Introduction
Among the important contributors to the resentment harbored against the Saints by their non-Mormon neighbors was the fear that the unusual unity enjoyed by the former would be used to place candidates of their own choosing in public office. Political aspirants found themselves in a delicate position, since they could court the good will of neither side without offending the other. The impasse thus created was merely compounded as the number of Mormon immigrants into northern Missouri continued to mount.
In spite of these factors, however, no overt acts of violence occurred until August 6, 1838. On that day, a number of non-Mormons in Daviess County attempted to prevent some Latter-day Saint voters from exercising their franchise privileges. The result was a skirmish, a prelude to the so-called “Mormon War” which followed. This chapter discusses that skirmish as well as the events it precipitated.
Unheeded Warnings before the Battle
As threats of violence against them began to increase, the Latter-day Saints did not hesitate to make it known that they intended to support for public office those persons who were pledged to protect them in their legal rights. Speaking of the attitude of the non-Mormons outside of Caldwell County, one authority wrote:
Looking with suspicion upon the new sect and believing them already to be rogues and thieves, the inhabitants of Daviess and Carroll counties were of course opposed to their [i.e., the Mormons’] possession of the chief political influence, such as they already possessed in Caldwell; and from the fear that they would acquire more arise the first open quarrel.1
The extreme measures employed by the non-Mormons to prevent the Saints from enjoying their voting rights did not come as a complete surprise. About a month prior to the election, John D. Lee and Levi Stewart, Latter-day Saint residents of Daviess County, spent the night with a local judge by the name of Morin. The Judge, a Democrat, informed the two men that it was the settled intention of their enemies to prevent the Saints from voting in the forthcoming election. The Judge allegedly requested his guests to inform their friends of this fact. According to [167] Lee, however, the Judge’s advice went largely unheeded since he was known to be a “sharp political worker” and was a candidate for office.2 Lee allows, nevertheless, that the two political parties were about evenly divided in the County; hence the united vote of the Mormons represented the balance of power.3
Later that same month, July, Adam Black, a justice of the peace for Daviess County, and William Penniston, a colonel in the State Militia and a candidate for the State Legislature, “went from house to house and warned every man belonging to our [i.e., the Mormon] society, to leave the county on or before a certain day . . . or suffer the consequences.” Although this was no new sound to the Saints, it did serve to “put them on their guard.”4 In accordance with their determination to resist all unlawful encroachments, the Saints of Daviess County made immediate preparations for the defense of their homes and civil rights.5
Words concerning the non-Mormons’ intentions reached Far West late in July. On Saturday, the 28th, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon visited Adam-ondi-Ahman “to transact some important business and to settle some Canadian brethren in that place. . . .”6 The nature of the “important business” is not specified in Joseph Smith’s journal. Anson Call, a resident of the “Three Forks” area on the Grand River states that he was visited on July 29 by all three of the First Presidency. “A meeting was held at my house,” he writes, “there being about a dozen Saints and about as many Missourians present.” The meeting was apparently an attempt to find a solution to the delicate problem posed by the non-Mormon threats prior to actual hostilities.7
When the meeting was over, Joseph Smith requested a private interview with Call and a few other members of the Church. According to Anson, the group withdrew to a cornfield nearby for consultation. Joseph Smith informed his listeners that the Lord had sent him to warn the residents of “Three Forks” to move to Diahman or Far West, “for there is trouble at hand.” Wrote Anson: [168]
We asked him [Joseph Smith] how soon we were to go, and if we could stop to gather our corn first and gather up our stock. He said this was not for him to say; the word of the Lord for us was that were to leave. “I do not know that you can stay in safety for two days, and I do not know but what you might be safe until next spring, but my errand is for you to leave. I have finished my message to you. . . .” We continued at our places, held a counsel among ourselves as to when we would leave, and finally concluded it best to take a look through the county to look at the aspect, and it fell to my lot to go. I traveled through Clay, Ray, and Daviess, unknown to the people there as a Mormon, and on returning I reported that I saw nothing that was threatening. . . . When I made my report, we agreed to leave as soon as we could gather our stock and the property and harvest our corn.8
The delay, however, proved costly. Within a week, the non-Mormons of Daviess County were in arms against the Saints. Cornelius Gillium, leader of an anti-Mormon force, “camped on Grindstone Fork” of the Grand River early in the month of August, “thus cutting off our retreat to either Adam-ondi-Ahman or Far West.” Call concluded:
Had we done as the prophet advised us to, we would have come away in safety. As it was, we lost our harvest, left our property, even the honey we had gathered, which all fell into the hands of the mob.9
Meanwhile, a second group of Latter-day Saints, this one led by Almon W. Babbitt, also settled on the “Three Forks of the Grand River.” In so doing, they went contrary to the known counsel of Joseph Smith. Consequently, on August 6, the same day that hostilities broke out in Daviess County, the First Presidency met in Far West and “resolved that they [Babbitt’s Company] must return to Far West according to counsel, or they would not be one with us.”10
Within a short time, however, the situation became critical. Gillium’s men also cut off Babbitt’s company from their source of retreat. The anti-Mormon strategy appears to have been to keep the Saints as scattered as possible. On Saturday, August 11, Joseph Smith visited the Canadian Saints at Three Forks and “offered such counsel as their situation required.”11 The next group of Canadian immigrants were counseled to settle at DeWitt.12 [169]
The “Election-Day Battle”
On the morning of August 6, 1838, William Penniston and a group of his political supporters surrounded the polling booth in Gallatin and openly declared their determination to prevent the Mormons from voting. Penniston was well known to the Saints as he had been among those who had urged the expulsion of the Mormons from Clay County and had allegedly “led an armed mob in the expulsion of the Saints from that county.”13 According to another report, however, Penniston repented of his malevolent feelings against the Saints long enough to attend their meetings and try “to prevent their voting for Mr. Williams, his opponent.”14 Apparently it was after this that Penniston joined with Adam Black and journeyed throughout the County warning the Saints to move on.
At least four first-hand accounts of the battle are known to exist: one by John L. Butler, a joint report by John D. Lee and Levi Stewart, a separate account by Lee, and a non-Mormon report by Joseph H. McGee. According to Butler, as soon as the polls were opened on the morning of August 6, Penniston mounted a barrel and began to harrangue his listeners on the subject of “Mormonism.”15 John D. Lee and Levi Stewart are most explicit. According to their account, Penniston told his hearers that “if we suffer such men as these [i.e., the Mormons] to vote, you will lose your suffrage.” He is also reported to have said that the Mormon leaders were a “set of horse thieves, liars, and counterfeiters and that those who followed them merely pretended to heal the sick and to cast out devils.”16 According to Butler, when Penniston was through speaking, he “called on all hands to drink . . . for whiskey passed free, and they drank as freely.”17
The battle which followed was a free-for-all. John D. Lee states that it began when a “drunken brute by the name of Richard Weldon”18 approached an old man by the name of Samuel Brown and inquired if he were a Mormon preacher.19 Upon receipt of an affirmative reply, Weldon asked [170] a second time: “Do you Mormons believe in healing the sick by the laying on of hands, speaking of tongues, and casting out devils.” Once again the positive reply was given, whereupon Weldon is quoted as saying: “You are a damned liar, and Joseph Smith is a damned imposter.” The younger man then jumped on the old fellow and began to “beat him severely.” Whereupon a Latter-day Saint by the name of Hyrum Nelson attempted to separate the two men but was struck himself on the head, shoulders, and face by “half a dozen men.” Riley Stewart then struck Weldon a blow on the back of the head with a piece of oak lumber, which act allegedly broke upon the latter’s skull. At this appoint, Lee states, the fighting became general.20
Neither group seemed unwilling to engage in a fight. According to Joseph H. McGee who witnessed the battle, “nearly all the Missourians of 1838 were from the Southern States. . . . They were a rough, uneducated class, delighting in fighting and quarrelling.”21 As for the Mormons, they no doubt went to Gallatin prepared for trouble. John D. Lee states that he and a few other members of the Church were lying on the grass near the place of voting when the uproar began. In the midst of the shouting, Lee allegedly saw John L. Butler, a perfect stranger to him before this time, give the “Danite” signal of distress. Lee, accompanied by his friends, responded immediately by joining the fight.22
Butler’s account is also instructive. He claims that he was standing behind the little grocery store where the voting was taking place,23 when he heard a loud ruckus and stepped around front to see its cause. Observing his Mormon companions in distress, Butler allegedly cried out: “O yes, you Danites, here is a job for us.”24 The free-swinging affair that followed is described by Butler as follows:
I turned around and ran a few steps to get a stick, and I soon found one suitable, though rather large; it was the piece of the heart of an oak, which I thought I could handle with ease and convenience. . . . I did not want to kill anyone, but merely put a stop to the affray and went in with that determination, . . . thinking when hefting my stick that I must temper my lick so as not to kill. . . . Riley Stewart . . . struck Dick Welding [sic] an overhand blow on the head, cutting [171] the side of his head three or four inches in length, the skin pulling down. It looked like he certainly was killed. I told Stewart he had better leave, for he had killed that man; he started to run and got some twenty or twenty-five paces, when some ten or a dozen men took after him, throwing sticks and stones at him and anything they could get, swearing they would kill him. I saw they would overpower him and called for him to come back, for we could do better business when together, and he took a circuitous route to keep from meeting those pursuing him. At the crisis, one of the mob drew a glittering dirk, the blade some six inches long, [and began] waving it in the air, and at the same time swearing it should drink Stewart’s heart’s blood. He started to meet Stewart, as he was returning back to the crowd. As he was several steps ahead of me, I sprang with all the power that was in me to overtake him before he met Stewart. Just as he and Stewart met, he made a blow at his neck or breast, but as Stewart was passing in a run, the dirk passed over his left shoulder close by his neck and struck his right shoulder blade and bent the point of it around as much as an inch. Just as he made his lick, I reached forward as far as I could and hit him on the side of the head and fetched him helpless to the ground’ and at the same instant [I] received a blow from one behind me with the butt end of a loaded horse whip which took me right between the shoulders. . . . While Stewart was running, James Welding [sic], Dick’s brother, came along and saw his brother lying in his gore; he bawled and swore that they had killed Dick. He stooped down and picked up a stone, swearing he would kill every “Mormon” in Daviess county before Saturday night. Just as the word came out of his mouth, Washington Voris [sometimes spelled Vorhees], standing near him, hit him square in the mouth with a stone that would weigh near two pounds (I think) and straightened him out on the ground. He soon gathered up and as he rose with his mouth badly cut and bleeding, he put his hand on his face and began to cry, saying that he never saw people hit as hard as “Mormons.” . . . Brother Olmstead, previous to the affray, had purchased half a dozen earthen bowls and as many teacups and saucers which he had tied up in a new cotton handkerchief and slung to his wrist. One of the mob struck at him when he raised his arm, the blow striking the bowls and saucers and breaking them. He then commenced using them over their heads, and when the affray was over, I saw him empty out his broken earthenware on the ground in pieces not larger than a dollar and his handkerchief looked like it had been chewed by a cow. [172] The whole scene was soon over; I don’t think it lasted longer than two minutes from the first to the last blow.25
Several persons were seriously hurt in the melee, but none was killed. John D. Lee states that “nine men had their skulls broken, and many others were seriously injured in other ways. . . . Three hundred men were present in the difficulty, only thirty of whom were Mormons.” According to Lee, only eight Mormons took part in the battle.26 Another source names ten members of the Church who allegedly participated in the fight. They are Hyrum and Abram Nelson, Riley and Jackson Stewart, Moses Daley, Washington Vorhees, Harvey Olmstead, Samuel Brown, Perry Durphy, and John L. Butler. John D. Lee is also known to have been an active participant.27
Every pro-Mormon account alleges that the Saints emerged from the battle victorious. Joseph H. McGee, however, says otherwise. He wrote:
I had witnessed many knock downs in my time, but none on so grand a scale. Pistols were not used. Rocks and clubs were in demand, and an occasional butcher knife slipped in. Men dropped on all sides. . . . The Missourians roved victorious, and the Mormons had to leave.28
Whether the Saints voted or not is uncertain. John D. Lee’s personal account states that “all the Mormons voted,”29 while his joint account with Stewart says that “very few Mormons voted that day.”30 John L. Butler claims that after the battle was over, he mounted a log and made a speech in which he asserted his rights as a “freeborn” American citizen and his unqualified determination to cast his vote. “My religion,” he quotes himself as saying, “is strictly a matter between my God and me, and no man’s business but my own.” Even so, when Butler approached the polling booth, the voting officer urged him to put down his fighting stick before entering the room. This Butler refused to do, knowing that his enemies waited for him within. Apparently he did not vote.31 [173]
Upon their return to Diahman, those Mormons who were involved in the dispute described above took immediate precautions to preserve their lives. Some departed as soon as possible for Far West,32 while others secreted their wives and families in a hazel thicket near Adam-ondi-Ahman for a few days.33 The Saints in Daviess also kept a watchful eye that night, ready for any trouble which might develop.34
The Visit to Judge Adam Black
The next day, August 7, exaggerated reports of the fight reached Far West through individuals who were not members of the Church. Their report charged that two or three Mormons had been killed in the skirmish, that the bodies of the slain were still lying upon the ground because their enemies would not suffer them to be buried. The news created great excitement in the Mormon city, and Sampson Avard made an immediate call for volunteers to follow him to Gallatin.35 Included among those who agreed to go were all three members of the First Presidency.36
At least some of those mustered for action were Danites. Reed Peck and John Corrill claim that of the 150 men who responded to Avard’s appeal, all were Danites.37 Avard himself later testified as follows:
I called for twenty volunteers to accompany me to see into this matter. I went; and about one hundred and twenty Mormons accompanied me to Adam-on-Diahman [sic]—Mr. Joseph Smith, Jr., in company. When I arrived there, I found the report exaggerated. None [174] were killed.38
Joseph Smith asserts that the company in which he journeyed was joined as it moved by several persons who had participated in the dispute the day before.39 Undoubtedly the Mormon version of the fray was learned from them, but the march continued.
On arrival in Diahman, the militia found several persons gathered at the home of Lyman Wight awaiting counsel. Shortly thereafter, intelligence was received that large numbers of armed men were gathered at the home of Adam Black in nearby Millport.40 Immediate preparations for defense were undertaken. “The women and children were all collected in one place and a guard stationed around them. The brethren, in anticipation of a regular siege, butchered two beeves and cooked a quantity of corn meal, determined to live as though it would be their last.”41
The expected attack, however, did not materialize. The next morning, August 8, Sampson Avard rode out with a small company to scour the countryside. He was accompanied by members of the First Presidency. In the course of making their investigation, a small group of men called at the home of Adam Black, presumably to inquire into the Judge’s feelings regarding the election-day dispute and to see whether or not he would enforce the law. Joseph Smith’s sworn statement says:
We dispatched a committee to said Black’s, to ascertain the truth of these reports [i.e., that Black was inimical to the rights of the Latter-day Saints] and to know what his intentions were; and as we understood he was a peace officer, we wished to know what we might expect from him. They reported that Mr. Black, instead of giving them any assurance of peace, insulted them and gave them no satisfaction. Being desirous of knowing the feelings of Mr. Black myself, and in being in want of good water, and understanding that there was none nearer than Mr. Black’s spring, myself with several others mounted our horses and rode up to Mr. Black’s fence.
Dr. Avard, with one or two others who had ridden ahead, went into Mr. Black’s house; myself and some others went to the spring for water. I was shortly sent for by Mr. Black and invited into the house, being introduced to Mr. Black by Dr. Avard. Mr. Black wished me to be seated. We then commenced a conversation on the subject of the late difficulties and present excitement. I found Mr. Black quite [175] hostile in his feelings toward the Saints; but he assured us he did not belong to the mob, neither would he take any part with them; but said he was bound by his oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the State of Missouri. Deponent then asked him if he would make said statement in writing so as to refute the statement of those who had affirmed that he (Black) was one of the leaders of the mob. Mr. Black answered in the affirmative. Accordingly he did so, which writing is in possession of the deponent.42
The written document referred to by Joseph Smith is given by the Prophet as follows:
I, Adam Black, a Justice of the Piece in Daviess County, do hereby sertify [sic] to the people coled [sic] Mormin [sic] that he is bound to support the Constitution of this State and of the United States, and he is not attached to any mob, nor will not attach himself to any such people, and so long as they will not molest me, I will not molest them. This is the 8th day of August, 1838.43
According to some accounts, Black was first presented with a document which had been prepared beforehand and contained a promise not to use his public office to molest the Saints but to “take lawful notice of any unlawful proceedings of either party.” Black was allegedly told that if he signed this article and if it were shown to Mormons and non-Mormons alike, “it would have an effect to prevent difficulties.”44 Black, however, is said to have refused the prepared statement in favor of his own as given above.45
Judge Black’s representation of the entire affair is quite different. According to his own sworn statement, “on or about the 8th day of August, 1838, . . . there came an armed force of men . . . and surrounded his house and family, and threatened him with instant death if he did not sign a certain instrument of writing. . . .” Moreover, those who accosted the Judge: [176]
. . . threatened the lives of himself and other individuals, and did say they intended to make every citizen sign such obligation, and further said they intended to have satisfaction for abuse they had received on the Monday previous, and that they would not submit to the laws; and further saith, that from the best information and his own personal knowledge, that Andrew [Alanson] Ripley, George A. Smith, Ephraim Owens, Harvey Humstead [Olmstead], Hiram Nelson, A. Brown, John L. Butler, Cornelius Lott, John Wood, H. Redfield, Riley Stewart, James Whitaker, Andrew Thor, Amos Tubbs, Dr. Gorze, and Abram Nelson was [were] guilty of aiding and abetting in committing and perpetrating the above offense.46
The matter of Black’s life being threatened is controversial. Joseph Smith emphatically stated under oath that “no violence was offered to any individual” in the course of the deliberations with Black, nor was any “insulting language . . . given by either party, except on the part of Mrs. Black. . . .”47 John P. Greene asserts that it was only when Black discovered that his act of signing the paper prepared by his own hand was displeasing to the older inhabitants of Daviess that he retracted his written promise and went before Judge Austin A. King and swore that he had signed the writing under duress and in fear for his life.48 Swartzell claims that one Mormon, a Mr. Eberly, did tell Black that if he violated his signed agreement, “death would be his portion.”49 Sampson Avard testified under oath at a later time that “if Black had not signed the paper he did, it was common understanding and belief that he would have shared the fate of the dissenters.”50
That same evening, the residents of Adam-ondi-Ahman were visited by three of the leading citizens of Daviess County, Joseph Morin, State Senator-elect, John Williams, victor over William Penniston in the recent election, and William Slade, clerk of the circuit court.51 The purpose of their visit was to see if the recent disturbances could be arbitrated [177] by representatives from both sides. An affirmative decision was reached, and a conference was appointed to convene the next day in Diahman at twelve o’clock.52
The meeting came off as scheduled. The three non-Mormons mentioned above represented the citizens of Daviess County; Lyman Wight, John Smith, Vinson Knight, and Reynolds Cahoon sat on behalf of the Saints. As a result of their deliberations, both sides exchanged a mutual pledge to preserve each other’s rights, to stand in each other’s defense, and to deliver over to the legal authorities any person, of either side, who was guilty of infracting the law. “The assembly dispersed on these friendly terms,” reports Joseph Smith, “myself and friends returning to Far West, where we arrived about midnight and found all quiet.”53
Reaction in Ray County
The agreements described above are noteworthy, if only because they were so soon violated. John D. Lee reports that the Gentiles of Daviess County “were dissatisfied with the action of their committee and were in no way inclined to accept peace on any terms.”54
A leading cause in the increase of excitement was Adam Black’s contention that he had been attacked, threatened, and “forced to subscribe to an article which I refused to do until instant death was threatened.”55 Said he under oath:
I further certify that the whole number of Mormons embodied is about 500 men. The militia of this county [i.e., Daviess] not amounting to a fraction of that number, the militia of adjoining counties is therefore earnestly called upon to protect us in our homes, our liberty, and our lives.56
Black’s report was strengthened by a similar affidavit from William Penniston who charged that his own life, together with those of others, had been threatened by certain Mormon men.57 [178] He charged that Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight were leaders of the Daviess County militia. The final phase of his testimony is as follows:
It is the object of this body of armed men, to take vengeance for some injuries, or imaginary injuries, done to some of their friends, and to intimidate and drive from the county all the old citizens, and [thus] possess themselves of their land, or to force such as do not leave, to come into their measures and submit to their dictation.58
These reports created immediate concern in Ray County. A meeting of the citizens there was held in Richmond early in the month of August, at which time it was reported that the movements of the Latter-day Saints in Daviess County “were . . . of a highly illegal and dangerous character.” An examination of the minutes of said meeting reveals that almost total reliance was placed upon the evidence sworn to by Black and Penniston. Seven men were appointed to look into the matter and to report to the citizens the next day.59
The committee’s report was made as scheduled. It expressed satisfaction that the evidence assembled against the Latter-day Saints was sufficient to establish guilt. The Mormon side of the story, of course, had not been heard as yet.60 The following resolutions were then passed:
(1) That the citizens of Ray highly disapprove of all unlawful and improper collections of men for any purpose whatever. Wherein laws are broken, civil redress can be had from the laws of the country;
(2) That the meeting was of the opinion that the evidence presented against the Mormons should be submitted to Judge King for such action as he deemed necessary;
(3) That the Judge is urged to use his official capacity to bring Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight to trial;
(4) That the meeting disapproves of any hasty and improper action on the part of the citizens;
(5) That a Committee of Vigilance be appointed to collect all the evidence on the subject and inform the citizens of Ray and other counties concerning it; [179]
(6) That a committee be appointed to visit Daviess and Caldwell counties to collect all the facts relative to the recent difficulties from the Mormons themselves and then report to the Committee on Vigilance;
(7) That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the Liberty paper.61
Robert B. Ellis, Dr. Thomas Allen, Moses R. Rainwater, Charles R. Morehead, Wiley D. Williams, Joseph Ewing and William Hudgens were chosen to form the Committee on Vigilance. Hudgens, together with Thomas Hamilton and Israel R. Hindley, was appointed to visit the Saints in Daviess and Caldwell.62
The next day, August 11, Hudgens, Hamilton, and Hindley appeared in Far West. Particular inquiries were made by them regarding the armed activities in which the Saints were allegedly engaged. A meeting was held that evening in the city hall at which Edward Partridge presided.63 Seven men were appointed from among the Saints to confer with the representatives from Ray County. The next day, presumably upon the advice of the committee for the Saints, the three men left for Adam-ondi-Ahman to secure a first-hand look at the situation.64
Their first stop on arrival was at the home of Lyman Wight. They made known to all present the purpose of their visit and expressed a desire to “allay all prejudice which existed between the Missourians and the Mormons.” They also urged the Saints to yield obedience to the civil laws. Lyman Wight allegedly stated that he felt no allegiance to the law, for it had not protected him in his rights for the last seven years. He would rather die, he is quoted as saying, than submit to the tyrannical measures advocated by his enemies. A few hours later, the men from Ray departed for home.65
The Trial of Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight before Judge King
On his return to Far West the next day, Joseph Smith learned that a warrant had been issued by Judge King against himself and Lyman Wight. Although the warrant allegedly was issued on the strength of Black and Penniston’s affidavits, the recommendations of the Committee from Ray no doubt figured [180] largely in the matter too. The sense of the writ appears to have been that it was necessary to “try the law,” particularly since reports were abroad that neither Smith nor Wight would submit to trial by legal process.66
Accordingly, on August 16, the sheriff of Daviess County, accompanied by Joseph Morin, appeared in Far West for the purpose of serving the writ. Of this event, Joseph Smith wrote:
It had been currently reported that I would not be apprehended by legal process and that I would not submit to the laws of the land; but I told the sheriff that I intended always to submit to the laws of our country, but I wished to be tried in my own county, as the citizens of Daviess county were highly exasperated at me, and that the laws of the country gave me this privilege. Upon hearing this, the sheriff declined serving the writ, and said he would go to Richmond and see Judge King on the subject. I told him I would remain at home until his return.
The sheriff returned from Richmond and found me at home (where I had remained in his absence) and informed me very gravely that I was out of his jurisdiction and that he could not act in Caldwell county, and retired.67
The response which the sheriff apparently received from Lyman Wight was not unlike that which the representatives from Clay County received. According to the Western Star, the sheriff visited Wight and found the latter’s home surrounded by a force of men 80 to 100 strong. Wight is quoted as telling the constable that he “would not be taken alive—that the laws had never protected him, and he owed them no obedience—that the whole state of Missouri could not take him, etc.”68
Judge King, however, appears to have been determined to try the men, if only to satisfy the public mind. He is reported to have advised the sheriff of Daviess, therefore, to call for assistance from the citizens of his County in order to take Wight into custody. If this body were resisted by a superior force, King ordered the sheriff to “call for the militia until he had force enough.”69 [181]
Adam Black’s appeal to the militia of adjoining counties to come70 to the aid of the residents of Daviess was not long in being answered. Joseph Smith claims that he was informed by a visitor from Livingston County that “a large collection of people” had gathered in Daviess in order to take both him and Wight by force. Hence he wrote:
Report says that they are collecting from eleven counties, to help take two men who had never resisted law or officer, nor had they thought of doing so, and this their enemies knew at the same, or many of them at least knew it. This looks a little too much like mobocracy, it foretells some evil intentions. The whole of upper Missouri is in an uproar and confusion.71
While citizens from the surrounding counties were busy gathering in to Daviess, matters assumed a temporary calm. This condition was broken on August 28 by a second affidavit from Adam Black in which events of August 8th were once again rehearsed.72 This was followed closely by instructions from Governor Lilburn W. Boggs to General David R. Atchison, Commander of the 3rd Missouri Division, to raise a force of four hundred men “to be held in readiness, subject to further orders.” The Governor justified this action on the basis of recent “Indian disturbances on our immediate frontier” as well as the “civil disturbances in Caldwell, Daviess and Carroll” counties.73
The reference to “Indian disturbances” appears to have presented the enemies of the Saints with the opportunity they looked for. Although fears of actual Indian troubles were always real on the Missouri frontier, designing individuals took advantage of the Executive’s reference to them to suggest that the Mormons had “ingratiated themselves with the Indians” and intended to use the redmen in pursuing “their diabolical career.” Moreover the Saints were accused of having taught in public that “immense numbers of Indians of various tribes” were “only waiting the signal for a general rise.” Joseph Smith was personally charged with having preached that “he had fourteen thousand men, not belonging to the Church, ready at a moment’s warning, which was generally understood to mean Indians.”74 [182]
These charges were false and were soon exposed, but not until rumor, with Her persistent tongue, had done Her work. From this point on, letters to the Governor betray the very real fear that the Mormons were “on the move.” One particular letter said: “The fears of the people are greatly excited, and nothing is talked of but the contemplated struggle. . . .”75
Learning of the great gathering of troops to operate against them, the Saints in Daviess County made plans for mutual defense. The non-Mormons translated this action into “a conspiracy to protect one another against the civil officers of the country.”76 To counteract the Mormon move, the older citizens of the County redoubled their efforts to enlist the aid of their neighbors in adjoining counties. “Runners were sent . . . to solicit assistance,” ostensibly to take Lyman Wight into custody as ordered by Judge King. The number of men requested to accomplish this design, however, was so large that the Saints concluded that their enemies were earnestly bent upon the destruction of all who dared to be a Mormon.77 From the pen of John Corrill comes this interesting picture of the Mormon point of view:
This excited and alarmed the Mormons. They began to think there was some other object in view besides taking Wight; for Smith had previously told the sheriff that he never resisted, but was perfectly willing to surrender and said he would persuade Wight to do so. For this purpose, he sent for Wight to come to Far West and see him, which he did, and [Wight] agreed to submit, saying that the sheriff had never attempted to talk to him. The citizens continued to gather, and news came to Smith that there would be four thousand [armed men] together in a few days. This alarmed Smith, and he sent a messenger to General Atchison to come to Far West and see him and advise him what to do. He did so, and also went to Daviess, and advised Smith and Wight, and such others as were accused, to surrender, which they did.78
Joseph Smith’s personal account agrees in substance with the foregoing. He adds, however, that he sent a personal letter to Judge King on September 2, asking official intervention in the matter.79
General Atchison arrived in Far West on September 4. Acting upon that military official’s advice to submit to a trial, Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight promptly retained the services of Atchison and his law partner [183] and military subordinate, General Alexander Doniphan, to defend them.80 The trial was set for Thursday, September 6. A brother Littlefield’s home was suggested as an appropriate place.81
One day before the trial, Joseph Smith went before Judge Elias Higbee of Caldwell County and made a lengthy affidavit regarding the events which he witnessed on August 8th at the home of Adam Black. Several citations have already been made from this document.82 That same evening, September 5, Judge King arrived in Far West to spend the night. Early the next morning, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, accompanied by Judge Higbee and a few close friends, set out for the appointed place of meeting. King arrived shortly after.83
William P. Penniston, one of the principals, however, failed to put in an appearance at the scheduled hour, and the trial was postponed until ten o’clock the next day. The new place for the hearing was the home of John Raglan, six to eight miles further south and within half a mile of the Caldwell County line.84 In anticipation of trouble, a company of Mormon militia stationed themselves just inside the boundaries of their own County.85
This time the trial commenced as scheduled. William Penniston acted as prosecutor; Adam Black was his only witness. According to Joseph Smith, “Black swore to a great many things that never had an existence, . . . and, in fine, I think he swore by the job, and that he was employed to do so by Penniston.”86 Witnesses for the defense were Dimick B. Huntington, Gideon Carter, Adam Lightner (a non-Mormon whose wife belonged to the Church), and George W. Robinson.
When the hearing was concluded, Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight were bound over to the court in a five hundred dollar bond, although, as Joseph Smith puts it, “there was no proof against us.” This action, the Prophet suggests, was taken by King in order “to pacify the feelings of the mobbers.”87 A few days later, the Missouri Argus, a St. Louis newspaper, [184] carried a letter dated September 14, 1838, and written from Liberty, Missouri. Among other things, the letter said: “The facts elicited at the trial of Smith and Wright [sic] completely stamped the certificate [affidavit] of Black, Cumstock [sic], and others with falsehood.”88
When the trial was concluded, both parties returned to their homes. According to George A. Smith, however, many of the Mormon men had “concealed their arms in the woods, fearing treachery, as a great number of the mob were in attendance” at the trial. “Upon our return home in the evening, Colonel [Lyman] Wight told us that a company of the mob was determined to way-lay us in passing through a grove of timber, . . . and ordered us to ride at full gallop through the grove.” This the men did, being pursued part of the way home.89
Stolen Government Arms and Their Recovery
The methods employed by the residents of Daviess County to bring sympathy for their cause against the Saints are interesting. Principally their actions appear to have included the removal of their families to the borders of Livingston County, setting their own houses on fire, and then sending letters to friends and countrymen everywhere saying that the Mormons were “threatening slaughter and devastation to everything in their course” and appealing to their neighbors “for God’s sake, and for the sake of everything held dear by freemen, to come and help them!” Such actions writes Ephraim Owen, “soon had the desired effect.”90
Foremost among those to respond to the non-Mormon appeals were the residents of Howard and Jackson counties. One of the principal Missouri papers carried the following statement: [185]
We have just conversed with General Wilson of Howard county, who states that on last Saturday, he saw a letter dated on the 7th instant, from a committee of gentlemen in Daviess county, to the people of Howard county, calling on them to raise a force and come to their assistance and aid in expelling the Mormons from the county.91
Another paper carried the account of a public meeting in Independence, Missouri on September 8, held in response to the plea for help from the citizens of Daviess. The meeting passed a number of resolutions denouncing the Mormons and expressing complete willingness to aid the citizens of Daviess “when called upon by the proper authority.”92
Not everyone, however, jumped into the battle without attempting to get both sides of the issue. Chariton County, for example, sent delegates to Daviess County to hear what the Mormons had to say before responding to the appeal for help. When their interview was over, the men expressed the “fullest satisfaction” that the Mormons were not guilty as charged and, in the words of Joseph Smith, “considered that they [the delegates] had been outrageously imposed upon in this matter.”93
The residents of Ray County, on the other hand, were quite willing to help the non-Mormon cause. News reached Far West on September 9 that arms and ammunition were being taken to Daviess County from Ray for use against the Saints. A member of the Church, learning this fact while on a visit in Richmond, took an immediate departure for Far West and notified his brethren there of the non-Mormons’ operations.94
William Allred, a captain in the Caldwell County militia, was immediately appointed to mount a company of ten volunteers and proceed to intercept the enemy and to relieve them of the weapons they carried. This call came from Judge Elias Higbee, highest civil officer in the County.95 John Tanner, a member of Allred’s company, gives the following account of his group’s success:
When we neared the road, we cast our eyes towards Richmond, and at a distance of about half a mile, we discovered a black-covered carriage standing in the [186] road without any team attached to it. On nearing it, we saw that it was empty. We examined it and found that one of the axles was nearly broken in two. Here was the carriage described, but where were the guns? We soon discovered a trail in the high grass where something heavy had been dragged from the carriage. We followed this trail a short distance and found a wooden box, containing seventy-four United States Yaugers. While consulting how to get them to town [i.e., Far West], we looked in the direction of the mob and discovered two men coming, about as fast as they could drive, in a lumber wagon. When they discovered us, supposing us to be mobs, they swung their hats and shouted “Hurrah!” two or three times, and our group responded in the same way.
They got very near before they discovered their mistake. Brother Allred directed the teamster to drive alongside the box. He then told the two men to get out and put it into the wagon and then follow him. We returned the way we came, and reached our destination about sundown.96
Joseph Holbrook, also a member of this same company, states that the captured munitions were “public arms deposited in Richmond.” He also says that the number of men captured was three rather than two, which former number is correct.97 The number of firearms captured was forty-five; the names of the prisoners were John B. Comer, William L. McHoney, and Allen Miller.98
Upon arrival in Far West, the three men were brought before Albert Petty, a local justice, and charged them with transporting arms and ammunition to “the mob” in Daviess County. The case was continued for two days until the men could secure legal counsel, following which they were tried on the foregoing charge. The court found them to be guilty of the crime alleged, and immediately appealed to Judge King for instructions regarding the disposition of both guns and prisoners.99
King’s reply was also by letter and ordered the court to “turn the prisoners loose and let them receive kind treatment.” As for the arms, they were government property in charge of Captain Pollard of Richmond. Whether they were stolen or loaned, King could not say, for they were beyond his sphere of jurisdiction.100 It was later learned that the arms [187] had been taken with the approval of Captain Pollard. The citizens of Daviess and Livingston counties justified the taking of “public arms” on the grounds that they had “fearful apprehensions of danger.” Their letter to the Governor stated that “probably two thirds of the families in Daviess” had deserted their homes because of the distressing situation. They concluded their letter with an impassioned plea for aid from the Chief Executive.101
Meanwhile, General Atchison ordered his subordinate, General Doniphan, to march for Daviess so as to prevent a collision there between Mormon and non-Mormon forces. On his way, Doniphan stopped in Far West and ordered both prisoners and guns delivered into his custody. The former “was promptly done,” Doniphan informed his superior by letter, but the arms had been distributed among the Caldwell County militia and had to be collected. Following this, the arms were returned to Richmond, and the prisoners were released to their homes in Daviess county on their “parole of honor.” Doniphan averred that he “conceived their detention illegal.”102 Doniphan then continued on to Daviess County.
Temporary Settlement of Difficulties in Daviess County
Back in Ray County the pace quickened once again. General Atchison was requested by a number of anxious citizens to mobilize his troops because of the “insurrection on foot in the counties of Daviess and Caldwell between the Mormons and other citizens of the State.” The same day, September 10, Judge King advised the general to send two hundred or more men to dispel the aforementioned forces. King charged in his appeal that there were Mormons named in a recent warrant issued by esquire Dryden who would not submit to the law. He urged the general to cause these persons to “surrender and be recognized, for it will not do to compromise the law with them.”103 From this point on, King’s official letters betray a bitter anti-Mormon sentiment. [188]
Atchison responded immediately to the foregoing appeals. He ordered out eight companies of fifty men from the militia components of Clay and Ray counties and notified the Governor by letter that he had four hundred additional troops waiting. Atchison appears to have blamed neither party at this point for the difficulties. His official report to the Commander-in-Chief, Governor Boggs, reads in part:
Citizens of Daviess and Caldwell counties are under arms, so that it is deemed dangerous for peaceable citizens to pass through said county. Citizens of other counties are flocking to [aid] the citizens of Daviess county, and the Mormons are flocking to the assistance of the Mormons of those counties, so that from the best information I can obtain, there cannot be less than two thousand men in arms, without any authority or pretext whatever, and it is very much feared, that if a blow is once struck, there will be a general conflict, the termination of which only God knows.104
Meanwhile, General Doniphan had arrived with his troops in Daviess County. He proceeded directly to the non-Mormon encampment where he found between two and three hundred men marshaled under command of Dr. Austin of Carroll County. Doniphan immediately ordered Austin’s men to disperse, which order was refused on the grounds that their intentions were peaceful and purely defensive in nature. “They still continue in arms,” wrote Doniphan in his report to Atchison, “marching and countermarching” and refusing to disband as ordered.105 John Corrill states that Austin’s forces continued to march under the arms for two to three days following Doniphan’s arrival.106
A visit by Doniphan to the Mormon camp produced entirely different results. According to the general’s report to Atchison, Lyman Wight “professed entire willingness to disband and surrender up to me every one of the Mormons accused of crime, but required in return that the hostile forces . . . should disband also.” To prevent a collision between the two armed camps and pending the arrival of his superior officer, Doniphan “encamped in the direct road between the two hostile encampments.” He declared his determination to hold that position until Atchison’s arrival.107
Upon receipt of Doniphan’s report, Atchison left immediately for the area of conflict. Prior to his superior’s arrival, however, Doniphan learned that his own troops were mutinying and making plans to join with Austin’s forces. Doniphan thereupon ordered Lyman Wight to prepare to act in their own defense. “Kill every G__ d___ mobocrat you can find,” the [189] general is quoted as saying “or make them prisoners; and if they come upon you, give them hell.”108 Doniphan then returned to his troops, informed them of his orders to Wight, and challenged them to move against the Mormon militia if they dared. Accordingly, “the mob dispersed.”109
General Atchison arrived at the place of encampment on the evening of September 15. Two days later he reported by letter to the Governor that the non-Mormons under arms were “principally from the counties of Livingston, Carroll, and Saline.” The non-Mormons of Daviess, he said, had removed from their homes to a place which they called the “Camp Ground,” while the Mormons were encamped at Adam-ondi-Ahman. Atchison concluded his report as follows:
I have ordered all armed men from adjoining counties to repair to their homes; the Livingston county men, and others, have returned, and there remain now about one hundred and fifty who will, I am in hopes, return in a few days. I have been informed by the Mormons that all those who have been charged with violation of the laws will be in today for trial. . . . I have proposed to leave two companies, of fifty men each, in this county, and discharge the remainder of the troops.110
Three days later, Atchison notified the Governor once again that he had followed through on his original decision to disband all but two companies of troops. These he felt should remain “for a short period longer, say twenty days.”111 All charged with crimes from both sides, he reported, had appeared before a court of inquiry, and both Mormons and non-Mormons had repaired to their homes. The general expressed fear, however, that the present state of affairs, though quiet, was exceedingly tenuous and predicted that “without the interposition of the Commander-in-Chief,” the final outcome “will be awful.”112 Atchison concluded his letter as follows: [190]
The Mormons of Daviess county, as I stated in a former report, were encamped in a town called Adam-ondi-Ahman and are headed by Lyman Wight, a bold, brave, skillful, and I am add, a desperate man; they appeared to be acting on the defensive, and I must further add, gave up the offenders with a good deal of promptness.113
At this point, the slow process of communication by mail began to have its effect. Perhaps no other single factor was responsible for the prolongation of the so-called “Mormon War” as this was. The generals in the field were totally dependent upon the Commander-in-Chief for orders. All too often, they found themselves compelled to act on old orders in an entirely new situation; at other times, they found themselves unable to follow through on a given course of action because countermanding orders, based on a situation that had passed, required a change of procedure.
A second factor, one that would have greatly reduced the first, was the unwillingness of Governor Boggs to visit the scene of action as requested. On at least one occasion, the Chief Executive did make plans to do so. On September 18, he ordered the “Booneville Guards” to hold themselves in readiness to march with him to Daviess County.114 A week later, Atchison’s latest communication arrived in Jefferson City, only to find that the Governor had left as planned. The Secretary of State immediately sent word to the Chief Executive that “there is no necessity for the troops that have been raised.”115 This altered the Governor’s original intent, and he immediately rescinded all former orders.116
There is little doubt that had the Governor followed through on his original decision to visit the seat of war, the outcome of the Mormon War might have been different. As it was each fresh arrival of mail in Jefferson City brought conflicting, and by the time they arrived, out-of-date reports which necessitated new orders from the Governor. The generals in the field scarcely knew where they stood or how to act. Other [191] requests were made by General Atchison for Boggs to visit the troubled area of the State, but apparently the Governor never seriously entertained the notion after his first abortive attempt.
The Court of Inquiry in Daviess County
Prior to General Atchison’s return to Ray County, a court of inquiry was held at his camp in Daviess County. The purpose of the examination was to review the evidence against the Mormons who were charged with assault upon Judge Black and to hear the defense of those thus accused.117 Thomas C. Burch, a local justice of the peace, appeared in the role of examiner in behalf of the State. George A. Smith, one of the defendants, has left on record the following report of the court’s proceedings:
I was arrested by a constable who could not read his writ and a posse of forty men and taken before a court of three magistrates. . . . About 300 of the mob were present, besides 200 militia. At the camp I found my fellow prisoners to be Alanson Ripley, Lyman Wight, Vinson Knight, L. B. Stoddard, and Alanson Brown. Adam Black testified against us, being the only witness; his testimony, in addition to being false, could not have stood a cross examination before any intelligent court as he clearly contradicted himself. We were detained two days and subjected to many insults, for it seemed to be the studied design of both mob and militia to annoy us with threats. Many times during our detention, infuriated men came up to us and holding their knives in their hands, with their thumbs upon the blade, said, ‘Damn you, I am going to put that into you so far.’ Others, presenting their pistols, said, ‘this is loaded on purpose to kill a damned Mormon.’ Had it not been for the stern vigilance of Generals Atchison and Donophan [sic], probably none of us would have left the ground alive. . . . When we were dismissed, we demanded of the magistrates writs for thirty of the leaders of the mob in Daviess Co., which we were pre-emptorily [sic] refused, the magistrates being members of the mob themselves. . . .118 [192]
The evidence presented at the inquiry resulted in the acquittal of those accused of crime. Commenting upon this fact, the editor of the Missouri Republican Daily wrote:
A full-scale investigation by General A[tchison] of the whole matter, satisfied him that the Mormons were the injured party, and that the statement of Justice Black and others, of the Mormons’ threats and attempts to force persons to sign a paper and to swear allegiance to Joe Smith were entirely false and groundless.119
Meanwhile, General Parks, who had been left in charge of the State’s forces at Diahman, notified Governor Boggs that there was no need for a larger force of men than he then commanded. “Whatever may have been the disposition of the people called ‘Mormons’ before our arrival here,” he wrote, “since we have made our appearance, they have shown no disposition to resist the laws or of hostile intentions.” The general insisted, however, that the Governor take cognizance of the fact that the non-Mormon force still under arms was not a legal body and should negotiations for a settlement fail, “The determination of the Daviess County men is to drive the Mormons with powder and lead.”120
The day following, September 26, representatives for the Saints and the non-Mormons met in Daviess County and agreed that the latter would sell out providing the Saints could raise the required cash within a specified time.121 Of this transaction, Joseph Smith wrote:
The mob committee met a committee of the brethren, and the brethren entered into an agreement to purchase all the lands and possessions of those who desired to sell and leave Daviess county. The High Council of Adam-ondi-Ahman was immediately called and Elders Don C. Smith, George A. Smith, Lorenzo D. Barnes, and Harrison Sagers were appointed to go immediately to the churches in the south and east and raise men and means to fulfill the contract. The committee arrived at Far West late in the evening, and called upon me and gave me the foregoing information. I approved of the action of the brethren.122 [193]
The mission of those thus appointed to collect funds proved to be unsuccessful because difficulties once again commenced in Daviess County. By the time they returned in December, the opportunity for a peaceful settlement had disappeared.123
In addition to his letter to the Governor, General Parks informed General Atchison that all Mormons who had been accused of crimes who had not yet been examined had signified their willingness to appear for trial in Gallatin on September 29. Lyman Wight, he wrote, had guaranteed their appearance.124 Upon receipt of Parks’ report, Atchison sent the Governor a second letter in which he said:
The force under General Parks is deemed sufficient to execute the laws and to keep the peace in that County; things are not so bad . . . as represented by rumor, and in fact from affidavits, and I have no doubt your Excellency has been deceived by the exaggerated statements of designing or crazy men. I have found no cause for alarm on account of the Mormons; they are not to be feared; they are very much alarmed.125
Thus ended, for the time being, any threat of war in Daviess County.
Trouble Begins in Carroll County
The Latter-day Saint settlement at DeWitt grew too rapidly to suit the old-time settlers of Carroll County. As formerly noted, “the settlers became alarmed for their own safety and believed there was but one of two courses to pursue—to give up the county to the Mormons or to drive them to other quarters.”126
On July 4, 1838, a minor attack was made upon the Saints at DeWitt. Guns were fired on both sides, but no one was hurt. The following Saturday, a large number of local residents met in Carroll, the County seat, to consider the problem of increasing Mormon immigration. Dr. W. W. Austin, later to command the Carroll forces in the military movements described in the preceding section, was appointed chairman of the meeting. He opened with a “short but pointed speech” denouncing the Saints. His comments were followed by various expressions from the floor. Among others, the Reverends Abbot Hancock and Sashel Woods, Judge John Standley and Hiram Wilcoxen addressed the assembly. All were bitterly opposed, they said, to the residence of the Saints among them. “After a full expression of opinion on the [194] subject and a discussion of the danger and responsibility of an attempt to drive the Mormons from the county, the meeting adjourned until the following Saturday.”127
The second meeting generated more interest than the first. A comparatively small number of those seeking admittance into the room where the deliberations were held were able to get in, “while the doors and windows were crowded by [other] persons anxious to see and hear the proceedings.” A. C. Blackwell, a recent settler in Carroll County, described the meeting in the following words:
Both in and out of doors, great enthusiasm prevailed, the popular feeling setting strongly for an immediate advance on DeWitt. After an exciting discussion in the assembly, a committee of three was appointed, two of whom were Dr. W. W. Austin and H. Wilcoxen, to correspond with the citizens of Saline, Howard, Chariton, Ray, and Clay counties, in order to ascertain the probability of getting assistance, should the expulsion of the Mormons be resolved upon. A further proposition was carried, that at the general election to come off on the following first Monday of August, the clerk be requested to rule two additional columns on the poll book, headed the one “for” and the other “against” the Mormons, so that an expression of the people of the county might be arrived at.128
The meeting also appointed two of the local ministers, Abbott Hancock and Sashel Woods, to call upon the Saints and order them to vacate the County not later than August 7.129 The visit was duly made. George M. Hinkle, representing the Saints, allegedly replied to the request by drawing his sword and defiantly declaring that he would exterminate all who attempted to disturb either himself or his brethren. Woods is said to have replied: “Colonel, put up your sword; I am an old pioneer, have heard Indians yell, the owls hoot, and am not alarmed at such demonstrations.”130 According to John Murdock, however, Woods later swore out [195] a warrant against Hinkle for threatening the minister’s life and then failed to appear for the hearing.131
On July 30, 1838, a third meeting took place in Carrollton. Various segments of Mormon history were rehearsed and emphasis laid upon the fact that whether the Saints had settled, their neighbors had found them obnoxious. Much was also made of the alleged agreement by the Mormons not to settle any county with the previous consent of at least two-thirds of the inhabitants. Charges were made that the Saints had violated this pledge in settling DeWitt, and so Sashel Woods once again warned the Mormon immigrants to “load up their wagons and be off in twenty-four hours.”132
Concurrently, a boat containing Generals Moses Wilson, Samuel D. Lucas, and David R. Atchison stopped in DeWitt before proceeding up the Missouri River to its junction with the Mississippi. These men were on their way to attend the court martial of Major General Powell who was charged with being drunk on parade. Also on the boat were George A. Smith and his companions who were headed East for the purpose of collection funds to buy out the old residents of Daviess County. According to Smith, a discussion ensued between George M. Hinkle and Generals Lucas and Wilson concerning the advisability of attempting to defend DeWitt. Hinkle is said to have “bristled up courage to make a speech to the military officers, in which declared his intention in a trembling tone to defend DeWitt to the last.”133
The sense of the third meeting of the inhabitants of Carroll County was that the Mormons must go, willing or no. One of the principal acts of those assembled was to create a “Committee on Safety,” whose principal duties were “to correspond with the adjoining counties and make known our distressed situation, and request aid to move Mormons, abolitionists, and other disorderly persons out of the limits of Carroll County.”134 Those composing this group were “authorized to raise by subscription or otherwise,” sufficient funds to defray any expenses which might attach to their duties.135
Concurrently, John N. Sapp, a former Mormon, went before the clerk of Carroll County and made affidavit charging that the Mormons had organized among them a body of men called “Danites” who were “pledged to support Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight in opposition to the laws of the State of Missouri.” Joseph Dickson, the clerk, immediately forwarded this notarized statement to Governor Boggs and appended a note from the Carroll “Committee on Safety” to the effect that the residents of northern Missouri had good [196] reason to believe that Sapp’s testimony was true.136
The circulation of Sapp’s affidavit created immediate concern among residents in Carroll County who had formerly been backward about taking action against the Saints. In particular they expressed worry over Sapp’s charge that Lyman Wight and Sidney Rigdon were inducing the Indians to join with the Mormons in their work of destruction. Hence, matters assumed a more militaristic form at once. The following letter was sent to a Mrs. Smith, a resident of DeWitt:
Carrol County
10th of Sept., 1838.
Dear Madam: You are advised by the citizens of Carroll County to leave DeWitt forthwith and [so are] all the citizens of that place who are determined not to take part with the Mormons, as a state of things will exist there in a few days that if any of the friends of the people of Carroll should be injured, [it] would be extremely painful to them. You will, therefore, with all our people who do not take sides with the Mormons, immediately, on the reception of this communication, leave that place, and you shall be protected by us at the risk of our lives and fortunes. Show this to all the people of your town as soon as it comes to hand, that they may have an opportunity to leave the place before things come to extremeties, which is at hand [sic]. We are determined that not one Mormon shall live in this county, be the issue what it may, and when we come to DeWitt, we want our friends out of it.
We are, Madam, very respectfully, your friends,
The Citizens of Carroll.
N.B. The circumstances under which you became defenseless and your children orphans endear the memory of your husband to our hearts, and his heroic efforts to rescue his suffering and dying fellow-mortals from the jaws of death, have immortalized his name and placed his wife and children peculairly under our protection. Do not, therefore, disregard our counsel, we conjure [sic] you, but leave that ill-fated place, as we are determined to remove all Mormons and their aides and abettors from the county.137
Two days later, September 12th, “sixty or more” non-Mormons entered [197] DeWitt and formally warned all Saints in the town to leave within ten days or else face the consequences.138 George M. Hinkle allegedly replied that any military operations against the Mormons would “meet with a very warm reception.”139 The situation was a temporary stand-off.
Before the allotted time for departure had expired, the residents of Carroll County received a more insistent cry of distress from Daviess. It was at this point that W. W. Austin led the forces under his command to the place where they were intercepted by General Doniphan.140 Matters were relatively quiet in Carroll County during the middle of September. When it became apparent that General Doniphan would not permit a military move against the Saints in Daviess, Austin and his men returned home.
They did not, however, disperse as ordered. Rather, their arrival in Carroll on September 20 merely served to augment the forces already engaged for battle. Moreover, Austin brought with him the forces of Shingleton Vaughan from Saline County.141 The stage was set for battle once again.
Threatened Outbreak of Hostilities
Sensing the desperate nature of their situation, the Saints at DeWitt dispatched a letter to Governor Lilburn W. Boggs by private messenger. This letter “prayed for relief” and complained of “a lawless mob” from “Carroll and other counties” which had entered DeWitt on September 20 and “threatened, with force and violence, to drive certain peaceable citizens from their homes, in defiance of all law.” The letter stipulated that the residents of DeWitt who belonged to the Mormon faith had been given until the first of October to leave. “If not gone by that time,” the appeal informed the Governor, the Saints were to expect extermination “without regard to age or sex” and their personal effects were to be thrown “in the river.” The letter concluded with an appeal to the Chief Executive to “take such steps as shall put a stop to all lawless proceedings.” The petition was signed by fifty Mormon men, all residents of DeWitt. As far as is known, the Governor never acted upon nor answered this communication from the Saints.142 [198]
The non-Mormon forces, meanwhile, continued to increase in numbers. On September 21, one hundred and fifty men bivouacked near DeWitt. A few days later, troops arrived from Ray, Howard, and Clay counties. Hiram Wilcoxen was sent by the residents of Carroll to secure a cannon from Jackson County for use against the Saints. The weapon was soon secured and mounted for service. At this point, the non-Mormons assembled on the outskirts of DeWitt organized into a formal military body. Congreave Jackson, of Howard County, was chosen Brigadier General; Ebenezer Price, Clay County, was elected Colonel; while Shingleton Vaughan and Sashel Woods, both of Carroll County, were installed as Lt. Colonel and Major respectively. After ten days of intensive drilling, the troops were held to be “combat ready.”143
Meanwhile, the Mormons received reinforcements also. John E. Page arrived in DeWitt during the week of September 28, with a company of Canadian Saints, thirty wagons in number.144 A few days later, October 2, “the mob assembled from one to two hundred strong and encamped on and old camp meeting ground, at ‘Old Cross,’ one mile from DeWitt.” At the same time, a second group assembled on the opposite side of the Missouri River to prevent the Mormons from fleeing into Saline County.145 At the same time, “every precaution was taken” by the non-Mormons “to turn back the Mormon immigrants who continued to reinforce DeWitt.”146
The first real skirmish of the Mormon War in Carroll County occurred on October 4. According to Joseph Smith, the Saints were fired upon by their enemies on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. On the latter date, the Mormons “were compelled to return the fire in self-defense.” The result was the wounding of a man from Saline County.147 The following is an account of this brief battle from the non-Mormon point of view: [199]
The plan of attack was to form in regular order and move down the road to the main town. One of the men, Mr. A. Clinkscales, stepped down the hill to a spring for water. As he was returning to his company, he was ordered to halt and fired upon by the Mormons from the brush. The attacking party was soon convinced that the enemy was nearer than was supposed. While the officers were examing the brush and the neighboring grounds, the Mormons fired a volley from the hollow below. Some temporary breastworks had been thrown up, and the fire was returned. No injury was done to either party. Advancing thirty or forty steps, the settlers could plainly see a man passing among the Mormons, encouraging the men to stand firm and giving directions to shoot low. A steady fire was maintained. The Mormon bullets began to take a lower range, and the attacking troops could see the bark falling from the trees just above their heads. Nevertheless, they became animated with the sport, and no serious casualty occurred till a Mr. Williams, a member of the Saline county company, was struck by a passing ball. . . .
After due reconnaisance of the Mormon position, it was thought advisable not to charge the works, and a call was made for several sharpshooters to step forward and silence the Mormon officer behind the brush who could plainly be heard encouraging his men to stand their ground. . . . Soon afterward, the whole force of Mormons evacuated the works and fled to some log houses in which they found themselves comparatively secure from attack; or if attacked, they were quite able to defend themselves.
The Carroll County forces likewise returned to their camp for the purpose of awaiting reinforcements.148
The next week was a fearful one for the Saints. John Murdock reports that he was “Continually employed, day and night,” in guarding the city and in traveling “from sentinel to sentinel, to keep them on their duty.”149 Food supplies, as well as suitable living quarters, were scanty at first; but the situation became critical at this time. Sidney Rigdon describes the besieged condition of the Saints thus:
The mob commenced committing their depredations on the citizens, by not suffering them to procure the materials for building, keeping them shut up in town, not allowing them to go out to get provisions, driving off their cattle, and preventing the owners from going [200] in search of them. In this way the citizens [of DeWitt] were driven to the greatest extremities, actually suffering for food and every comfort of life; in consequence of which, there was much sickness, and many died. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The extremities to which the people were driven were very great, suffering with much sickness, without shelter, and deprived of all aid, either medical or any other kind, and being without food or the privilege of getting it, and betrayed by everyone who made the least pretension to friendship.150
Meanwhile, on October 3, Henry Root, the man most responsible for the settling of the Mormons at DeWitt, went before Judge William P. Morton of Carroll County and made affidavit charging the non-Mormons with firing upon the peaceful inhabitants of DeWitt without provocation. He then carried his sworn statement to General Parks who was still encamped in Daviess County as ordered. Parks responded by leading part of his men to DeWitt, after first notifying his superior, General Atchison, of his move. The latter, on receipt of Parks’ letter, informed the Governor that he had authorized his subordinate to call for as many troops from the first brigade of the Third Division as was deemed necessary.151
As formerly noted, the non-Mormons who were in arms were composed of residents of several counties. The citizens of Chariton, to whom an appeal for aid was also sent, were once again unwilling to furnish men without an investigation. John W. Price and William K. Logan were therefore appointed to look into the matter. Their arrival in DeWitt on October 4 coincided with the events described in the previous paragraphs. In reporting to those who sent them, the two men stated that they found the “citizens of Carroll and adjoining counties, assembled near DeWitt and well armed.” Said they:
We inquired into the nature of the difficulties. They [i.e., the non-Mormons] said that there was a large portion of the people called Mormons, embodied in DeWitt from different parts of the world. They were unwilling to let them remain there, which was the cause of their waging war against them. To use the gentleman’s language, they are waging a war of extermination, or to remove them from said county. We also went to DeWitt to see the situation of the Mormons. We found them in the act of defense, begging for peace, and wishing for the civil authorities to repair there [201] as early as possible, to settle the difficulties between the parties.152
Howard County also sent a committee to investigate. William F. Dunnica, a member of this group, reported that he found citizens under arms from Carroll, Saline, and Chariton counties, numbering about two hundred in all. He avers that he and his party attempted to “bring about a reconciliation between the parties,” and achieved the following stipulation from the non-Mormons: that if the Mormons would leave Carroll County and never return, the citizens would pay the Saints for their property “with 10 per cent interest thereon and also return them the amount of their expenses in coming and going out of the county.” The Saints are said to have given a negative reply to the proposition because they had been driven from place to place time and again and were now “determined that they should be driven no more, and that they were determined, every one of them, to die on the ground” rather than give in. The report also states that the recent arrival of nearly 100 Mormon families rendered the plight of the Saints a desperate one, and this, together with the fact that the forces in DeWitt had been augmented by the arrival of some troops from Far West, had caused “the mob” to decline to attack “until reinforced from other counties.”153 The article concludes:
The commanders of this mob are Dr. Austin (Gen.) and Col. Jones. The Mormons are commanded by George M. Hinkle. I don’t think I ever saw more resolute and determined men than the Mormons. It was our unanimous opinion that if some force sufficient to suppress them does not interpose immediately, there will be great slaughter and many lives lost; some of our first citizens have engaged in it. Our country is in great excitement, and there is no telling where it will end.154
In addition to Dunnica, Howard County had also sent Judge James Erickson in the role of arbiter. Soon after his arrival, Erickson is said to have pled with the non-Mormon commander, Congreave Jackson,155 for permission to intervene and, if possible, prevent bloodshed. Jackson agreed, providing Erickson would compel the Mormons to “pay the citizens for all their cattle which had been killed” as part of the terms of surrender.156 [202] According to Erickson, Hinkle refused these terms, and the Judge remained in DeWitt all one night pleading acceptance.157
The determination of the Saints to stand firm may have been partially bolstered by the arrival of some troops from Far West under the command of Lyman Wight. These reinforcements arrived on October 6, having reached the besieged town in a round-about manner.158 Soon after, Wight and Hinkle allegedly told Erickson that they intended to “fight it out on that line if it took all summer.”159
No incident marred the day of October 6, for the non-Mormons awaited reinforcements. On the 7th, some of the residents of Howard County who were under arms wrote their friends, pleading for help and painting a very dismal picture of their situation. The letter is given in full as follows:
Gentlemen: This county is the theatre of a civil war, and will soon be one of desolation, unless the citizens of the adjoining counties lend immediate assistance. The infatuated Mormons have assembled in large numbers in DeWitt, prepared for war, and are continually pouring in from all quarters where these detestable fanatics reside.
The war has commenced; blood has been shed—they shed it; they waylaid and fired upon a body of citizens of Carroll county and wounded some. They are the aggressors—they have been guilty of high treason; they have violated the laws and shed the blood of our citizens; and we think this one of the cases of emergency in which the people ought to take the execution of justice into their own hands. Speedy action is necessary; the progress of their imposition, insult, and oppression ought to be checked in the beginning. The people must act together—they must act energetically.
It is now twelve o’clock at night—the Mormons are lurking around our camp, and making preparations to attack us before day. Our numbers are less than theirs, and we will have to act on the defensive until we procure more assistance. About two hours ago, the Mormons were reinforced by sixty-two mounted men, well-armed, [203] from Far West; they are arriving every night; two nights ago, it is thought, one hundred came to DeWitt for the purpose of making war upon the people of this county.
Under such circumstances, you cannot fail to come forward immediately. Can you not be here by Sunday or Monday at farthest? Come by fives and tens, if you cannot come by companies; bring all you can. This is not false excitement or idle rumor—it is the cold reality too real. We will anticipate you immediately, and shall expect your cooperation and assistance in expelling the fanatics, who are mostly aliens by birth and aliens in principle from the county. We must be enemies to the common enemies of our law, religion, and country.160
The foregoing letter was accompanied by a statement from Adam C. Woods, a noted resident of Howard County, to the effect that the Mormons outnumbered the non-Mormons by three to one. Woods’ attachment was likely for the purpose of offsetting the favorable report on the Mormons which Dunnica and Erickson had sent home.161 When the letter and its attachment arrived in Howard County, General John B. Clark, a local resident, wrote to Governor Boggs and informed him that the men who signed the letter were personally known to him as “worthy, prudent, and patriotic citizens of Howard County” and that “nothing but a case of absolute necessity to protect their friends would enduce them to engage as they have.”162
The evidence shows that the non-Mormons overstated their case. The Saints were neither the aggressors nor were they guilty of high treason. Their only purpose in being under arms was to protect their homes and families. As for the rapid influx of Mormons into the County, part of them had come hoping to find a new home, part had come to assist their brethren in defending their lives. Had the Saints possessed the aggressive intentions ascribed to them as well as superior numbers, it might be wondered why they did not attack the non-Mormons prior to the arrival of additional troops.
It is true, of course, that a number of the Saints in DeWitt were United States aliens. The Church of Jesus Christ knew no boundaries in its appeal to the children of God. In justifying their cause, the non-Mormons said: “We must be enemies to the common enemies of our laws, religion, and country,” the intended implication being that it was the Mormons who were the sinners, not those gathered against them. Said Joseph Smith [204] sadly: “While the people will lie and the authorities will uphold them, what justice can honest men expect.”163 The answer was not long in coming.
While awaiting reinforcements, the non-Mormons made every effort to cut off those Mormons who were moving to reinforce their beleaguered brethren. “Guards were posted, pickets stationed, to prevent the besieged from obtaining supplies sent them from Far West.” As matters assumed even more alarming proportions, the non-Mormons prepared to wage “all-out war:”
Timber was cut for breastworks, projectiles for the cannon fashioned of chairs, scrap iron and nails. At this time, the besiegers had increased to four or five hundred men. The troops were brigaded, military discipline enforced, war was on in earnest. The needs of the army were supplied by patriotic farmers around DeWitt.164
The arrival of General Parks with his troops added little hope for the residents of DeWitt. One of Park’s principal officers, Colonel Claude Jones, was commander of the Carroll County regiment and also a leading anti-Mormon. Jones refused a direct order to call out three companies of his men and thus prevent a collision. “None of the Carroll regiment is with me,” lamented Parks in a letter to General Atchison.165 He also expressed the belief that no attack would be made before Wednesday or Thursday owing to the numerical superiority of the Mormons. With the arrival of reinforcements, however, Parks thought it likely that Dr. W. W. Austin would make “a second attempt” to drive out the Saints. Hence Parks concluded:
Nothing seems so much in demand here (to hear the Carroll county men talk) as Mormon scalps; as yet they are scarce. I believe Hinkle, with his present force and position, will beat Austin with five hundred of his troops. The Mormons say they will die before they will be driven out. As yet they have acted on the defensive as far as I can learn. It is my settled opinion that the Mormons will have no rest until they leave; whether they will or not, time only can tell.166
Those engaged against the non-Mormons at DeWitt were somewhat critical of Parks’ reluctance to move against their enemies. Parley P. Pratt [205] states that the General “made some show of trying to prevent the outrages” but was forced at length to inform the Mormons that his forces were so small and many of them so in favor of rebellion themselves, that “it was useless to look to them any longer for protection.”167 Joseph Smith charges that Parks “never made the first attempt to disperse the mob, and when asked the reason of his conduct, he always replied that [Samuel] Bogart and his company were mutinous and mobocratic, that he dare not attempt a dispersion of the mob.”168
Appeals to the Civil Authorities Unheeded
In their perilous condition, the Saints appealed several times to local agents of government for help. Their requests were not met with success.169 Eventually, the decision was made to appeal directly to the Chief Executive by means of some trusted individual, not of the Church, who was thoroughly acquainted with the situation and did not partake of the mob spirit. “Several gentlemen of standing and respectability who lived in the immediate vicinity . . . came forward,” writes Joseph Smith, and “offered their services to go and present the case to the governor.”170 A Mr. Caldwell, long-time resident of the area and owner of a ferry on the Grand River about three miles from DeWitt, was selected for the task.171
Caldwell left DeWitt on October 6, 1838, amply supplied with affidavits and letters stating the Mormon case. Three days later, however, he returned with news that the Governor had said: “The quarrel is between the Mormons and the mob; and they must fight it out.”172 Speaking of this same fact, the Missouri Republican Daily carried the following statement:
About the 9th or 10th of last month, when about 80 Mormon families had been [i.e., were being] expelled from Carroll county and driven into Daviess, a message was sent by them to the State Executive, praying for his interposition in their behalf. The reply to that message was that already the State had been put to a great deal of expense on account of these difficulties, [206] and that he [the Governor] could see no cause to interpose, thus leaving the parties to fight it out.173
This statement marked the turning point in the DeWitt difficulties and blasted whatever hopes the Saints may have entertained for executive relief. Up to this point, the Saints had been led to believe that the civil authorities were sympathetic, if powerless, to their cause. Caldwell’s report, if true, dispelled such a belief and cast a grave shadow over any hopes the Saints may have had for continuing in Carroll County.
The Governor’s response is a matter of some controversy. Boggs had long been an outspoken opponent of the Mormons and was known to have sanctioned, if not actively participated in, their expulsion from Jackson County.174 Later, however, when the DeWitt situation was settled, John Corrill was informed by Governor Boggs that Caldwell’s report was “a mistake, for he [i.e., the Executive] was in St. Louis at the time; and, moreover, General Atchison and other officers had all power to act when necessary without an order from him.”175
The Governor told the Missouri Legislature a similar story at a later date. According to Boggs’ biographer, Joseph F. Gordon, the Governor attended a formal dinner in his honor in St. Louis during the middle of October, 1838. He was absent from his home in Jefferson City from October 15th to the 22nd, but was not gone at the time Caldwell allegedly came. Even so, the Governor told the Legislature:
I received information of the partial interruption of the peace in DeWitt, Carroll County, whilst absent from the seat of government, but took no order on the subject, knowing that the officer in command of the militia [Atchison] had ample force to preserve the peace.176
It cannot be, however, that this was the first word the Governor had concerning the difficulties, even allowing that Caldwell did not visit in Jefferson City as he claimed. He had, prior to this time, received intelligence from the Saints themselves,177 from General Atchison,178 [207] as well as the following letter from General Samuel D. Lucas:179
Dear Sir:—As we passed down the Missouri river, on Monday last [October 1st], we saw a large force of Mormons at DeWitt, in Carroll county, under arms. Their commander, Colonel Hinkle, formerly of Caldwell county, informed me that there were two hundred, and that they were hourly expecting an attack from the citizens of Carroll county, who, he said, were then encamped only six miles from there, waiting for reinforcements from Saline county. Hinkle said they had determined to fight. News had just been received at this place, through Dr. Scott of Fayette, that a fight took place on yesterday, and that several persons were killed. Dr. Scott informed me that he got his information from a gentlemen of respectability, who had heard the firing of their guns as he passed down. If a fight has actually taken place, of which I have no doubt, it will create excitement in the whole of upper Missouri, and those base and degraded beings will be exterminated from the face of the earth. If one of the citizens of Carroll should be killed, before five days, I believe that there will be from four to five thousand volunteers in the field against the Mormons, and nothing but their blood will satisfy them. It is an unpleasant state of affairs. The remedy I do not pretend to suggest to your Excellency. My troops of the Fourth Division were only dismissed subject to further orders, and can be called back into the field at an hours warning.180
It would appear, then, that the Governor had ample information upon which to make a move had he been so inclined. Said Parley P. Pratt:
Several messages were . . . sent to the governor, but he was utterly deaf to everything which called for the protection of our society, or any of the citizens who belonged to it. But on the other hand, he hearkened to the insinuations of the mobbers; and actually presumed to give orders for the raising of several thousand volunteers from the middle counties of the state to march against the Mormons.181
As previously pointed out, the slow process of communication took its toll during the so-called “Mormon War.” By the time new orders or [208] advice arrived in the field, the crisis had often passed and a new one had arisen, thus necessitating new orders. In this case, however, assuming that Caldwell’s report was correct, the time lapse was only three days and the crisis had not passed. Any orders or help the Governor had been willing to send would have undoubtedly been gratefully received by the residents of DeWitt.
On the same day that Caldwell returned, General Atchison wrote to Boggs and informed the Governor that the troops under General Doniphan had been ordered to Carroll County to cooperate with General Parks. Atchison expressed doubt, however, concerning the willingness of these troops to assist, and said: “I have no doubt but your Excellency, if you should deem it your duty to proceed to Carroll County, could restore peace. . . . If you deem it necessary, . . . I would respectfully suggest that it be done as quickly as possible.”182 This was the second such suggestion made by Atchison, but again the Governor never came.
The Saints Agree to Depart
When it became apparent that the Saints could not maintain their rights in DeWitt without the shedding of blood or assuming the offensive, Henry Root and David Thomas, the men responsible for settling the Saints at DeWitt in the first place, urged the Mormon people to leave in peace. They claimed to have assurances from the non-Mormons that if the Saints would depart, no one would be hurt and the Mormons would be paid for all losses which they had sustained. To this end, Root and Thomas pledged themselves as mediators, and the Saints agreed to leave. Speaking of the decision to depart, Joseph Smith wrote:
We had now no hopes whatever of successfully resisting the mob, who kept constantly increasing; our provisions were entirely exhausted and [were] wearied out by continually standing on guard. . . . Seeing no prospect of relief, the Governor having turned a deaf ear to our entreaties, the militia [under General Parks] having mutinied, and the greater part of them ready to join the mob, the brethren came to the conclusion to leave that place and seek shelter elsewhere.183
At this point, several persons presented themselves and offered to assist Root and Thomas in their roles as mediators. Judge Erickson, William F. Dunnica, and William D. Swinney, all of Howard County, agreed to represent the Mormons; Dr. W. W. Austin, A. Hancock, A. C. Blackwell, Colonel Shingleton Vaughan,184 David W. Walker, and Benjamin Cooper were [209] appointed for the non-Mormons.185
Final preparations for departure were completed on the morning of October 11, 1838. The formal evacuation began that afternoon. In describing the exodus, one eye-witness wrote:
There was something pitiful in the condition of the Mormons after the surrender. The majority of them were poor and had their all invested in the settlement of DeWitt. Winter was approaching, and they were forced from their little, but comfortable, homes into the inhospitable weather of a Missouri autumn and late fall, with their wives and children, and all they possessed on earth. But they loaded up their property on the wagons, and the long process evacuated the place, the men with heads depressed, the women in tears, and all casting longing, lingering looks behind, as they left the place where they had hoped to live their lives out in peace, plenty, and quietude.186
The exodus was accomplished with the aid of seventy wagons belonging to the Saints at DeWitt. The journey to Far West took about two days to complete.187
Aftermath
It is fully possible that the residents of Carroll County intended to indemnify the Saints for their losses as agreed, but the promise was never kept. In conversing with some of the residents of the County at a later time, John Corrill claims that he was informed that the non-Mormons “did not mean to pay as they had agreed.”188 Joseph Smith states that “the people of DeWitt [non-Mormons] utterly failed to fulfill their pledge. . . .”189 Switzler confirms this fact,190 and the History of Carroll County states: [210]
In less than a week [after the Saints’ departure], the commissioners were ready to make the final settlement and met in Glasgow for that purpose. They were just ready to proceed to business, when a messenger reached the town from Messrs. Dickson, Wilcoxen, and others at Carrollton, bearing a letter for the commissioners which summoned them home at once. . . . The letter stated that the leading men of the Mormons in Far West had annulled and set aside Col. Hinkle’s agreement, and avowed a determination to maintain possession of their property in Carroll County. A force from Far West, it was said, was moving southward, and Ray county had sent Captain Bogart to the northern part of that county to prevent a movement against Richmond, and Carrollton was unprotected. The commissioners left Glasgow shortly after noon, and reached Carrollton at midnight.191
The rumor was untrue as will later appear,192 but it had the immediate effect of scuttling the promised negotiations for settlement. In less than two weeks, the Saints were in worse difficulty than ever, and no further attempts were made to indemnify them for the losses at DeWitt. William F. Dunnica, in summing up the feelings entertained by the non-Mormons against the Saints, said:
I am inclined to believe that the counties adjoining Caldwell will never be content until they [i.e., the Saints] leave the State. Had the Mormons refused to sell on the day of the last proposition which was made to them, it would have been a serious matter to both parties, for there was but little difference in their forces, and the citizens had come to a determination to make, if possible, a successful attack on the very day the compromise was effected.193
In the end, Dunnica’s observations were to prove prophetic. The residents of counties adjoining Caldwell were not contented until they had forced the Saints to leave the State. The difficulties described in this chapter were but preludes to greater difficulties yet to come. [211]
Summary and Conclusions
This chapter illustrates the feelings of dislike which the non-Mormons of upper Missouri in 1838 entertained against the Saints. The rapid migrations of the Mormons into areas commonly reserved in the public mind for non-Mormons only was a great contributor to the deep resentments harbored by the older residents. Political fears also were a source of irritation and distrust.
But these factors were merely symptoms of the sickness which troubled northern Missouri and not the disease itself. The residents of Carroll County, for example, simply had a dislike for everything “Mormon” and did not want the Saints around. The general unpopularity of the Saints which stemmed from their unusual teachings, practices, and social cohesion made it easy for their enemies to establish any evil charge against in the public mind, whether it was true or not. And, with few exceptions, no one appears to have felt that it was necessary to inquire into the Latter-day Saint side of the story.
Nor do the non-Mormons appear to have been above lying or stretching the truth in order to secure desired ends. Numerous charges of extortion, of unwillingness to submit to legal examination, and of warlike alliances with the Indians were laid upon the Mormons. Letters couched in desperate terms pled for immediate help in preventing the Mormons from annihilating an entire population. At a later time when non-Mormons and apostates charged Lyman Wight and Joseph Smith with having treasonable designs against the State of Missouri, it was a simple matter to convince the public of the truth of the tale. It had been told often enough, and everyone had heard it several times.
Those in a position to secure justice for the Saints were often unwilling to do so. William Penniston did not want them to vote, Adam Black lied about them, Captain A. C. Pollard willingly loaned government arms to be used against them, and Claude Jones and Samuel Bogart refused to obey military orders to act in their defense. Had it not been for the timely aid of men like Generals Atchison and Doniphan, the history set forth in this chapter would undoubtedly have been different.
The Mormons were aware of the justness of their cause and appear to have felt that the State would protect them in their rights. At least two appeals were made by General Atchison to Governor Boggs urging the latter to visit the scene of difficulty and see for himself the true state of affairs. But Boggs seems to have been unwilling to be drawn into the conflict at this point. Hence the Saints were, in large measure, under obligation to act in their own defense. This they did, to the complete satisfaction of Generals Doniphan, Atchison, and Parks, each of whom wrote letters to that effect to the military superiors.
The slow process of communication by mail is readily apparent throughout this period. So is the fact that the non-Mormons were unwilling to tolerate the Saints any longer in northern Missouri. Expressions like “extermination” and “must be driven from the State” were beginning to be applied against the Saints in various quarters. The Governor’s official order, still less than a month away, was merely an echo of popular sentiment. [212]
1. James H. Perkins, Annals of the West (Cincinnati: J. A. and U. P. James, printers, 1847), p. 580. See also Lyman Wight’s testimony on this point, DHC, 3:441.
2. This was the same Judge Morin who came to Far West in early May, 1838, seeking the vote of the Saints. As formerly observed, the majority of the Mormon people were of Democratic persuasion.
3. Lee, op. cit., p. 56–57.
4. Times and Seasons (March 1840), 1:65–66.
5. Lee, op. cit., p. 57.
6. DHC, 3:48.
7. JH, July 29, 1838. See also Anson Call’s “Autobiography,” p. 6, Latter-day Saint Historian’s Office, Salt Lake City, Utah.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. DHC, 3:55.
11. Ibid., pp. 62–63.
12. Ibid., p. 85.
13. Deseret News, September 10, 1904.
14. Ephraim Owen, Petition to Congress for Redress of Grievances of the Latter-day Saints, U. S. House Document, No. 42, 25th Congress, 3rd Session (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1839), p. 30. Williams won the election.
15. JH, August 6, 1838, Butler’s account.
16. Ibid., account of John D. Lee and Levi Stewart. See also Corrill, op. cit., p. 27 and Greene, op. cit., p. 19.
17. JH, August 6, 1838, Butler’s account.
18. Some accounts give the name as Welding rather than Weldon.
19. Brown was a Revolutionary War veteran and was allegedly informed by someone in Gallatin that he had “no more right to vote than a Negro.” Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, U. S. House Document No. 22, 26th Congress, 1st Session (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1840), p. 6.
20. Lee, op. cit., p. 58–60.
21. Deseret News, September 10, 1904.
22. Lee, op. cit., p. 60. The Danites, together with their secret signs and covenants, will be discussed at length in the following chapter.
23. According to Joseph H. McGee, the election took place “on the southwest corner of the public square, corner of both Grand and Maple Streets, in a little frame house, 12 by 14.” See “Central States Mission Notes,” Church Historian’s Office, Salt Lake City, article entitled “Gallatin.”
24. It is presumed that Lee and Butler were initiated into the Danite Order sometime in the month of June or July, presumably at Adam-ondi-Ahman. See infra, p. 213.
25. JH, August 6, 1838, Butler’s account. Greene, op. cit., p. 19, states that Weldon was assaulted by Perry Durphy, but all other accounts agree that it was Riley Stewart.
26. Lee, op. cit., p. 60. It is thought that Lee’s assessment that nine skulls were broken and three hundred men participated in the battle is too high. See DHC, 3:59.
27. Deseret News, September 10, 1904. At least six of these men are known to have been members of the Danite Order.
28. Britton, op. cit., p. 9.
29. Lee, op. cit., p. 60.
30. JH, August 6, 1838, Lee-Stewart account.
31. John L. Butler, “Autobiography of John L. Butler, 1808–1861,” pp. 11–12.
32. Says McGee, Britton op. cit., p. 9: “The Mormons who took part in this fight left the county night and moved their families to Far West, . . . the stronghold of the Momons.”
33. Lee, op. cit., p. 60.
34. Corrill, op. cit., p. 34.
35. Avard has been linked without question to the formation of the so-called “Danite Band” which will be discussed in the following chapter.
36. DHC, 3:70. The First Presidency journeyed in a company commanded by George W. Robinson, Sidney Rigdon’s son-in-law and supposedly a Danite commander directly under Avard. See infra, p. 220, and Ibid., p. 58.
37. Peck, op. cit., p. 62 and Corrill, op. cit., p. 34. Swartzell, op. cit., p. 29, states that Avard called out the troops, but Rigdon spurred them on. The statement that all who made the journey were Danites is truly misleading. It is known, for example, that none of the First Presidency belonged to that group. See infra, p. 232.
38. Document, p. 2, Avard’s testimony.
39. DHC, 3:59.
40. As formerly noted, Black was an avowed enemy of the Saints, having “personally ordered several” Mormons “to leave the county” of Daviess. Ibid., pp. 59, 71.
41. Swartzell, op. cit., p. 28–29.
42. DHC, 3:71. This sworn statement by Joseph Smith agrees in all particulars with those of Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight later made at Nauvoo. See Ibid., pp. 405, 441. Hyrum confirms Joseph’s statement the majority of Avard’s party went for water because “the springs and wells” of Daviess County “were dried up.” Ibid., 405.
43. Ibid., pp. 59–60. The Saints believed that Black was attached to a mob because he had formerly sold his farm near Adam-ondi-Ahman to Vinson Knight, acting Bishop in Daviess County, and then had allegedly joined with a “band of mobbers” in order to recover his original possession while at the same time keeping the money he had received for the same. Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, p. 7.
44. Missouri Argus (Sept. 27, 1838), 4:1.
45. Greene, op. cit., p. 19.
46. DHC, 3:59–60. It is interesting to note that Black names some of those also known to have been involved in the fight at Gallatin two days previous.
47. Ibid., p. 72.
48. Greene, op. cit., p. 19.
49. Swartzell, op. cit., p. 30.
50. Document, p. 2, Avard’s testimony.
51. History of Daviess and Gentry Counties, Missouri (Topeka: Historical Publishing Co., 1922), p. 95.
52. DHC, 3:60. According to Hyrum Smith, this meeting was requested of Black by Joseph Smith; according to Lyman Wight, Black requested that it be held. Ibid., pp. 405, 441.
53. Ibid., p. 60.
54. Lee, op, cit., p. 65.
55. DHC, loc. cit.
56. Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 3, 1838), 15:2.
57. About this time, George A. Smith and some friends went to Penniston’s mill to grind their grain but were informed by Penniston that the mill was closed to Mormons. Smith replied: “Our horses go onto that wheel in their turn, it makes no difference who says they shan’t!” Smith, op. cit., p. 108. Whether this was the incident Penniston had in mind or some other is unknown.
58. DHC, 3:61. Penniston’s testimony was also sworn to by William Bowman, Wilson McKinney, and John Netherton.
59. Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 3, 1838), 15:2.
60. That the citizens of Ray County did not wait to hear the Mormon version of what was occurring in Daviess is evidence of the fact that the unpopularity of the Saints in the public mind made it easy to accept as fact any charge, however untrue.
61. Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 3, 1838), 15:2.
62. Ibid.
63. Joseph Smith was absent on another visit to the Saints in Daviess.
64. DHC, 3:62.
65. Swartzell, op. cit., p. 32. This writer claims that after the meeting, Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight retired for a private consultation, the purpose or the outcome of which no one knew. Following this, the Prophet and the Committee from Ray left for their homes.
66. These reports apparently stemmed from statements made by Joseph Smith that he would not submit further to “vexatious lawsuits.” See supra, p. 86, note 68.
67. DHC, 3:63.
68. Newspaper Clippings About the Mormons in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, etc., 6:177–179. Special Collections Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
69. Corrill, op. cit., p. 34.
70. See infra., p. 188. This was the first such call, but it was not the last.
71. DHC, 3:69.
72. See Ibid., pp. 64–65. Joseph Smith’s reaction to this document was as follows: “This . . . shows him [Black] in his true light—a detestable, unprincipled mobocrat and perjured man.” Ibid., p. 65.
73. Correspondence, Orders, etc., in Relation to the Recent Disturbances with the Mormons (Jefferson City: Published by Order of the Missouri State Legislature, 1839), pp. 20–21, hereafter referred to as Correspondence. Similar letters were also sent to Generals John B. Clark, Samuel D. Lucas, David Willock, Lewis Bolton, Henry W. Crowther, and Thomas D. Grant, also division commanders.
74. Ibid., pp. 15–16.
75. Ibid., pp. 15, 17.
76. This is a clear reference to Lyman Wight and his alleged resistance to civil authority.
77. DHC, 3:69.
78. Corrill, op. cit., p. 34.
79. DHC, 3:69.
80. Ibid. On this same day, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon commenced the study of law under the tutelage of Atchison and Doniphan. The Prophet expressed the hope that he and Rigdon might be admitted to the bar within a year. Ibid.
81. Ibid., p. 72. This “out-of-the-way” place was chosen because the Prophet “thought it not wisdom to make my appearance before the public at the county seat of Daviess County in consequence of the many threats” made against him.
82. See supra, pp. 175–77.
83. DHC, 3:72.
84. Ibid. Of Raglin, Joseph Smith wrote: “Raglin is a regular mob character.” Ibid.
85. Ibid.
86. Ibid., p. 73.
87. Ibid. Greene, op. cit., p. 19, states that no security was required of the prisoners for the $500 bond which they posted, thus, “showing that he [King] thought nothing of the [i.e., Black’s] affidavit.” Joseph Smith states, however, that bond was given “with sufficient securities.” DHC, 3:73.
88. Missouri Argus (September 27, 1838), 4:1.
89. George A. Smith, op. cit., 110. The legal papers growing out of this trial are on file in the Missouri State Historical Library in Columbia, Missouri. They have been reprinted in the Journal of History, 3:485–86. In preserving the original orthography, the editors have presented an illuminating, if unspoken, commentary on the state of things, educationally speaking, in northern Missouri in 1838.
90. Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 19, 1838), 15:2.
91. Ibid.
92. The Jeffersonian Republican (Sept. 22, 1838), 10:2.
93. DHC, 3:73.
94. John Tanner, Scraps of Biography (“Faith Promoting Series,” Book 10; Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Press, 1883), p. 33.
95. DHC, 3:432–33. Joseph Smith allegedly told Allred: “I want you to ride as fast as your horses can carry you, . . . and you will get those arms.” Ibid., 73.
96. Tanner, op. cit., pp. 33–34.
97. Holbrook, op. cit., p. 42.
98. DHC, 3:75. For a full account of this affair from Joseph Smith’s point of view, see Ibid., pp. 74–77; see also Corrill, op. cit., p. 35.
99. DHC, 3:75.
100. Ibid. Why King did not inquire of Pollard before sending his reply to the Court’s request is unknown.
101. Correspondence, pp. 18–19. Joseph Smith refers to this letter as “containing all the falsehood and lies that villains and murderers could invent. . . .” DHC, 3:76.
102. Correspondence, pp. 24–25. Joseph Smith was very critical of Doniphan’s release of the prisoners. DHC, 3:79.
103. Correspondence, p. 28. The Mormons referred to in Dryden’s warrant were those charged by Adam Black with assault. See supra, p. 177. Learning from the peace officers that they were having difficulty serving their writs, Governor Boggs directed General Atchison to raise a force sufficient to help “bring the offenders to justice.” Correspondence, pp. 22–23. George A. Smith, however, claims that he was in attendance at the trial at John Raglin’s home and presented himself to Sheriff Morgan of Daviess, having learned that the officer of the law held a writ against him. The sheriff, however, made no move whatever to arrest Smith. George A. Smith, op. cit., p. 110.
104. Correspondence, pp. 19–20.
105. Ibid., 24. Doniphan was general of the first brigade of the third division of Missouri militia. His immediate subordinates were Major Lightbone and Captains Moss, Whittington, and Price. See Missouri Argus (Sept. 27, 1838), 4:1.
106. Corrill, op. cit., p. 35.
107. Correspondence, pp. 24–25.
108. DHC, 3:442.
109. Ibid. The “mob” here referred to is Doniphan’s own troops.
110. Correspondence, p. 26.
111. At least one Mormon source was critical of the generals for making no attempt to disperse the mob, even acknowledging that the “sympathies of their men [i.e., the generals’] were in their [i.e., the non-Mormons’] favor.” Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, p. 7. No doubt the generals could have acted more decisively, but they appear to have been anxious to avoid, if possible, the kind of a collision from which there would be no turning back. Hence Doniphan dismissed his men to return home, and neither he nor Atchison made any move to engage in an all-out clash with the non-Mormon forces.
112. Correspondence, p. 27. This was the first of at least four appeals from Atchison to the Governor to come to the scene of trouble for a firsthand view. Later in the same letter, he said: “Much blood will be spilt, and much suffering ensue, if a blow is once struck without the interposition of your Excellency.” Ibid.
113. Ibid.
114. The Boonville Guards were the crack Missouri troops of the 1st Division.
115. The same day that he left for Daviess, the Governor had ordered Major Generals Samuel D. Lucas, Lewis Bolton, John B. Clark, and Thomas D. Grant “to march immediately to the scene of difficulties and cooperate with General Atchison and the other officers in restoring quiet. . . .” See Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 25, 1838), 15:2.
116. Ibid., and Correspondence, p. 31.
117. While awaiting trial, George A. Smith reports that he was accosted by a man named Riggs and asked to reveal the secrets of the Danites. Smith replied that he would do so, providing Riggs would agree to go through the ceremonies in due order and thus become a Danite himself. Riggs agreed, whereupon Smith split a stick and put it upon Riggs’ nose and told him to get down upon his knees. Once again Riggs complied, much to the merriment of his comrades. At this point one of Riggs’ close friends chided him for letting a “G______d______ Mormon” impose upon him in this fashion. At this point, Riggs himself became very angry; nevertheless, from then on, according to Smith, Riggs was known to his associates as a “Danite.” George A. Smith, op. cit., p. 111.
118. Ibid.
119. Missouri Republican Daily (October 1, 1838), 15:2.
120. Correspondence, 32–34. Parks’ communication to the Governor is quite lengthy. Why he wrote directly to the Commander-in-Chief rather than to his military superior, General Atchison, is unknown.
121. See George A. Smith, op cit., pp. 112–13 and Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, pp. 8–9.
122. DHC, 3:84–85.
123. For a brief account of their journey, see DHC, 3:241.
124. Correspondence, pp. 33–34. Wight’s agreement appears to have been urged by Joseph Smith. DHC, 3:84.
125. Correspondence, p. 34.
126. History of Carroll County, pp. 250–51.
127. Ibid., p. 249. Sashel Woods’ name is sometimes spelled Sashiel. No mention is made in Mormon annals concerning this meeting or the skirmish which occurred on July 4.
128. A. C. Blackwell, Historical Atlas of Carroll County, Missouri (Philadelphia: Edwards Bros., 1876), see article on “DeWitt.” Only six or eight votes were given in behalf of the Mormons.
129. John Taylor, encamped at DeWitt in the process of immigrating from Canada, was present when these men made their call. “I had heretofore looked upon gospel ministers as messengers of peace; here they came not only in a war capacity, but as leaders of an armed mob. . . .” B. H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1963), p. 56.
130. Switzler, op. cit., p. 245.
131. Murdock, op. cit., p. 31.
132. Thorp, as quoted in Britton, op. cit., p. 85.
133. Smith, op. cit., p. 113.
134. Missouri Republican Daily (August 25, 1838), 15:1.
135. Albert Watkins (ed.), A History in Serial Short Stories of the Valleys of the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers (Lincoln: State Historical Society of Nebraska, 1922), p. 81.
136. Correspondence, p. 17. Sapp admitted to having taken the Danite oath himself.
137. JH, September 10, 1838.
138. DHC, 3:77. See also Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, p. 57.
139. History of Carroll County, p. 251.
140. See supra, p. 189.
141. Prior to this time, the “Committee on Safety” had notified the residents of surrounding counties to “hold themselves in readiness to give assistance if the same should be required.” The residents of Saline County resolved on August 21 to help expel the Mormons from Carroll; the residents of Howard County did the same on August 30. Missouri Republican Daily (August 25, 1838), 15:1.
142. Correspondence, pp. 29–30. See also DHC, 3:82–83. The Governor’s failure to respond on this occasion as well as at a later time possibly gave rise during this critical period to some unwise remarks by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. See Document, pp. 3, 14–15, 20–21, 24, 32, testimony of Avard, Corrill, James C. Owens, Peck, George M. Hinkle, and Addison Price.
143. Switzler, op. cit., pp. 242–43. According to the Times and Seasons (April 1840), 1:82, Sashel Woods, the Presbyterian minister, tended to prayers night and morning in the non-Mormon camp.
144. DHC, 3:85. The Missouri Republican Daily (Sept. 29, 1848), 15:1, a man in Randolph county wrote on the morning of September 21 to say that “thirty wagons left my house this morning, all Canadians and Mormons, to join Jo Smith & Co.” This was likely Page’s group.
145. Murdock, op. cit., p. 33.
146. History of Carroll County, p. 253.
147. DHC, 3:85, 149, 150.
148. History of Carroll County, p. 252.
149. Murdock, loc. cit.
150. DHC, 3:451–52.
151. Correspondence, pp. 35–36. Root’s affidavit is also found in the same source. General Parks took Captains Bogart and Houston with him to Carroll and left Colonel Thomas in charge at Grand River. Parks was soon to discover, that his men did not favor defending the Mormon cause.
152. Ibid., p. 36.
153. The one hundred families may have been those in the John E. Page company. The troops from Far West had only recently arrived under the leadership of Lyman Wight. Joseph Smith was a member of Wight’s company. See infra, p. 203, where this matter is discussed in greater detail.
154. Switzler, op. cit., p. 245.
155. Some authorities spell Jackson’s first name “Congrave.” The form followed here is most commonly that employed in Missouri annals.
156. According to Sidney Rigdon, the starving condition of the residents of DeWitt made it necessary to “butcher the cattle and hogs which came into the place, without asking who was the owner, or without knowing.” DHC, 3:452.
157. Switzler, loc. cit. See also History of Carroll County, pp. 254–55 for an interesting encounter Erickson had with Hinkle regarding the peace terms.
158. Corrill, op. cit., p. 35; DHC, 3:153; Times and Seasons (Nov. 1839), 1:3.
159. Switzler, loc. cit. Both Wight and Hinkle held commissions in the State militia. The Saints always regarded themselves to be a legal military body.
160. Correspondence, p. 40.
161. Ibid., p. 39. See also supra, p. 202, Dunnica and Erickson’s reports.
162. Ibid. Of Clark’s statement, Joseph Smith wrote: “If this constitutes ‘worth, prudence, and patriotism,’ let me be worthless, imprudent, and unpatriotic.” DHC, 3:157.
163. Ibid.
164. Susan H. Whiteman, “Mormon Troubles in Carroll County,” Missouri Historical Review, 8:221.
165. Corrill, op. cit., p. 35, claims that Parks simply did not have enough men to disperse the mob.
166. Correspondence, pp. 37–38.
167. Parley P. Pratt, History of the Late Persecutions Inflicted by the State of Missouri Upon the Mormons (Mexico, N.Y.: For the Author, 1840), p. 16.
168. DHC, 3:158.
169. See supra, p. 198, and DHC, 3:451.
170. Ibid., p. 153. Many of these same persons, according to Joseph Smith, also made affidavits concerning the treatment received by the Mormons from their enemies. Ibid.
171. Ibid., p. 451.
172. Ibid., p. 157.
173. Missouri Republican Daily (Nov. 9, 1838), 15:2.
174. Supra, p. 21, note 60.
175. Corrill, op. cit., p. 36. See also Correspondence, p. 38, where the field officers were granted plenary powers by the Governor.
176. Correspondence, p. 14, as quoted in Joseph F. Gordon, “The Public Career of Lilburn W. Boggs,” (unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Missouri, 1949), p. 101.
177. Supra, p. 198.
178. Supra, pp. 190–91.
179. Lucas, later to play a prominent role in the State’s action against the Saints, was also active against the Mormons in the latter’s troubles in Jackson County.
180. Correspondence, pp. 34–35.
181. Pratt, op. cit., pp. 16–17.
182. Correspondence, p. 38.
183. Times and Seasons (Nov. 1839), 1:4.
184. Vaughan’s first name is spelled “Singleton,” without the “h” in some sources. The spelling adopted here is that most common to Missouri sources.
185. Switzler, op. cit., p. 245.
186. History of Carroll County, p. 258. This same source, p. 257, states that when W. W. Austin and A. Hancock, leaders of the anti-Mormon forces, “saw the distress” of the Mormon women and children, they “shed tears at the evidences of suffering.”
187. DHC, 3:159–60. The journey, made during an inclement season, resulted in the death of a woman in childbirth and “several” men “from fatigue and privation.” “We had to inter them by the wayside,” reports Joseph Smith, “without a coffin, and under circumstances the most distressing.”
188. Corrill, op. cit., p. 36.
189. DHC, 3:159.
190. Switzler, op. cit., p. 247.
191. History of Carroll County, pp. 258–59. According to Switzler, op. cit., p. 247, this news resulted in the creation of two “Home Protection Units” under the direction of Colonel William Claude Jones of Carrollton.
192. This rumor was connected with the so-called “Battle of Crooked River” and the supposed march of the Mormons on Richmond. See infra, p. 280.
193. Missouri Republican Daily (Oct. 18, 1838), 15:2.
