, Atchison sent the following reply:

Sir:—Your communication by express has been received. You are hereby ordered to range the line between Caldwell and Ray counties with your company of volunteers, and prevent, if possible, any invasion of Ray county by persons in arms whatever. You will also take care to inquire into the state of things in Daviess county and make report thereof to me, from time to time.⁷

Bogart’s fear of a Mormon invasion of Ray County may have been more pretended than real and his actual motive may have been to expel those Mormons who resided in Ray. Significantly, the area the captain proposed to patrol included part of the disputed six-mile strip of northern Ray County that originally was to have been included as part of Caldwell County and contained a number of Mormon families who were left outside the confines of Caldwell when it was created in 1836. Knowing Latter-day Saint troops had recently ousted the non-Mormons from Daviess, the Ray commander felt justified in doing the same thing to any Mormons living in his county. His actions while patrolling the Ray County line clearly demonstrate that his main objective was to threaten, harass, and expel all of the Latter-day Saints residing in the region.

Samuel Bogart’s intentions may have also extended beyond forcing the removal of the Mormons from Ray. Ephraim Owen, a Latter-day Saint, believed the captain’s actions were part of a scheme to “legally” force the Mormons from the state. Owen claimed his plan was “to have the militia lying on the Mormon frontier, and make them believe they were a mob; and thus draw them to an attack, that they might have a lawful pretext to call out the forces of the State to expel ^[220] the Mormons, as they knew the Mormons would not willingly come in contact with the militia.”⁸ In a letter written six months after the battle, Bogart denied having any other motive than to patrol the line separating Ray and Caldwell counties, although his actions demonstrate otherwise. He wrote: “Any gentleman can testify himself my company was under Genl[’s] orders which order is on file in court,” he wrote. “And if I have [had] not be[e]n ordered out I was several miles in Ray County proper but [not] to car[r]y out treasonable designs.”⁹

There can be little doubt that Bogart wanted the Mormons out of his county, but it also appears he believed the Mormons could be driven from Caldwell County, just as they had been from Jackson, Clay, and Carroll counties. He may have also wanted the Latter-day Saints out of Caldwell in order to achieve personal as well as political gain. His motives clearly are suspect, considering the fact that following the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri, Bogart took up residence in Caldwell County just west of Kingston. In November 1839, the captain was elected to fill a vacancy in the Caldwell County court, although his election was short-lived.¹⁰ Bogart’s personal character also appears to have been less than reputable. Peter Hardman Burnett, who later became the first governor of California, but at the time of the Mormon conflict was a Clay County resident, recalled the minister was not “a very discreet man, and his men were of much ^[221] the same character.”¹¹ Interestingly, on the day he was elected to the court, he became engaged in a bitter argument and shot and killed his opponent’s nephew (a man by the name of Beatty). This was the first murder committed in Caldwell County. Bogart was able to make his escape without being apprehended and settled in Texas where his family later joined him. He was subsequently indicted by a Caldwell grand jury for the murder but was never arrested.¹²

On October 24, Bogart and his militia appeared in the southern portion of Caldwell County where he threatened Latter-day Saints living near Log and Long Creeks. The fact that he patrolled outside the boundaries of Ray County indicates he either believed his orders included extending his reconnaissance into Caldwell County, or he paid little regard as to whether or not he policed only the line separating Ray from Caldwell. Mary Eaton remembered Bogart’s band came to their cabin telling them they must leave or they would “smell thunder and lightning.” They also demanded to know if Mary’s father had any arms. When he told them he did not, they searched the premises then left, “imitating the barking of a dog as nearly as they could do so.”¹³ Thorit Parsons, one of ^[222] several Mormons living on the east branch of Log Creek, was also harassed by the captain and his men. He recalled that sometime between one and three p.m. on the afternoon of the twenty-fourth, Bogart and over twenty armed men ordered him to leave his home and property by the next day.¹⁴ Arza Judd, Jr., was at Parson’s home when Bogart made his appearance, and his testimony substantiates that of Parson’s. Judd also stated that this same company “came to my house and order[e]d us off and said that we should see thunder and lightning at Far West before tomorrow night.”¹⁵ Throughout the remainder of the day, the Ray County militiamen roamed the territory, intimidating other Mormon families and destroying a considerable amount of property.¹⁶

A portion of Bogart’s militia company continued their reconnaissance southward from Caldwell County into Ray County. Two Mormons, Joseph Holbrook and David Juda, while patrolling the southern part of Caldwell, learned that some of the captain’s men had stopped at the home of Nathan Pinkham, Sr., a Mormon residing in the extreme northern part of Ray County. Here their harassment was more severe. Several men in the company physically threatened Pinkham, took his weapons, shot one of his cows, and told him and his family to move to Far West before the next morning or they would be killed. Pinkham’s son, Nathan Pinkham, Jr., and William Seely, who was visiting at the time, were both taken as prisoners.¹⁷ Seely was “stripped and searched” ^[223] to determine if he had any weapons, thrown out of the house by his collar, and dragged and kicked over a fence “so vehemently as to . . . [cause] bodily injury.”¹⁸ A third individual, Addison Green, was also apprehended and taken prisoner while “peaceably walking the highroad of Ray County.”¹⁹ Upon learning about the treatment of Nathan Pinkham, Sr., and the taking of the three prisoners by Bogart’s men, Holbrook and Juda rode to Far West to inform Church leaders concerning the incidents.²⁰

Evidence indicates at least one of the three prisoners, namely Addison Green, was a member of a Mormon “spy company.”²¹ The company, headed up by Amasa Lyman and consisting of some ten men, was organized only five days before the Battle of Crooked River. The company was formed to observe any movements of suspicious persons or groups bordering Caldwell and Ray counties. During the week preceding the battle, the spies patrolled the region near Crooked River in Ray County and for a time had quartered at the Pinkham residence.²² The existence of the spy company could provide adequate justification for Bogart’s taking of prisoners. ^[224] However, as already noted, the militia leader may have had ulterior motives and may have wanted to take hostages in order to provoke a Mormon attack. In fact, immediately after taking the prisoners, Bogart retired to a carefully selected position on Crooked River. Peter Burnett recalled that the captain “encamped in a narrow bottom on the banks of a creek [Crooked River], among the large scattering oak timber, and behind a slough-bank some four feet high. He apprehended [anticipated] an attack, and had well selected his ground . . . [since] no one could be seen approaching the encampment until arriving with a short distance of it.”²³ Bogart later reported his forces numbered thirty-five men.²⁴ (For a list of the known members of Bogart’s company see Appendix G).

The Call-out of the Caldwell County Militia

During the evening of October 24, several messengers made their way to Far West bringing word to Church leaders about Bogart’s persecutions. Morris Phelps remembered, “One man mounted his horse and made his way to Far West, not knowing who they [Bogart’s men] were more than enemies. They pursued him four or five miles under full speed, without obtaining the laurel of their pursuit.”²⁵ As the reports trickled in, Church leaders became more and more concerned. However, when Joseph Holbrook and David Juda arrived around midnight on the twenty-fourth, their information confirmed the previous reports, causing Mormon leaders to choose to take immediate action.

Although Church officials were concerned about the general security of the Church members who had been threatened by Bogart’s men, their main concern was the safety of the three ^[225] prisoners taken by the Ray militia. Mormons had dealt with collective persecution, harassment, and abuse at the hands of their Missouri neighbors, but to have some of their numbers taken hostage was a much more serious matter. Bogart’s actions indicated two things to the Mormons: (1) that the group was a mob rather than a legal civil or military body; and (2) that Pinkham, Seely, and Green might very well be executed. Lorenzo D. Young later wrote it was reported that “the brethren [who] had been taken prisoners by the mob on Crooked River . . . [were to be] tried by a court martial that day, and condemned to be shot the coming morning at eight o’clock.”²⁶ Reports such as this would indicate why the Mormon leaders believed they needed to act immediately to save the lives of the three men. Bogart may have had no intentions of executing the prisoners; however, had he and his men limited their activities to harassing the Mormons—something which the Saints were somewhat accustomed to—and had he not taken prisoners, the Mormon militia might not have been so quick to respond.

Around twelve a.m. a decision was made by Mormon leaders to liberate the prisoners and disperse what they believed was a mob. Because of the events of the preceding weeks, Far West had been in a state of high alert; and in case of an emergency, adult males residing in the community were expected to respond in a moment’s notice. Numerous accounts indicate that on this occasion the men were summoned to arms by the beat of a bass drum from the public square in the center of Far West.²⁷ “Elias Higbee, the first judge of the county, now commanded the ^[226] militia officers to go out and re-take the prisoners,” wrote John P. Greene, “and Capt. David W. Patten, with about 60 men obeyed the order.”²⁸ Hinkle, a commissioned colonel in the state militia and the leading Mormon military officer in the county, later explained that Patten was placed in command of the company:

On the day before the battle with Captain Bogart, there was a council held at Far West, in which Patten was appointed commander-in-chief of all the horse[s] he could raise in Caldwell county. I inquired (inasmuch as I was the commanding colonel of the militia in the county) how this was to be. President Smith told me that, if it reduced my command to ten men, I must be satisfied with it. So I went home, and retired to bed early. Next morning, about sunrising, I heard of the battle.²⁹

From his statement, it appears that on the day preceding the battle, Patten received command of the Mormon cavalry, while Hinkle’s authority was over the ground infantry. When the decision was made to attempt to free the three Mormon prisoners, the operation called for cavalry, hence, Patten directed the operation.

Charles C. Rich recalled that a force of only forty men could be raised at Far West. Believing a battle was inevitable, Rich felt this number was insufficient and “proposed to go and raise some more men and meet Captain Patten about six miles from Far West.” This proposition was agreed to, and Rich reported that he “rode through the settlements on Goose and Log Creeks, and rallied the brethren as I went along.”³⁰ Of approximately sixty men who the various sources indicate participated in some manner in the expedition (as well as the three men taken prisoner by ^[227] Bogart), over sixty have been identified.³¹ (For a list of the Mormon participants see Appendix H.)

At least one member of the company was a non-Mormon, eighteen-year-old Patrick Obanion (also O’Banion, or OBanyon).³² John W. Rigdon, son of Sidney Rigdon, was present when the company was organized at the public square in Far West. He recalled when the group was about to start Captain Patten “did not know just where on the River he could find them [i.e. the Missourians].” However, “On his way out he ran across a young man about eighteen years old by the name of Patrick O’Banion who knew where he could find them, and he compelled ^[228] O’Banion to go with them and show them the way.”³³ Ironically, Obanion was the first person wounded as a result of the conflict and later died as a result of his injuries.

The Battle

The company proceeded south along the main road connecting Far West and Richmond. Charles C. Rich and the additional men he was able to round up from the surrounding settlements (bringing the total number in the company to about sixty) joined the main company approximately six miles south of Far West near the home of Benjamin Bragg, where they divided into companies of ten.³⁴ They continued on the main road for approximately another four miles, until they arrived at the home of Randolph McDonald, a non-Mormon. McDonald’s property was situated in Ray County directly on the line bordering the two counties. Here they tied up their horses and proceeded the rest of the distance on foot, leaving a few men to watch the animals.³⁵ They also organized themselves into three main groups commanded by David Patten, Charles Rich, and James Durphee.³⁶ The militia leaders apparently believed Bogart’s troops were camped on the property owned by John Field, situated a short distance south of McDonald’s property, so they split up in order to make an attack from three separate directions. However, when the three ^[229] detachments arrived at the Field property, the Ray militia was not camped there as they had expected.³⁷ Unable to locate the enemy, the leaders met to discuss the next plan of attack. Assuming Bogart’s men had situated themselves closer to the river, Patten gave his troops a short speech, exhorting the men to victory, and the company moved on.³⁸

Crooked River is well-named. It winds through parts of Clinton, Caldwell, and Ray counties before emptying into the mighty Missouri in the extreme southeast corner of Ray County. In 1838, the main road from Far West into Ray County ran north and south, intersecting with the river at a point approximately two miles south of the line between the two counties. The camp of the Ray militia on the evening of October 24 was situated adjacent to the road on the east side of the river just above the river bottoms (the river runs somewhat north and south at this location). As a precautionary measure, Captain Bogart positioned a picket guard on the road on a hill situated several hundred yards north of the camp. The confrontation began here as the Mormon troops came in contact with the guard. John Lockhart, one of the picket guards (he does not tell how many of them there were), reported the following:

Myself and the other guards were standing at the same tree, near the road, about a quarter of a mile from the camp; and about day-break we discovered men approaching us in the road. When the front of them got within about 15 or 20 steps of us, the other guard raised his gun. I told him not to shoot, but to hail them. He hailed them, and asked, “Who comes there?” They replied, “a friend;” but still moved on. I hailed the second time, and bade them to stand. I asked who was there; they answered, a friend. I asked them if they had any arms, and go off, and leave them; they told me to come and get them. I again told them to lay them down, and leave them; they made a noise with their guns, as if they were laying them down, and again called to us to come and get them. I could see clear enough to perceive that they had not laid down their guns, as they said they had done; but had them on their shoulders. At that time I discovered one of the men strike the ground ^[230] with his sword, and immediately I heard a percussion cap burst without the gun’s firing. I told the other guard to shoot; that they had bursted a cap at us; and immediately I raised my gun and fired—the other did not shoot. We then ran to camp, where, in a few moments, the Mormons arrived, and the action commenced.³⁹

Lockhart’s salient points are that he and another guard hailed the Mormons, made inquiry as to who they were, and requested they lay down their arms, which request was not observed. He then observed that someone made some sort of motion with a sword, which he interpreted as a signal to fire, at which time a firing cap exploded, indicating to Lockhart they were being shot at, and he returned the fire. Mormon accounts are not as detailed and are somewhat conflicting. Charles C. Rich indicated they were hailed with the words “‘who comes there[?]’ . . . and at the same instant the report of a gun.”⁴⁰ Dimick B. Huntington recalled that the company “came in sight of the centinal who hailed and fired and shot one of our men.”⁴¹ Hosea Stout’s report is in agreement with Lockhart’s testimony. He recounted, “They were hailed by somebody from behind a tree; a few words passed and the man who was behind the tree fired and brought one of Patten’s men to the ground.”⁴² However, John P. Greene wrote that “the guard stationed there by the mob fired without giving any warning, killing one of Capt. Patten’s men.”⁴³ Parley Pratt did not recall any sign or signal of warning being given. He stated, “We had not proceeded far when as we entered the wilderness, we were suddenly fired upon by an unknown enemy, in ambush. First one solitary gun, as was supposed, from some outpost of the enemy, brought one of our number to the ground, ^[231] where he lay groaning while the rest of the troop had to pass directly by his dying body.”⁴⁴ The fact that several Mormons recalled being hailed by the picket guard substantiates that part of Lockhart’s testimony and indicates Bogart’s sentinel did not shoot without first hailing the Mormons. However, it is unclear whether he also gave additional warning before firing.

Lockhart’s shot wounded Patrick Obanion, who had been persuaded to act as a guide for the Caldwell militia and the only identifiable non-Mormon in the company. Lorenzo Young and John Greene carried him to the side of the road, asked the Lord to preserve his life, made him as comfortable as possible, and then returned to their places in the company.⁴⁵ As stated by Lockhart in his testimony, he fired at least one round at the Mormon troops as they continued to advance along the road, and it appears it was his shot that killed Obanion. In September 1888, Andrew Jenson, Edward Stevenson, and Joseph S. Black visited the battle site with a local resident—a man by the name of Absalom McDonald. McDonald walked the trio “up the old road to the rather steep hill where stood the picket guard,” and recounted to them that “as the men were going down the old road one of the two guards fired.” McDonald then “pointed out the very spot, saying Mr. John Lockard told him that he shot Mr. ^[232] Obanion just below this elevated and very sightly point . . . and [then] both ran for camp, about a quarter of mile distant.”⁴⁶

Following the shooting, the Missouri guards quickly withdrew and fled back to the main encampment to alert their comrades that the Mormons were in the immediate area and would likely attack their position. Being forewarned, the Missourians positioned themselves “under the bank of the creek, below their tents” and waited for the Mormon force to appear.⁴⁷ Perhaps as a tactical maneuver to restrain the Mormons from firing at his troops, Bogart placed at least one of the three prisoners, William Seely, a short distance from the front line, positioning him between the two armies and in the direct line of fire.⁴⁸

The Mormon company approached the camp of the Ray militia as a body and formed a battle line. The Mormon leaders again decided to attack from three directions. Charles Rich stated that the men first formed a line about fifty yards from the bank with “Captain Patten’s company at the right, my company next, which brought me in the road, brother Patten’s company was partly shielded by a [clump] of trees, and brother Durfee’s by a thicket of Hazel brush.”^49 [233]

It is difficult to determine which group initiated the actual battle fire since each side would later claim the other perpetrated the action. Captain Bogart testified that shortly after the picket guard warned him the Mormons were coming, “I saw the Mormon forces forming, and a few guns were fired out of the brush by the Mormons.”⁵⁰ Wyatt Craven, a Missourian, testified that “the firing commenced by both parties about the same time; I can’t say which side fired first.”⁵¹ Charles C. Rich indicated that soon after they were in position, the Ray militia “fired upon us with all their guns.”⁵² Another participant related that “all of a sudden they received a severe fire from the mob” at which time “the fire was returned without delay of time.”⁵³ Parley P. Pratt recalled that as the Caldwell militia was attempting to hide “in the brush and under the cover of trees,” the enemy was “pouring deadly fire upon our whole line.”⁵⁴ Still another Mormon wrote, “The first [thing] we knew they commenced a brisk fire upon our whole body, shooting down many of our best brethren all around us and hollering so that we had no other course to take but to defend ourselves the best way we could.”⁵⁵ Regardless of who initiated the fire, as Pratt wrote later, “The fire [soon] became general on both sides, and the whole wilderness seemed one continued echo of the report of the deadly rifle” and “the whole wilderness seemed for a few moments as if wrapped in a blaze of lightning.”⁵⁶ During the entire ordeal the Mormons would shout to each other the ^[234] watchword, “God and Liberty!” as if to rally each other.⁵⁷ The crack of powder and the volley of bullets lasted only about two minutes.⁵⁸

The Ray militia clearly held a strategic advantage over the Latter-day Saints. The river bank served as a breastwork and also made it difficult for them to be seen. On the other hand, the Mormons were more exposed to fire, for they had minimal ground cover to protect them. The timing of the battle also proved to be advantageous to Bogart’s army. Hosea Stout wrote that since the Missourians were “situated behind the bank of the river and had a fair view of the brethren, who were approaching from the east, and it being at the dawn of day [Bogart’s company] could distinctly see them whereas they [Bogart’s company] were almost entirely out of sight.”⁵⁹ Silas Hillman gave a similar report: “The mob when attacked were encamped in a ravine on the creek, it being dark there and light on the bluff where the Brethren were. It gave them the advantage materially [militarily].”⁶⁰

With his troops almost entirely exposed to enemy fire, Patten perceived his only course for victory would be to charge the enemy in hopes of routing them from their position.⁶¹ The ^[235] decision to charge may have been the reason the Mormons were ultimately successful in dispersing Bogart and his men. According to one Missourian, the Mormons were ordered to charge with their drawn swords, however, “Bogard’s men, having no swords, broke their ranks and fled.”⁶²

But Patten’s decision to charge cost him his life. Quite naturally, it would take great courage to command as well as respond to an order to charge the enemy in the midst of heavy military fire, but courage was part of Patten’s nature. One Latter-day Saint believed this was why the Mormon apostle died. “He was brave to a fault,” wrote Ebenezer Robinson. “So much so, that he was styled and called, ‘Captain Fearnought.’ He seemed reckless of his life, as though it was scarce worth preserving. He had said to us, before there was any indication of a mob, or difficulty with the people of Missouri, ‘If I dare to do it, I could wish myself dead.’”⁶³ Charles C. Rich was near Patten when the captain received his fatal wound. Rich recalled that when “Patten ordered us to charge—the enemy fired a few shots and fled, two lingered behind, brother Patten pursued one, and I the other; the man that he pursued wheeled and shot him.” The Missourian who shot the Mormon apostle had no trouble picking his target since Elder Patten “wore a white blanket coat which made him a conspicuous mark.”⁶⁴ With Patten wounded, Rich took command of the Mormon forces.

With the Ray militia positioned behind the bank of the river and the Mormons charging from both sides as well as from the front, the only course of escape for the minister’s troops was to retreat through the stream to the opposite side of Crooked River. Hosea Stout wrote that ^[236] the river was waist deep, and “as they were crossing the river would exclaim, ‘We are brethren,’ to stay the brethren until they could escape.”⁶⁵

As Bogart’s men were retreating there were some hand-to-hand skirmishes between the two militias. Lorenzo Young remembered how he became engaged in a personal confrontation with one of the Missourians. He remembered seeing one of his comrades in trouble and the need to come to his rescue. He also attributed his survival on this occasion to a miracle. He wrote:

We were ordered to charge, which we did, to the bank of the river, when the enemy broke and fled.

I snapped my gun twice at a man in a white blanket coat. While engaged in repriming my gun, he got out of range.

A tall, powerful, Missourian sprang from under the bank of the river, and, with a heavy sword in hand, rushed towards one of the brethren, crying out, “Run, you devils, or die!”

The man he was making for was also armed with a sword, but was small and poorly calculated to withstand the heavy blows of the Missourian. He, however, succeeded in defending himself until I ran to his aid, and leveled my gun within two feet of his enemy, but it missed fire.

The Missourian turned on me. With nothing but the muzzle end of my rifle to parry his rapid blows, my situation was perilous. The man whom I had relieved, for some reason, did not come to the rescue. I succeeded in parrying the blows of my enemy until he backed me to the bank of the river. I could back no father without going off the perpendicular bank, eight or ten feet above the water. In a moment I realized my chances were very desperate. At this juncture the Missourian raised his sword, apparently throwing all his strength and energy into the act, as if intending to crush me with one desperate blow.

As his arm extended I saw a hand pass down the back of his head and between his shoulders. There was no other person visible, and I have always believed that I saw the hand of the angel of the Lord interposed for my deliverance. The arm of my enemy was paralyzed, and I had time to extricate myself from the perilous situation I was in.

. . . The appearance of the hand, to me, was real. I do not see how I could have been saved in the way I was, without providential interference.^{66 [237]}

During the retreat, the Mormons continued their fire. It was at this time that Moses Rowland, a member of the Ray militia, was hit in the back. He was apparently killed instantly, and his body tumbled down the bank into the river.⁶⁷ After making their way across the river, Bogart’s men scattered in all directions, and the Mormons became the victors. Since the mission of the Mormon troops was to rescue the prisoners and disperse the mob, they did not pursue the enemy any further. Pratt remembered that the men reassembled and the whole battle ground resounded with their watchword, “God and Liberty.”⁶⁸ What remained was to count their losses, attend to the wounded, and gather up the spoils of their victory.

Aftermath

At first, there appeared to have been no immediate Mormon fatalities, but later this proved not to be the case. Apparently, upon their return to Caldwell County, they discovered one of their number was missing. The man was Gideon Carter. During the encounter, Parley P. Pratt had seen a man fall who had apparently received some serious injuries to his head. “His face was so marred and disfigured with wounds and blood,” he wrote, “that I did not recognize him then, but learned afterwards that we had mistaken him for one of the enemy, and left him on the ground in mistake.”⁶⁹ Since Carter was assumed to be one of Bogart’s men, it is understandable why they left him, assuming the Ray militia would return later to get the body. There is also some evidence which suggests the possibility that Carter was mistakenly killed by one of his own men. Peter Burnett believed this, indicating one of the Mormons was killed as a result of “a sword-cut in the back of his head.” Continuing he stated, “He had doubtless charged with more precipitancy than ^[238] his comrades; and, as there was no difference in the dress of the opposing forces, he was mistaken for a retreating enemy.”⁷⁰ Burnett’s statement may have been correct, since Carter was the only immediate Mormon fatality and his description of the deceased is in agreement with Pratt’s. Upon discovering Carter’s absence, a small contingent returned to the battle site where they located the body and dug a make-shift grave.⁷¹ According to John P. Greene, the Ray militia indeed returned, found Carter’s grave, dug up the body, “and literally hacked [it] to pieces with a sword.” Later, “The remains were collected and buried, after they had gone, by his friends.”⁷²

Besides Carter’s death, nine men in the Caldwell company were wounded. As already noted, Patrick Obanion was shot by John Lockhart, the guard stationed a short distance up the road on a rise above the river crossing. Later, when the actual firing commenced near the river, the three Mormon prisoners made a break for the Mormon lines. But William Seely, whom Bogart had positioned out in front of the line and was exposed to fire from both sides, was shot in the left ^[239] shoulder and experienced some internal injuries because blood was running out of his mouth when he was found.⁷³ James Hendricks, shot in the neck, was found prostrate, his head downhill. He was unable to move any limbs, but could speak.⁷⁴ Patten received a ball in the lower part of his body, which eventually proved to be fatal.⁷⁵ Joseph Holbrook related that he received a wound “in his left elbow with a sword after cutting through five thicknesses of cloth. [It] so fractured the bone that after the doctor had placed back the bones, it was very lame for some four months and so stiff that I could not feed myself with that hand.”⁷⁶ Curtis Hodge was shot in the hip and Eli Chase in the knee.⁷⁷ Hosea Stout indicated Norman Shearer and Arthur Milliken were also wounded, but he made no mention of the type or extent of their injury.⁷⁸ Thus, immediately following the battle, there was one Mormon dead and nine wounded. But as has been indicated, Patten and Obanion’s injuries eventually proved fatal. All the remaining wounded, with the exception of James Hendricks, eventually fully recovered from their ­injuries.^{79 [240]}

The only fatality among the Ray militia was Moses Rowland, but at least six of their number were initially wounded.⁸⁰ One whose injuries were reported was Samuel Tarwater. According to local history, “Two Mormons attacked Tarwater with corn knives and nearly cut him to pieces. He received a terrible gash in the skull, through which his brain was plainly visible, one terrible blow across the face severed the jaw bone and destroyed all the upper teeth, and there was an ugly gash made in his neck. He kept his bed six months and his wounds considerably affected his speech and memory.”⁸¹ Because of his injuries, Tarwater drew a pension from Missouri until his death in 1899 and claimed the distinction as being the only man ever granted an annual annuity for his service in the state militia.^{82 [241]}

The wounded and dead left a considerable mark on the field of battle. Peter H. Burnett arrived at the scene with the Clay militia the day after the battle and noted that an obvious encounter had taken place:

I went upon the battlefield and examined it carefully. The dead and wounded had all been removed; but the clots of blood upon the leaves where the men had fallen were fresh and plainly to be seen. It looked like the scene of death. Here lay a wool hat, there a tin cup, here an old blanket; in the top of this little tree hung a wallet of provisions; and saddles and bridles, and various articles of clothing, lay around in confusion. The marks of the bullets were seen all around. I remember that a small linden-tree, three or four inches in diameter, that stood behind Patton’s [sic] men, seemed to have been a target, from the number of shots that had struck it.⁸³

The Mormons helped themselves to the belongings, equipment, and animals left behind by the Ray militia.⁸⁴ Since they had proceeded from the McDonald property on foot, the property of the Ray militia came to be a godsend. “Their baggage wagon was immediately harnessed to a couple of horses,” Pratt wrote, “and the wounded were picked up and laid in it upon blankets, while every man saddled and mounted a horse, and we commenced our retreat to the place where we had left our horses and guard, a distance of more than a mile.”⁸⁵

The Mormons took one prisoner by the name of Wyatt Craven (sometimes Cravens) who the Caldwell militia held in custody until the company was a few miles outside of Far West. At ^[242] this time several Mormon officers decided to release him. A small contingent of Mormon troops escorted him back a short distance, at which time he perceived his release to be only a plot to kill him. His testimony concerning the ordeal is as follows:

After getting into the prairie, [Lyman] Wight [he was the leading officer in the Daviess militia and had met the company as they were returning] halted the company. He, Pratt, and four others rode off a piece, and conferred together, and then returned to the company, and called out some captain, and, and ordered him to call out ten of his braves [men]. Seven men came out, and I was placed under their guard, and told by Wight that they would escort me off, and let me go about my business. We started back, and, after getting near a field, the captain of the guard and one of them rode off ahead saying they saw someone. Shortly after, the captain returned alone. He declared that I should be guarded no farther, and pointed out the path I should take; which led around the fence. I then thought the man who had not returned had been placed [a]round the fence to kill me; but I was determined to do the best I could to make my escape. In passing on, I discovered my direction would lead me to where I thought the man was placed, and I took off to the right, and immediately I was ordered to stop by some person, whom I recognized to be the man of the guard who left with the captain of the guard, and did not return. I fled, and turned my head to look, and saw the man with his gun in a shooting position; and shortly after, while running, I was shot by him [in the thigh]; and I made my way to Ray county.⁸⁶

Some evidence connects Parley P. Pratt with the shooting of Craven. Reed Peck reported that the prisoner “was released on their march back with directions to follow a certain path which was pointed out to him but being suspicious of treachery he traveled in it but a short distance and left it for a safer way in the woods. Certain movements convinced him that an ambush had been planned to cut off his return and he no sooner left the path than he discovered a man in the act of shooting.” “To save himself,” he continued, Craven, “‘bent forward, ran crooked and dodged ^[243] behind trees’ but the cold hearted villain . . . sent a ball through his hip and left him, thinking perhaps he had given him his death wound.” Peck further said that he knew who the assailant was, but purposely did not identify him by name.⁸⁷

The most incriminating report involving Pratt comes from John D. Lee. In his memoirs, Lee identified the assailant as being none other than Elder Pratt—although Lee mistakenly confused Samuel Tarwater (mentioned previously as being wounded in the attack) with the actual prisoner Wyatt Craven. Lee wrote:

After the Gentiles retreated, the Mormons started for Far West, taking Tarwater [Craven] along as a prisoner. After traveling several miles, they halted near a grove of timber, and released Tarwater [Craven], telling him he was free to go home. He started off, and when he was some forty yards from the Mormons, Parley P. Pratt, then one of the Twelve Apostles, stepped up to a tree, laid his gun up by the side of the tree, took deliberate aim, and shot Tarwater [Craven]. He fell and lay still. The Mormons, believing he was dead, went on and left him lying where he fell. Tarwater [Craven] came to, and reached home, where he was taken care of and soon recovered from his wounds. He afterwards testified in court against the Mormons that [what] he knew, and upon his evidence, Parley P. Pratt was imprisoned in the Richmond jail, in 1839.⁸⁸

None of the sources indicate any reasons why the shooting took place, and only Lee’s account names Pratt as the attacker. If Pratt was indeed the culprit, it is understandable why he would not have written about the incident in any of his personal writings so as not to incriminate himself.^{89 [244]}

Using the confiscated Ray militia equipment for transport, the Mormons returned to the McDonald property. Here, the wounded were arranged to be more comfortable. The jostling of the wagon apparently caused a few of the most seriously injured to experience tremendous discomfort. Captain Patten was in so much distress that he asked to be left behind. To ease his and William Seely’s pain, the two men were placed on litters and carried by several men in the company.⁹⁰

Messengers rode ahead of the main company to report the conflict to Church leaders in Far West, as well as to inform concerned families and parties en route. James Emmett was dispatched by the wounded Patten to personally inform Joseph Smith about the incident.⁹¹ Upon being appraised of the incident, Joseph Smith left the city in a carriage to meet the returning men, accompanied by Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Heber C. Kimball, and perhaps several others.⁹² Kimball apparently rode ahead of the party and was one of the first to intercept the returning Mormon army. He remembered Patten was glad to see him, but it was evident to Kimball that the captain was in great pain and failing fast. “During his removal his sufferings were so excruciating,” the fellow apostle wrote, “that he frequently desired us to lay him down that he might die. But being desirous to get him out of the reach of the mob, and among friends, we prevailed upon him to let us [continue to] convey him.”⁹³ The Prophet’s party and the militia subsequently met near Log Creek, about six miles south of Far West, where the Prophet, assisted by others, “went to the wounded and pronounced blessings on them, and prayed for them to be ^[245] healed.”⁹⁴ From Log Creek, the entire group hoped to convey the wounded the rest of the way to Far West. But because of the severity of Patten’s and Obanion’s injuries, they were only able to proceed northward for about two more miles before stopping at the home of Stephen Winchester to let the injured recuperate for a short time.⁹⁵

Having been informed by messenger that her husband had been wounded in the attack, Drusilla D. Hendricks rode to the Winchester home to give aid and comfort to her partner. As she entered she saw the four men who were the most seriously injured. She remembered as she entered the house, “There were three beds in the room where my husband lay—he in one, Brother David Patten in one, and Brother Hodge in the other. Brother Hodge was the one shot in the hip. Brother Obanyon was on the floor begging for a bed and some of the sisters ran and got him one. My husband was shot in the neck where it cut off all feeling of the body.” He could speak but he could not move. His body was also cold like a corpse, so she did what she could to try to get him warm. “I rubbed and steamed him,” she wrote, “but could get no circulation. He was dead from his neck down.” She remained with her husband throughout the day and later that evening Brother Winchester conveyed her and her paralyzed husband back to their home at Far West.⁹⁶

Heber C. Kimball stated that Patten lived for about an hour after their arrival at the Winchester’s. He noted that some people there offered him medical assistance, “yet his wound was such, that there was no hope entertained of his recovery; this he was perfectly aware of.” The wounded apostle, perhaps thinking about the recent disaffection of Thomas B. Marsh (the senior member and president of the Twelve), also affirmed to those present his faith and testimony in the ^[246] gospel restored through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith as well as his hope for eternal life. Patten spoke to his childless wife Ann, counseling her, “Whatever you do else, O, do not deny the faith!” Kimball further recorded Patten’s last moments. “A few minutes before he died he prayed as follows: ‘Father I ask thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, that thou wouldst release my spirit and receive it unto thyself:’ and then said to those who surrounded his dying bed, ‘Brethren, you have held me by your faith, but do give me up and let me go I beseech you.’ We then committed him to God, and he soon breathed his last, and slept in Jesus without a groan.”⁹⁷ Patten died at about four in the afternoon.⁹⁸ Some years prior, Wilford Woodruff reported David Patten had made it known to Joseph Smith that he had asked the Lord to let him die as a martyr. Joseph, deeply saddened, responded, “when a man of your faith asks the Lord for anything, he generally gets it.”^99 [247]

There are discrepancies concerning the death of Obanion. Several Latter-day Saints recalled the young man died on October 25, about the same time as Patten, or within a few hours afterwards.¹⁰⁰ However, Amasa Lyman reported that on the morning of October 26, he called upon Sidney Rigdon at his home, where he saw O’Banion dying of the wound he received at Crooked River.¹⁰¹ Lyman’s testimony agrees with that of John W. Rigdon who remembered the slain young man was brought “to my Father’s house where he lingered in agony for two days and there he died. He was not a Mormon, nor was his father and mother. They came and took the body away.” Rigdon further reported:

The next day they brought David Patten’s body. . . . I was at Patten’s house when his body was brought there. I looked into the wagon box and there lay David Patten’s body silent in death; he lay on his back, his lips tightly closed and no indication of fear in his ­countenance. . . .

The next day we buried both David Patten and Gideon Carter in military order. Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith and Sidney Rigdon rode at the head of the procession on horseback. Then came the martial band and after that the bodies of David Patten and Gideon Carter and then quite a little procession followed. After, we took them out to a little burying ground just outside of the village and there we buried them.¹⁰²

The deaths of these two men “threw a gloom over the whole place,” wrote William Draper.¹⁰³

Repercussions

Immediately following the conflict, spurious and exaggerated reports about the contest spread quickly. News of the engagement also tended to confirm in the minds of the citizenry their fears that the Mormons were on the attack and were extending their hostilities towards non-^[248]Mormons outside Caldwell and Daviess counties. “The attack upon Bogart, and the mob under his command at Crooked River, added wonderfully to the excitement already existing in upper Missouri,” wrote Ebenezer Robinson, “and created wide spread alarm, on account of the exaggerated statements made with regard to it. The report went abroad, and circulated like wildfire, ‘that Bogart, and all his company, amounting to between fifty and sixty men, were massacred by the Mormons, except three,’ whereas only one of his men was killed.”¹⁰⁴ Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of George Woodward, an aid to Ray County Brigadier General Hiram G. Parks. Woodward sent a dispatch to Colonel William Claude Jones of the Carroll militia reporting that three to four hundred Mormons attacked and killed almost all of Bogart’s entire company. Woodward also went on to say that Richmond was threatened and asked Jones to send three companies to help in the defense of the community.¹⁰⁵ After receiving Woodward’s report, Jones added some hearsay of his own. “Reports of a cannon were heard in the direction of Richmond,” he wrote, “and there is no doubt but that infatuated villains have attacked Richmond.” The Carroll commander went on to request that the citizens of Howard and Chariton counties send volunteers to the scene. “Bring all the men you can, and let us check them in their course of destruction and devastation,” he continued. “They are moving on with giant strides to the climax of anarchy, civil war, and desolation.”^{106 [249]}

News of the Mormon activities and operations conducted against the local inhabitants in Daviess County reached the governor by October 26. Boggs, already prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints and one who believed the Mormons to be fully to blame, immediately authorized a call-out of state troops to march to Daviess to reestablish control and assist the displaced citizens in restoring them to their homes. The muster called for five divisions (1st, 5th, 6th, 11th, and 12th) from Missouri’s central counties, and two divisions (3rd and 4th) from the western counties to be ready to march by November 3. Fayette, in Howard County was selected as the rendezvous site for four divisions, while the western units were to meet at Richmond. General Willock of Marion County, and head of the 11th division, was ordered to proceed directly to northern Caldwell. John B. Clark of Howard County, and commander of the 1st division, was given command of the overall operation.¹⁰⁷

Significantly, because of the Battle of Crooked River, the invasion of Daviess County by the state militia did not take place as planned. On October 27, the day after issuing the orders for regional troops to march to Daviess, Amos Rees and Wiley C. Williams arrived in Jefferson City where the two men met with the state’s chief executive and informed him of Bogart’s defeat and ^[250] the alarming state of affairs in Ray County.¹⁰⁸ Upon learning of the most recent events in the civil conflict, Boggs decided to take even more aggressive action. In issuing new orders to General Clark, he wrote, “I have received by Amos Rees Esq. of Ray county and Wiley C. Williams Esq. one of my aids, information of the most appalling character which entirely changes the face of things. . . . Instead . . . of proceeding as at first directed to reinstate the citizens of Daviess in their homes, you will proceed immediately to Richmond and then operate against the Mormons.”¹⁰⁹

News of the encounter between the Mormons and Missourians at Crooked River also provided Boggs with precisely what he needed to politically solve the Mormon problem—a problem which had been plaguing the state for nearly eight years. Based upon the report he received, the governor perceived that the Mormons had come out in open rebellion against the state of Missouri by deliberately attacking authorized militia—an act he viewed as not only unlawful, but also treasonous—hence his written statement, “the Mormons [are] in the attitude of an open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this state.”¹¹⁰ Such actions on the part of the Latter-day Saints led him to justify his political solution to the Mormon problem—full scale expulsion—“The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or ^[251] driven from the state.”¹¹¹ Within three days, twenty-five hundred state troops would be encamped just outside Far West to ensure that the governor’s orders were carried out. ^[252]