O F

T H E

MA S S AC RE D E J O S EP H S MI TH,
TH

E M O R M O N P R O P HE T

A ND

H YR UM S M I T H , H I S BR O T H E R ,
.

TO GE T H E R

WIT H

BR IE

A ND

IS TO
P

R Y

T H E

O F

ROGR E S S
O F

M QR M O NI S M
A ND

A LL

THE

C I R C U M STAN CE

T O

T H EI R

W HI C H

EAT H

BY

GE O

D A V IS

0f lton , I lls.

S T
S R I NT E D

LO UI S

BY C H A M BE R S

1 844

K NA I D

S
E
I

n t ered a cc rdi ng

to

ma ct of

C o ng r ess i n t he

m: general e xc i te ment pr ev ai ling t hrough out th e c ommuni ty

t he

i nnu merable un foun d ed and exagge rated statements given t o the

p ub li c of the circumstances th at s u r r ou n de d , an d the caus e s tha t
l e d to the d eath of J os eph S mith , the Mormon Prophet , a s w ell as
o f hi s brother H yru
Smith , added to the fact that an impartial ao
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unt could not b e reas onably expecte d either from the one side o r
t h e other of tho s e intereste d in the trag edy has indu ced the autho r
to undertak e the tas k of detailing the facts as far as they w ere w it
n e s s e d or coul d b e obtained by him
from an authentic source
Nothing mor e w ill b e aimed at than a simple and unvarnished de
ta il of what actually exists and i s s usceptibl e of proof From th o s e
facts ev ery reader must draw hi s own conclusi ons Previous how
ev er to entering upon the d evelopment of the s cenes that surround
e d the death o f the two Smiths a brief account of the ri se a n d

o
r
of the Mormon s ect i s r endered indi spensable to a c or
s
s
pr g e
rect understanding of the w hole matter and may not b e without
its i nter est to the reader
The founders of the M ormon faith consisting of J oe S mith his
father and brot her s , admitted on all hands to b e of all ab s urditi es t he
most ab s urd w ere originally citiz ens o f th e State of New Y ork
and there r st commenced imposing thei r delus ions , and practi sing
their impo sitions upon the credulous and uns uspecting
While i n
that State they di d not acquir e much strength in numbers or not o
From thence they removed to Kirtland in th e Stat e
r i e ty a s a s ect
of O hio commence d building up their Z i o n and nding more favor
among th e mas s es in the W e st than they had done in New Y ork
t h eir l eader and the chief of imposters J o n S M I T H m }: PRO P HE T
acquired a fame for either evil or good w hich extended throughout
all porti ons of the U nion O f thei r con duct while in t h e S tat e of
O hio and the cau s es which immediately led to their again removing
and s e eking an other place of res ort it i s n o part of my design t o
s p eak It i s su f cient for me to state that publ ic opi n i o n rendered

it ab s ol utely neces sary for Jo e t o remove

About thi s time th e Prophet as he as s erted was favored with a
r ev elation from th e Almighty in which the western part of the State
of M is s ouri was de si gnated as the promi s ed land for the ch os en peo
pl e of God upon which Z ion was to be built and they to await the
'
s econd advent
S electing a locatio n u pon u n e nt e r e d lan d s in one
of the mo st fe r tile and desirable portions of that S tate ; there J o r:
S M I T H and hi s del uded followers took up their abode and a sec ond
H er e th ey inc re as ed for a
ti me commenced erecting thei r Z io n
s eas o n with almo st unexa pl ed r api di ty an d a s their strengt h i n
creas ed the des i g ns of their Prophet bec ame more and ni o r e iappare nt
E mboldened by s ucces s depredation s w er e c ommi tt e d b y: them
through the inj u nctions of t heir Pr o phet u pon th e lib erty th e pro
pe rty and the l ive s of many of the citi z en s of M i s ou r i ; There
co

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as the s e q uel will di sclos e i s the cas e i n our ow n S tate th ey we re

And the only al
s o forti ed as to be b eyond the reach of the law
t e r nat i v e on the part of the citiz ens was s ubmi s sion or extermina
tion The history of the country shows that the latter alternative
W as resorted to and that under the authority of the then G overnor
of Mi ssouri th e Mormons w ere compelled to ee that State and
All the ci rcum
stance s s urround
s ee k a re fu e in some oth er land
g
i n the expul sion of the Mormons from Mi ss our i; and the reasons
o ffere d i n j u s t i c at i on of t heir cours e has by the L eg islature of that
S tate b een long since spread b e for e t h e pub li c i n t he shape of a r e
po rt its repetition here woul d cons equently b e alik e uninteresting
and superuous I t may not however b e improp er to menti on that
the P R O P E T was s ubs equently indi cted in that State for th e cri me s
of theft , ars on m u rder and treason And that although requisition
upon r e quisition w as made by t h e Executiv e of Mis souri upon the
E xecuti ve of I llinoi s for t h e delivery of J o n S M I T H for trial by
the ai d of hi s po li ti c a l as well as moni ed inuence he wa s alway s
s ucces sful in e scaping and evading the e n d s of j ustice O f this
however more hereafter
The ight of the M ormons from Mi s s ouri occurred in the month
of November 1 8 38 U nfortunately for the peac e quie tnes s credit
and honor of th e State they mad e Illinoi s the n e xt theatre of their
stupendous frauds and t ot al v i olat i on s of every thing lik e the prin
Th ey arrived at Q uincy where they were
c i le s ofj ustice and law
p
well receiv ed by the citi z ens and every thing done compatible w ith
the feelings of charity and humanity to administer to their wants
and afford them a protection from what was regarded at that tim e
as the un mitigated pers ecution of their enemies Their tal e of s uf
fe r i ng s and w oe w a s pictured in the most exaggerated characters
that the fertility and cunning of Joe Smith s imagination could gi v e
birth to The prej udice s of t h e p eopl e of Illinoi s w er e excited
against th eir neighbors of their s ister State and sympathy pity and
oo m
rni ss e r at i on was be stowed upon the Mormons with an unsparing
hand by all s ects and clas s e s in community How they have recip
r oc at e d the ki ndnes s w ith which they w er e t r e at e d an d appreciated
the favors e xtended to them the s equel will di sclos e They wer e
made as co mfortable as it was in the power of the citi z ens of Q uin
c y to make them and at that place and in its v icinit
y they remaine d
u nt il the PRO P H E T purchas ed the pre s ent site of their city
NA U
v oo then kno w n by the name of Commerce H ither he repaired
w ith all hi s for c e s an d aided by a n o ther r evela ti on from God (as
t h e impious w retch as s erted ) proclaimed not only to hi s p eopl e
t hat surrounded him but to thos e in every portion of the lan d that
t h e plac e w here h e w a s then located had been des ignated by the
M ost H igh as t he v ery spot w hereon the Temple of t h e Lord was
t o b e erected
W hen they arrive d i n th e State of Illinois their numbers could
This conclus ion i s drawn fr oni
not have e xceeded t wo thousand
t h e fact that i n A ug ust 1 8 4 0 they polled what w as as serted by them
t o b e their full stren gth
and which w a s generally beli ev ed to be
s uch fou r h undred and t w ent
There w ere ho w ever , some
y vo tes
fam
i li es remaini ng in A dams C ounty who ne v er r e moved to Nau

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T he stor y of the p
f La tter D ay S ai nts by t he
M i s s our i an s , w ent forth u pon th e w ings of t he wind , an d was in d us
t ri ou sly circulated wherever J oe or e ith e r of i s foll o wers could
obt ai n a hearing D i s c i ple s w e r e or dained and s e nt abroad by hi ni
to pros elyte , and thei r v i c t i ms , a s fast a s; they wer e ensn ar ed di rect
C i ty of t he c ho sen people qf
e d , to r emove forthwith to th e
I n all thes e addres s es , the burden of thei r s ong was their s uf
ferings
and the vis itations of an indignant
and p ers ecutions i n M i s souri
an d o utraged c ommu n i t
y u pon them , w as pp rt r ay e d i n t h e most
gorgeou s colors , as the strongest proof that they w e r e pe c u li arly
the favored children of God , and that for his s ak e they w ere r e

t
h
s
t
i
a
s
s
quired to s ubmit to e e r l
The story of their wr on g ai d

ed by the cunningly devi s ed fable of the manner in which J oe

voo.

er sec ut i ons o
,

found the golden plates to say nothing of the novelty of the religion,
or rather blasphemy he taught ; the simpli ci
ty of the requi s iti ons made
by him as evidences of their conversion and tn es s to b e adm
itted into
th e Ch urch ; t h e preva il i n g epi demi c of the human mi nd t o g r a s p at
t h e marvellou s and s e i z e h o ld of every new ab surdity upon the
s ubj e ct of r eligion propagated by either the vicious and de signing
or t h e ignorant w er e w ell calculated t o e ns nar e t h e credulous or
fanatic and to facilitate t h e d e s i g n s of t he PRO P H E T i n b u i ldi ng u p
a s ect w h i ch h e hoped would nally o verrun t h e U nion and give
him its control I t i s not therefore at all t b e wondered at that in
t h e bri ef peri o d of four y ears from a han d ful o f foll o w e r s numbe r
i ng not to exceed two thousand he has s ucceeded in drawing t of
gether at N au v oo a co mmunity of ov er fteen thous and human b e
ings not only fr ome v e r y s ecti on of the U ni on bu t from almost all
q uarters of the globe ;N or i s it to be concealed that hi s doctrine
w as increasing with alarming rapidity in many s ections of our cou n
t ry as well as throughout the lo w er and mor e ignorant clas se s in
E urope
Shortly after t h e s ettlement of the M ormons at Nauvoo in con
s equence of the principle inculcated by the Prophet that they w ere
to be o ne in all things i n the di spositio n of all their s u i ag e s a s
w ell a s every thi n g else thei r numbers daily augmenting and
holding t h e balance of power in H ancock county they became the
Jo
e
s ec ia l fa v o r i tes of politicians of both sides in their vicinity
p
s e e ing th e advantage of his position and correctly j udging that
gr eat importance w a s attached by political aspirants of both par
ti es to th e favor or prej udice with which he r egarded the on e side
or t h e other applied to the L egi slature of Illinoi s for variou s i n
corporations Among them was a charter i ncorporating Nauvoo
into a city with the privil ege of organizing its inhabitants into a
mili tary corps to be des ignat ed the N au v o o L egion w h o wer e to
be exclusiv ely under the control of t h e authoriti es of th e city of
Nauvoo and in no way s ubj ect to the Militia Laws of the State
save in cas e of a war or rebellion They als o had the po wer of
esta blishing a court of r ecor d to be denominated the Munici pal
C ourt of th e City of Nauvo o the presiding o fficers of which w er e
Thi s court had also
to be the Mayor and Al dermen of said city
th e pow er given to it to i s s ue the writ of habeas corpu s and to
d ete rm
i ne u n d er i t s e xerci s e , all cas es that might ari s e un d e r the
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51

r din anc e s of th e c ity Ther e w many

b y thi s c h arter which w ere e xtr ao rdinary in their character , op
con fl ict w ith t h e spirit
i
c
res
sive
i
n
their
opera
t
i
o
n
s
and
in
d
r
t
e
p
"
letter of th e C onstit ution , B u t 5 s uch was the d e sir e o f
an d
b ot h parties in t h e L egi slatur e t o s c u r e t h e p olitical c c o pe rat i ori of
thi s unpr i ncipled des p ot and k nav e as w ell as hi s follow e rs ; t h at all
their charters w ere pas sed sub
an d without u n d e rg oi n g
:
even the form of a r eading befor e e i the r H o us e It i s true the
charters w er e r egularly r eferred to the appr opriate stand ing c o m
mitt e e s and that th os e committee s reported favorably t o t h e i r pas
sage Y e t that furni she s n o exc u se for the action of the two H ou
s es in granting to a r e lig i ou s s ect powers and privileges which no
other denomination of C hristians would dare to as k and which if
they did as k would most as s uredly have had their application
The culpability ofthos e be stowing these charte rs i s ren
n eglect ed
d ered more inexcusable from the fact that during that s e s sion other
r e ligious denominations could s carcely procure a singl e charter at
the hands of the maj ority me rely incorporating t hem int o a body
ca pabl e of holding the real estate upon which their buildings were
e re c t ed
through the mor bi d sensi bi li ty that it favored too much at
thi s demo cr a ti c period of a union of Church and State ; but J oe
Smith as t h e founder and P ro phet of the Latter D ay S ai nts could
a s k and r eceive any legislative boon he ple a s ed
F rom t h e hour
that th e inhabitants of N auv oo organi z ed under their charter e s
t abl i s h e d their court marshall ed their L egion into a s eparate and
distinct military corps from the res idue of th e militi a of the State
and commenc ed pro mulgating through the publi c pres s at that plac e
the ordinanc es which their Common Council pas s ed under t h e real
or q zsu med power s contained in th eir charter the j ealousy and wel l
founded fears of the citi z ens or at l east many of them w ere arou s
ed
They feared that s ooner or later dis aster s the most lamenta
b le would res ult from the importance that had bee n attached to Joe
S mi th, a n d the exercis e as w ell as abus e of th e powers which
the L egi slatur e h ad clothed him with The late fatal termination
of hi s as well as h i s brother s life and the cons equences leading to
i t show that thos e fear s w ere not without r easonable foundation
The contemplated limits of this wor k will not admit of my going
i nto detail and ex posing as minutely as I deem the i mportance of
the s u bj ect demands t h e unhear d of character of the ord inances
pas sed by the Common Council of N auvoo the pow ers exercis ed
by the P ro phet unde r them and the len gt h to which he went in oh
ta ini ng unlimited cont rol over the actions and I may say t he mi n d s
of hi s foll owers T h e greatest di i c u lty I apprehend is that ev en in
what I shall dev elope and which I have obtained from the most r e
pu t able and intelligent of tho s e heretofore connected with the
f
S a i nt s as w ell as others who k now the re ecting and i n t e lli
gent portion of the world will loo k upon thes e deve l opments with
dis t r ust A nd when I re ect that it i s in the n ineteenth c e n tury , that
the rev olting and extraordinary s cenes have been enacted which
h a s mar k ed t h e progres s of J oe Smith since hi s s ettlement i n II
l i n o i s I ought n o t to wonder that th e st at ement of the tru th would
be r ec e wcd b thos e unacqu ai nte d wit h t he fact s an d b eyond t he
y
o

er e

powers granted

ot her

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i
s e r vatio n, with di str ust , i f not wi th ent i r e d y
er
sonal
o
b
i
t
s of
p

o e li e f
The gr eat ai m of o s e ph Smith was evidently t o" clot h e hi ms elf

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with the most unlimited power civil , military and eccle siastical;
ov er al l who b e came member s of hi s s o c i e i t y And t o that en d
hi s whole e ffor t s w er e put i n requis ition , from the day o f t h e i r
down to t h e h o u r of hi s death :
o rgani z ation under thei r charter s
The rst s t e p t ak e n by him was to sati sfy his pe 0 p 1e that he had
r eceived a rev elation from G od dis closing hi s origin as w ell as that
of hi s wife and detailing the events that w er e to occur as well as t he
pa r t he and h i s d e s cendants were to tak e in their consummatio n
This he s ucceeded in and gave t h e following as t h e s ubstance of
his r ev elation H e stated that E mma his wife was of I ndian d e s
ce nt i n a line from one of t h e trib es of I s rael That he ( Jo s eph )
W a s a des cendant from Jo s eph of ol d through the blood of E phrai m
A nd that G od h a d appointed and ordained that he with hi s d e s c e n
dants sh oul d rule over all I s rael meaning the L atter D ay Saints
the Indian t r i b e s and ultimately the J e w s and G en
o r M ormons
ti les That thc authority with which G od had clothed him b eing
J u r e D i vi n o extended over all man k ind and was paramount and
s uperior to any H uman authority J oe further stated that G o d
had r ev eal ed to him that t h e Indians and L atter D ay Saints under
J oe as their K ing and R uler w ere to conquer the G entiles and
t hat their s ubj ection to thi s authority was to b e obtained by t be
swor d " F rom this rev elation he enforced upon them that it w as
neces s ary he should b e crowned K ing and they b elieving in t he
Joe was a c c or d i n g l
g r os s imposition yi elded to hi s edict
c n o w n n n K I NG under G od over th e immediate hous e of I s r ae h
Thi s ceremony was performed i n 1 8 4 2 by a council of fty in

number denominated the A N C I E N T o r D A v s

And t h e n c e for
ward hi s authority as such was recogni z ed and ob ey ed by t he
church an d its authority in all r es pects and under all circumstance s
The p eculiar attr ibutes of his power Joe insi sted w er e that he
could dir ect the actions of the entir e H ous e of Is rael t hat they
w ere bound to ob ey hi s commands whatever they mi g ht be and that
n ally the whole earth was to b ecome under subj ection to h i m
H e further impr es s ed upon t h e council crowning him that G od s
desir e w as as rev eale d to him
that for the time being thi s
was t o r emain a perfect secr et until G od should r eveal to the con
And accordingly Jo e swore them all to pr es ent s ecr ecy u n
t r ar y
It i s al s o a fa c t as certained beyond contro
de r t he pen alty of dea th
Sioux s and P ot
v e rs y that the Indian tribe s of Sac s and F oxes
t o w att a mi e s w er e cons ulted and their as s ent obtained previou s to
the mock crowning of thi s unmitigated Impostor and that d el e
gat i o n s were s ent to N au v o o from each of the abov e trib es ab out t he
ti me of the ceremony b eing p erformed by the council of fty
T h es e delegations of Indian s w er e s een by hundreds and h u n
dreds at N auvoo but the obj ect of th eir v is itation neve r was as
ce r t a i n e d without the pal e of the church until s eces sion s oo m
me n
oe d ta k in g plac e from the M ormons
'
T h e reader may naturally inqu i re how thes e facts hav e b een a s
ce rt aine d
I state , fro m t h e onl y sou r ce po ssi ble to derive infor ma

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ti on 3th at i s from th os e who aided in th e ce remony bu t wh o h av e

si nce r eturned to their reas on and co me out from a m
ong thi s den of
It i s s tated upon the
one
Wic k e d and perver s e me n
r st
wh o was a member o f the H igh C ouncil of
cou n c i l t o th e P res idency of t h e C hu rch a man i n whom all
(in no
Way connected w i th M ormonism ) who ha v e con ver s ed with him
ha ve much con de nc e I state u nhes itatingly upon th e b e st e u
th or it y that the abo ve fac ts i n regard to the c r ow n i n g of J qe t he
re v elation h e pr ofes s ed to h ay e r ec ei v ed and h i s s w e a r i n g t hos e
e ntrusted with ta k ing part to s ecr ecy u n dey
p ena lty of de a th would
all have been prove d upon their trial for treason b
y at least two
W itnes s e s unles s as I do not believe they ha d; s worn ent irely
c o nt rary to what thei r stat ements had been
not only to the Council
b ut to t h e G ov ernor of the S tate
A ll wil l c on c ede t h at t h c power and in ue nce w hi c h J o e w ielded
ov er t h e minds
and acti ons of h i s foll
be en n u
li m ited i n the extreme i f as has b een sh own h e was abl e t o s e ;
c u re h i s coronation as K ing in thi s land o f liberty an d equal
whos e citi z e ns ac k nowledge no other K i ng t hanI I n in
ri ghts
whos e hands ar e t h e destini es of all nations N either c an it b e
denie d s uch must have be en the con dence r epos ed i n h i m
t hat n o mat t e r w h at t h e requi siti o n made of them i f done under hi s
ki ng ly a u tho r i ty and as the P rophet of t h e L ord t hat r equi sition
A lb hi s acti ons and c onduc t s i nce
W ould be faithfully obey ed
prov e s uch to b e the cas e In addition to the power conferred
upon him by thi s coronation he o c c u pi e d t h e h ig h e s t mi li t ar y station
th at of L ieutenant G eneral of the Nauvoo L egion : H e w a s als o
M ayor of the city (with the exception of one y ear that H B ennet t
He
lled that o thee ) from its organi z ation to the day of li i s de at h
an d his Common Council composed t h e b e n c h t h at pre s id ed i n thei r
M uni cipal Co urt and as M ay or he became the chi ef pres i d ing oi
cer of that court H e was the trustee of the Church of L atter
D ay Saints and hel d i n his name the titl e to their r ea l estate and
was the depository of the funds belonging to the church I n addi
t ion to all thi s he held the funds of many of hi s followers (es pe
Thi s fact
c i all
y the foreigners ) who came to N auvoo with money
I ascertained from a source that admits of no cavil or doubt Un
der our r ev enue law s every per son in su rrenderi n g to t h e a s s es sor
a li st of hi s or h e r property has to state under oath if requ ired by
t h e ass e s sor the amount of cash on hand or the sums loane d out b y
T h e ass es sor for a pr evi ous y ear , informed me that be
t w een thirty an d forty thous and dollar s w ere li sted by differ
ent p er so ns i n N au voo as being by t hem deposited with
J os eph S mith ; and that the sums thus reported w ere as ses s ed
H e further stated as hi s opi n
an d taxes collected upon th e same
ion that; not one ha lf the sums put in the hands of J o e Smith by
th e inh abitants of N au voo wer e ev er r eported by them to h i m
T hu s i t wil l be s een , tha t the ch urch th e military a n d the j udiciary
as wel l as the Common Council of N au v oo wer e solely and entire
A nd th e fi r st great step towards
ly under his unlimited control
mak ing him a D ns r o r had been a cqui red by him the union of the
n
i
e
ngl
i
and t he swor d , an d th e m
s
ur
g of the c ivil and ecc le sia sti
p
,

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t }?

i
cal

oo was to all inte nt s and

governme nts
pur p ose s a se pa
rate and di stinct G ove rnment acknowledging n o s u perior powe r to
th eir o wn and as suming t o thems elve s the power to make their own
law s and admini ster them in their own way . T he char acte r of
t h eir ordi nance s show thi s beyond cont rove r sy
They have de ne d by or di n an ce what shall constitut e slander and
what shall b e the mode of redres s and e x tent of th e puni shme nt
T hey hav e abridge d the fre edom of s peech by declaring by or di e
na nce that if any pers on sha ll spea k di sr espectd ly of any of t he
L att er Day S aints that person shall b e liable to pros ecution an d
upon convi cti on shall be ned in a sum not exce eding ve hundr ed
d ollars and i mpr i s on ed for a time not exce eding si x months
They
have provided by ordinance that no man sh o uld be tak en witho ut
t h e limits of t h e C ity of N a uv oo upon any charge or proces s i s s u
ing fr om any court either Sta te or Federal until that p erson had
r st b een brought before the M unici pal C ourt by writ of hab e as
c o rpus and hi s guilt or innocence determined there
and that if t he
j u d ment of the court was in favor of the accus ed he should be di s
c ha r ed
U nder thi s ordinance J oe Smith when arre st ed upon pr o
g
c es s i s suing from the C ourts of thi s State as al so upon requisiti o ns
from the Governor of Mi s souri has caus ed hims elf t o b e taken b e
for e t h e Municipal C ourt of which he wa s t he pr es i di n g oi cer and
m sc n a n c nn m o m A RR E S T " So al so when a proces s i s suing fr om
t h e J udge of the United State s Di strict Court for the District of
I llinoi s against J eremiah Smith was s erv ed a nd said S mith ta k e n
into custody J
had his Mormon names ak e taken from t he

cu stody of the deputy Marsha] by hab eas corpus and di schar g ed

by the Municipal C ourt They als o under a claus e i n th eir char
ter giving them th e u sual pow er granted to all city incorporations

t o dene a nd a ba te n u i s a n c es pas s ed an ordinance declaring a pu b

li c news paper called the N au v o o Expositor a nuisanc e and orde r
e d its abatement
Under thi s ordinance the civil authoritie s aid
e d by a po s s e o f two h undred strong
repai red to t h e building
where said pr e s s and materials w as and destroyed the same in t he
public streets Thi s pres s had i s sued but one number of th e E x
posito r and its destruction l ed to the excitement p ervading a po r
t ion of our State for t h e last three w eeks , and whi ch resulted in t he
d eath of the authors of this high handed outrage upon T H E L I B E R T Y
o r r m: P n r ss
They al s o prepared a criminal code of their ow n
i n which the mode of puni shment by death w a s altered from hang
Thi s criminal code w as submitted to couns el in
i ng to behea di n g
for their ins pection and
no way connected with th e Mormons
o pinio n s
as to it s validity ; and from one of thos e couns e l,
i n who s e pos s es si on it had been I derived the knowledge o f
i ts e x i stence
O ther o rdinances equally as obnoxious and re
u nan t t o the genius and spi rit of our republican i n st i t u t i on s h avn
g
peen pas s ed and put i n force by the P rophet and hi s hirelings ; b ut
t h e limits pres cribed for thi s publication will not admit of my going
further i nto detail
I regret my inability to procure a copy of tho se
But they can not be
or dinance s , to attach them to thi s publi cation
an d for reas on s be st known to the Mormon s thems elve s
r oc u r e d
was infor med by Gov Ford , that he had twi ce made application to
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mon C
C om

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u ncil
ity of Nauvoo
for tr ue copies of all th ei r o rdi nan c e s 3b ut th at
t h e? S tate
h i s appli c at i cn s h ad pr d v e n uns uc ces sful an d hi s reque s t Was n ot
That they (t he
gros sly violat ed
i
e d 5 W it h
l
e bm
p
the constitution of t h e S t at e an d trampl ed upon the rights of tho se
iW h o i d i e r e d fbm them whos e p ers ons or property wer e within t he
li mi ts of Nau v oo , c an a dmit of no doubt
Th e following extract
from t h e Z se con d c ommun i c at i on made by G ov F6r d to J o e Smi t h
on Co uncil p revious to their sur re nder and d ate d
an d hi s C om m
J u ne 2 3d I 8 4 4 , places thi s matter b ey on d controversy T h e Go v
er n or say s
n o w expre ss to
ou my O ini on th at you r cond u ct i n destroy
y
p
i ngi th e pr es s w a s a v ery gros s outrage upo n the laws and libertie s
It may have been full of libel s , but thi s d id not
a t h e people :
There ar e many n ewspapers in thi s
a ut hor e
y o t l t o tl e st i oy i t
State w hich hav e b een wron gfully abusing me for more than a year;
an d y et s uch i s my regard for t h e lib erties of the pres s and the
rights of a fre e peo ple , in a republi can gov ernment that I Would
s h e d t h e la s t drop of m
y blood to protect thos e pres s es from any
illegal viol ence Y ou hav e v i olat e d th e constitution in at least four
particulars You hav e violated that part of it which declare s th at
t h e pri nting pres s es s h al l b e fr e e b eing r es ponsible for the abuse
t hereof and that t h e truth may be given in evidenc e Thi s article
of t h e
co n stitution c o ntemplates that t h e proprietors of a libellous
pres s may b e s ued for private damage or may be indicted crimin
ally and that upon trial they sh ou l d h av e a right to give the truth
in evidence
I n thi s cas e the proprietors have h a d no notice of the
proceeding The co nstitution also provides that the people shall be
protected against unre asonabl e s earches and s ei z ure of their pr o
p er ty ; and th at no man shall be deprived of life liberty or pr o

e
x
e
e
t
erty
by
t
h
dgment
of
hi
s
pee
r
s
e
P
p
(which me an s a j u
ju
the law of t h e land w h ich means due proces s of
law and notice to the accus ed
Y ou hav e als o v iolated the consti
t u t i on and your own charter in thi s ; your Council which h a s no
j udicial power and can only pas s ord inances of a general natur e
h av e undertaken to pas s j udgment as a court and convi ct without
j ur y a pres s of being l ibell ous and a nui sance to the city T he
C ouncil at most could only dene a nui sance by general ordinance
and l eave it to the courts to determine wh eth e r individuals or par L
t i c u la r s ac c u s ed c ome W ithin such denition
The constit uti on
ab hors and will not tolerat e the u n i on of legi slative a n d
,
j tl di ci al
po w er in the s ame bo d i es of magi stracy b ecau se as in thi s cas e,
they will r st mak e a t yr annical law and then execute it in a ty ran
ni c al manner
,
You hav e al s o as sumed to yours elves mor e pow er t h an y o u are
en titled to in relation to w rits of habeas corp u s under your C har
te
r I know that you hav e been t o l d b y lawyers for the purpose
In
o f gaining your favor that y o u hav e t h i s po w e r t o an y e x tent
You r
th is t hey have deceived y ou, fo r their own bas e p urpose s
ch arter s uppos es that y ou may pas s ordinance s a breach of whic h
wi ll result in the impri sonment of the ( o ffender : F or the purpo se
of en s uring more s pe e d y r eli e f to
authority was give n

t he

of t

he

C
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11 ?

[i

1i
wri ts o f hab eas tcorpu si in
'

i sS u e
a ll
anc e s ioth e c i ty l : I t was
31 i sing Wi dth? t he o ndi r r
can t h e l ang u age of y our c harter b e i t o g r e d t o 1
the :legis lat ur 6 1 f
mean , th at a i uri s di c ti on w-as intende d to be: c onferred , wh i ch w ou ld
l
S
D
I
O f i m r i Q H Qnt , unde r the gen cr a
apply t 0 a 11
l la yvs Of t h e
P
S tate -or ofi ll e uigit e d S tat es , -as wel l as .the city ordi nan c e s g
I t h as als o been res erv ed t o :yo n t o make the di s cove ry , that a
n ewspaper charge d to b e -s curril ou s or l ib e ll01 16 , may be l e g a lly aba
or r emoved , as a nui s anc e
I n no ot h e r S t at e , C o u n t y a C i t ;
y
T o w n or Territo ry , in the United Stat es , has ever -such a thin g been
t hought of before ,
S uch an ac t , at t hi s d ay, would n ot b e t ol erat ed :
e ven iir E nglal i d J us t such another ac t i i n 1 830, hur l ed the Ki ng

cou r t r tt o

to

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F rance from hi s thr one and caus ed the impr i son ment of four of hi s
p rincipal mini sters for life N o civili z e d cou ntry c an t o le r at e s u c h
condu ct muc h les s c e n it b e tolerated i n t li i s fr e e

2
U nit e d States
I hav e thus far d etailed in as bri ef a manner as pos sibl e t h e pr o
gres s of the Mo r mons and their c our s e ge nerally , wi th a view to
give the r ead er some idea of the char a cter and conduct of the p e o
ple of N a u v o o who h ad become a t e r r o r and a s c ou rg e to the old cit:
I have not sp o ken of their legion of armed men
i zj e n s of Hancock
numbe ring from thre e to four thou sand and who w ere ready at a
m ome nt s warning to put a ny command of the P R O P H E T i nto im m
e
diate execution O ther publications hav e made the p ubl ic acquainted
I h av e n ot spok e n of the r e
wi th thei r strength and organi z ation
pe at e d acts of violence committed by th em for the last ei ghteen
months upon the citi z ens of Hancock as well as their proper t y a nd
of the utter impotency to bring t he mt o j u sti ce b y me an s of the or
I n a n o t he r p la ce I will s peak of thei r
d i n a r y proces s of th e law
gri evances as in my candid O pinion t h ey des erve I have now ar
riv ed at th e i mmedi a te c a u se ofthe outbreak which h a s re sulted in stig
mat i z i ng Illinois a thi r d ti me with a r es ort t o popular vi olence for
the redres s of private grievance s
A s before stated the o i c e of the Nauvoo Expo sitor w as enter ed
on the ten th day of June 1 8 4 4 under a n ordinance of the C om
mon C ouncil and the pres s and materials burnt and destroy ed
The ex cus e offer e d for thi s outrage w a s that it w a s a n u i sa nce
and that the L egi slature had ve sted the Common Coun c il with the

pow er to dene and abate by ordinance nuis ance s w i t hi n t h e i r i n

The pres s and the materi als we re the pr op erty
c o r por at e d limits
of Wil son and Willi am L aw the two H igb ee s Dr Fo ster and
probably one or two oth er s The pr oprietors o f this pres s had
all been connected with th e M o r mon C hu rch and many of the m h ad
O ccupied under the Prophet the most ex alte d and i mpe r t an t s t at i on s
i n th e church as w ell as in the civil and milita ry d epartm
ents of
their city gov ernment F rom motives which t hey i n si sted were of
and organ
t he pure st character they s eceded from the Mormons
Thi s cours e on thei r
iz e d thems elve s into a new and di stinct s ect
art naturally created a most de adly feud b et we en t he m an d the
pr oph et They denounced him for ev ery thi ng vile ; and c harged
him with nefarious designs upon the p r operty as well as liv es of
many of our citi zens T heir paper was to b e the organ through
of

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12

whi ch th e e v ils of M orm on i sm W ere to b e e x pos ed ; an d t h e de prav

i t y-o f

the Prophet as w ell as mo st of hi s princ i pal men held u p

T h e Exposito r was als o an advocate for t h e
t o the public gaze
i nsis ting that thi s
un condi tional r ep eal of the Nauvoo charters
w a s ab s olutely nece s sary to guard again st a r epetition of o u t
which had b een pre vi~
r ag es upon the old citiz ens of the county
sl
(m
y committed by the M ormo n s under a s emblance of leg al au
The only n u m
thor it y conferr ed upon them by their city charter
b e r whi ch they had i s s ued w as fill e d with e x pos iti ons of the con

ct
of
and many of hi s followers and which show e d h i m
o
I e
du
to be a debauchee of the most abandoned character the instigator of
th e att empt to as sas sinate G o v Bo ggs a n d an adept in the com mis
Such
si on of almost every crime of magnitude known to our laws
w as the character of the pres s and the obj ects it h a d i n v iew which
a u v oo to declare by ordinan ce
ompted
the
Common
Council
of
N
r
,
p
th at it was a n ui s ance and to direct its destruction by the City
M arshal
O f the extent of credib i lity to be attached to the statements and
t es timony of we s eceders each per son mu st b e hi s own j udg e
Ca ndor requires of me the exposition that i n many of the gros sest

p
erpetrated
by
the
Prophe
they
wer
t
a
s
r
e
(ni
t
e
pa r ti ceps M i mi
g

e
O
f
the
benets
r
s
ulting
f
om
J
oe
s
pow er over the i n
mls
r
In them great
h abitants of N auvoo th ey were large recipients
co n dence had been r epos ed by the mas s o f the Mormons as wel l
ferent high positions which they
as the Prophet h ms elf as the di f
oc cupied kfully establishe s And that they j oined th e Smiths i n
t heir crusade against B ennett s exposition of Mormon i s m and d e
They however
n u n c i at i on s of i t s fa lsi ty admits of n o doubt
i r m that t o a great extent Bennett s statements are entitl ed
n ow a
to the fullest credence and that through apprehensi ons of titei r oum
per so na l safety they w ere forced to testify against Bennett an d in fa
v or of the P rophet O ne thi ng is very evident : i n their hatred to
And
t hos e from whom they have s eceded they are implacable
that they W ould
n o unprej udiced mi nd can es cape the conclusi on
l eav e no means u nr e s o rt e d to within their power to visit vengeanc e
u pon the leaders and principal men among the Mormons
Many of the charges made against th e L atter D ay Saints
h ave been preferred by s eceders and their testimony alone r el i ed
A great deal of allowance therefore shou l d
u pon t o susta in them
b e made i n th e w eight of their testimony although I entertain no
ea rthly doubt of the im plicit truth of much that they as s ert con
ce rning tho s e w ith w hom they ha v e formerly been as sociated
It
is too often the cas e t hat the testi mony of thos e impli cat ed i n t he
c omm
i s sion of crime i s forced to b e r esorted to i n order to ins u r e
H ence it i s ;
th e punis hment of t he acco mplic es of the witnes ses
n ot an unfr equ ent occurrence in our courts of j us t ice tha t a pardon
i s extended to a cul prit upon the condition that h e t u r n s State s e v i
den ce and upon hi s tes ti mon y though probably the m ost gu ilty of
all who are accus ed the res idue are convicted and Su e r t h e
pe nalty
of the law
Tr ue it i s that thi s d ou btful expedi en t i s only re sorted
t og wher e ot h er t esti mon c ann ot b e pr oc u red
B
ut wh e n i t i s r e
y
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of t e n as: w ell as t h e cou rt s

S ort ed t o t h e
r e po s e s u i c i e n t co n de n ce i n t h e credi b ility of s uch
of u st i c e
j
I n t h e cas e of the Mormon s
t estimony as to con v ict and puni s h
de signs conduct and outrages as well as the extent to whi ch they
c arry their blas p h emy , the public are s imilarly situate d as in the
cas es put by me To a great extent w e have n o mea ns of a c q u i r
ing information s av e by the testimony of thos e w h o turn States
evidence or in other words sec ede fro m the church and d ev elope
w hat has transpi red in thei r midst and in the e x ecution of which ,
th e witnes s e s thems elves may hav e acted a prominent part U n
les s therefore credibility to a certai n extent i s g i ven to the testi
mony of s eceders the pu bl ic wi ll forever remain in ignorance of
the conduct and i n q u i t i e s of J oe Smith and his principal men It
i s due to the s ece ders here to re mark that s o far as their state
ments h av e c o me to my knowledge th ere i s no di s crepancy among
them A n d all s eceders with whom I have convers ed from the
y ear 1 8 4 2 down to the pre s ent day a g r ee in their account of
th e en o rmities and w ickedn es s of Mormo n is m as carri ed o u t a t
Nauvoo Thes e i n di vid u als after the d estruction of their pre s s ,
from threats p ubli cly made in Na uvo o by the Mormons ag ainst
their lives as well as th e residu e of their property w er e
compelled with thei r famili e s to s eek a refuge i n other places
They cons equently removed generally into d i lfe r e nt portions of
Iow a T erritory The pres s was d estroyed on the tenth day of
J une A D 1 8 44 and a return was made by the Marshal
of Nau v oo upon the proces s by virtue of which it s destr u ction w a s
cons umated as foll ow s :
T he wi t hi n pr ess a n d type i s de str oyed a nd
pi ed a c c or d in g t o o r d er on t hi s ten ih d a y of J u n e 1 8 4 4 a t a bo u t s i x
I copy thi s r e turn as e v i d e
o c lock P M J P Gr een C M
fu r hi s h e d b y the Mormons thems elves of th ei r o bedi en c e t o la w and
pea ce abl e d ispo si ti on " A few days subs equent to its destruction the
above named i n dividual s proceeded to Carthage the cou nty s eat of
H ancock county entered a complaint and proc u red a proce s s i n the
name of the people from a Justice of the Peace against the two
S miths and all oth ers interested in the d estr u ction of the pre s s for a
riot
Thi s proces s th e Con stable s erved u pon a portion of thos e
named in the writ who immediately procured t he p an a c ea for a ll le
g a l c o mpla i n t s agai nst any member of thi s exclusive community the
" By virtue of it they were taken befor e
W rit of habeas corpus "
and
t he Mu n icipal Cour t of Nauvoo w e n t through a mock trial
the wo r thy i mpar t ia l d isi n ter ested Judges rendered th e followi ng

R
U pon t he r e
j udgm ent
H O N O R A B L Y D I S C H A GE D I I I
turn o f th e o i c e r to Carthage and his public declaration that h e
was unable to s erve it in cons equence of the resistance of Jo e
Smith and hi s forces a pos s e of the citizens was ordered i n accord
ance with the provisions of the statute to aid the o f cer in the di s
charge of h i s duty Two mes s engers were al so di s patched to t h e
G ov ernor by the citiz ens of Hancock informing him of th e state of
thi ngs that exi sted in N a u v o o and calling upon him as t he E xe c u
tiv e of Illinois t o interpos e his authority in aid of t h e ex ecution of
the civ il proces s of t h e S t ate The Gov ernor imm ediately repai r ed
publi c in nine

c a s e s ou t

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t o C arthage , and on h i s arri v al , found a numb er of cit izens a s se mb led

aiting his orders as commander i n - ch ief
an d under arms , but a w
The whole of th e citiz ens fo und un d er arms , on t h e a r r i v al of
the Governor at C art hage , h ad b e e n call ed out by the constables t o
act a s a pos s e in s e c u r i ng : t h e arre st of the i n div idual s charg ed
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with a riot in the de struction of the pres s and by General De ming

the commanding o fcer of the 4 t h Brigade of M ilitia in that s ec
tion of the county The order of Gen eral Deming was gi v en on
t he 2 0t h of J une at the reques t of t h e civil authorities in c on s e
q u e n c e of its having bee n sati sfac torily as certained that th reats of
a mos t s eri ou s nature had b een made by th e Smith s the Mormon
l eader s against t h e to wns of Carthage and Wars aw ; and a W ell
gro u nded a pprehension that the force pr ev i ously ob t ained by th e
constabl es was w h olly i n ad e qu at e to s ec ure the arrest of the accu
s ed against the forces of the N auvoo L egi o n then marshalled and
u nder arms
to resi st the ex ecution of the law It has been cur
and to a great extent credited that the citiz ens of
r e n t ly reported
Hancock county armed thems elves in the r st instance a s a mob
and with th e design of attacking the Mormons at all hazards Thi s
i s not true No citiz en of Hancock armed hims elf and j oined any
company or pos s e until having rst been required s o to do by t he
civil authorities of the county 5 and it was occupying thi s position
t hat they were found by the Executive of Illinoi s on the 2 l s t of
J une on hi s arrival at Carthage ; and which indu c ed hi m to s ame
tion what G eneral Deming had done and e x pres s hims elf in terms
of approbation to many of the citiz ens at the rea dines s with whi ch
t hey obeyed the requi sitions of the oi c e r s in the vindication of the
laws The number of men thus as s embled at Carthage and W ar
s aw
did not exceed eight hundred and at no time w a s there to
e x ceed s ev ente e n hundred men on the grou n d The largest num
b er reported by General Deming w a s about fteen hundred there
w ere a number however who were evidently there on thei r own

b ook
and which would in my opinion swell the n u mb er to at
least 1 700
In t h e mean time t h e Mormons w er e far from being idle or inac
tive Their city was at once placed in a perfect state of defence
The l egion w er e ordered out and k ept under ar ms The followers
of Joe in th e Territories an d ot h e r portions of th e State were r e
A mmu n i
q uir ed to repai r to Nauvoo with all po s s i bl e d e s pat c h
tion and provi sions w ere procured from St L ouis and other places
i n l ar g q u an t it i e s The city w a s pu t u n d e r martial law and per
s ons as w ell as property were forcibly de ta i n e d an d illegally i m
pris oned A stri ct patrol was kept up throughout the enti re city
and all persons upon whos e del i ty to J oe the slightest suspici on
rested were required to tak e an oath to obey hi s commands and
ght in h i s rank s and no t di sclose what had been s een or hear d
O rders were als o is sued to the L egion to res ist to the last the ar
r est o f any of the persons named in the proces s i s s u ed by the J u s
t ice at Carthage
Thus making an open and und sgui s ed resi stanc e
t o t h e l egal proces s of the country
After two or th ree communication s pas s in g from the Go v ernor to
th e a u th oritie s at N au v oo , he nall s u cceeded under a pled e that
,
g
y
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15

the

accus ed shoul d r e cei v e hi s protection as t he E xe cuti ve of t he

Sta te in prevailing upon Joe as w ell as the residue charged in t he
w rit to surrender and undergo an examination upon the charge
of riot O n their arrival at Carthage the two Smit hs and t he resi
due a ccu s ed of the destruction of the pres s , waiv ed the examination
of witnes s es against them and enter ed into recognizance s in the su m
of v e hundre d dollar s each for their appearance at the next term
of t h e Circuit Court of Hancock county By this act they v irtually
admitt ed thei r g u i lt of the charge preferre d against them Befo r e ,
however they had completed their recognizances a w r i t was s erved
upon J os eph and Hyrum Smith up o n a charge of r n s a so n and
they w ere r emanded to j ail to awai t the i r trial on the next day ,
when the witnes s es would all , as was s uppo s ed b e i n att endance
O n the 2 5 t h of J une and after the arre st of the Smiths Gov
F ord with a v i ew o f maintaining peace at N a u v o o and preventing
an outbreak on the part of the Mormons , or an attack from th e citi
Z ens upon them di rected C apt J W Singleton , of Brown county
,
w ith his company of si xty men to repair to N a u v oo an d ther e remain
until further orders Th e following is a copy of the order i s s ued
to C apt Singleton
,

H ea d Quar ter s , J u ne 2 5
B rigade , O rder No 1 5

1 84 4 .

S pecial
To C A P T A I N S I N GL E T O N
Y ou ar e ordered fort hwi th to repair with a force o f
me n
U nder y our co mma nd to Nauvoo and ther e station your force s in an
eligibl e pos ition there to remain until further ordered And that
you, by such means as your command may afford , maintain order i n
s aid city and perform s uch other dutie s as the ci rcumstances may
r equire And that you take command of t h e police and force s of
s aid city
By c om mand of th e Go v ernor T homas For d
l\ I R D EMIN G Ge n 4 t h B rigade ,
5 t h Divis ion of the Illinoi s lVI i lit i a
O C S K I NNE R Aid de C amp
Thi s o r der i s approv ed by m e J une 2 5 1 8 4 4
TH O S FO R D Governor and Commander i n Ch ief
Capta in S ingleton with hi s company immediately repaired to Nau
voo and remained there until the v ery evening upon which the
During hi s
j ail at Carthage was attack ed a nd the S miths killed
stay at Nauvoo C a pt Singleton maintai ned the utmost peace and
order and by hi s deci sion of character promptnes s i n action and
the stri ct impartiality with which he di scharged hi s duty , won t he
condence and res pect of all pa rti es i ntere sted
The examination of the two Smiths and other s upon th e charge
of riot
occurr ed on the 2 5 t h of June O n the 2 6t h abo ut t h e
mid dl e of t h e afternoon the t w o Smiths w ere brought o ut of j ail to
answ e r to the charge of treason against the State of Illinoi s T he
e xamination was to ha v e taken pl ace at the court hous e before two

J o n would cons ent to

j usti ce s of the peace Before however
leav e the j ail he procured a promi s e from two of hi s fri ends , to
walk w ith him one on each side of him In thi s w ay h e was con
d u c t e d t o t h e co u rt h o u s e , u nder a g uard compos ed of t h e C arth ag e
.

'

r
1
Greys wh o forme d a ho llow s quare with Joe an d H yrum i n t he
middle The appearance of J oe during hi s progres s to the plac e
of trial as w ell as while he w as at the court hous e was that of a
guilty c o w a r d ly c u lpr i t A ll t h e bo mb ast , ov erbearing conduct
and haughty demeanor t hat marked hi s cours e wh i le in the mid st
of his followers had en t ir ely left him H i s cheek s w ere b lanched
with fear ; hi s eye s were constantly xed U po n t h e mult itude that
surrounde d him with a wild vacant stare as thoug h expecting
every moment to b e his last ; and t o me he acted and appeared as
one w h o regarded hi s doom as s ealed Hyrum Smith was evidently

a man of far more moral and physi cal courage than J o n 5 and
hi s bearing throu ghout s o far as hi s co nduct came under my ob s ervati on during his s oj ourn at Carthage w a rr an t s t hi s conclusion
The court hous e was crowded to su ffocation and bu t a s mall por
tion of thos e collected c o u l d g a i n admittance A few moments
after the pris oners w ere brought in and order could be restored
the u s t i c e s inquired of the pr os ecuti on i f they w ere ready to pro
who repli ed i n the a frmative The
e e c d w ith t he inv estigation
pros ecuti on w a s conducted by O C Skinner Esq and J u d ge
Emmons of Car t hage a n d Mr Sharpe of W ars aw The de
fence of the two Smiths by H T R eid Es q of F ort M adi s on
and J ames W l V o od of Burl i ngto n both o f Iowa Territory
U pon the couns el for the pros ecutio n man i festing thei r rea d i n e s s to
proceed with t h e inve stigat ion t h e attor n ey s of t h e S mith s r e
marked that they w ere not prepared a n d made an application for
a continuan ce which was gran ted by the court The hearing of
th e investigation w as cons equently deferred until t h e 2 7 th (next
d ay at 1 2 o clock ) a nd sub pasn a s for s ome thirty or forty wit n es s es
obtained by t h e couns el of the accus e d The Sm i ths w e r e t h e n
r eman d ed to j ail under the same armed force and in the same
manner as t h y had be en brought into court At the time the i n
it was the d es ign
v e s t i at i o n w a s postpo n ed until noon the next day
g
of Gov F o rd to hav e marched the next morning by eight o clock
to Nauvoo with all the forces encamped either at Carthage o r
W ars aw O ne of the j ustices before whom the investigation wa s
to have taken place and t h e on e who i s sued t he original p roce s s
upon th e complaint ag ainst th e Smiths for tre ason was R
Smith Esq o f Carthage This gentleman was the captain of th e
Car t hage Grey s and aft er the continuance of the caus e receiving
orders from t h e Governor as the commander ih chi ef to m
arch t o
N auvoo in t h e morning of the day s et for t h e exami nation h e fur
ther postponed t h e day of inve sti g ation from Thursday th e 2 7t h
until Saturday t he 2 9 t h inst Thi s h a s b een made a caus e of
complaint on the part of one of the c o un s el fer t h e deceas ed A n
intelligent public however will perceive that und e r the circum
stances Captain Smith could not hav e d one otherwis e A n d it i s
worthy of re mark and s usceptibl e of t he most t n du bi i a ble pr oof
e as
that the fu rther postpo n ement of the caus e was not at the ti m
i s k n o w n c o mpla i n e d of by eith er of the coun s el or the accus ed
But on the contrary the two Smiths s o far as they gav e any ex
pres s ion in r egard to the condu ct of t h e j u s t i c e w a s that of app ro
It gav e them fu rther t im e t o c ons u mmat e an escape w hi c h
b at i o n

,:

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'

'

'

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I wi ll sat i sfa ct ori ly s ho w b efo r e I c o ncl u d e , th ey

had i n cont emplat ion ,

an d

the i r frie nds

u ring t h e w hole of t h e d ay , (th e 26 t h ) as w ell as th e night pre v i

o u s t o t h e killing of t h e S mith s t h e gr eat es t excite m ent
pr e v aile d at
C ar t hage
N 0 one co u ld clos e hi s ear s agains t the m u rm u rs that
Little s q u ads co u l d b e s e e n
ran t h r o u gh ou t t h e ent ir e comm u nit y
at t he t a v erns at t h e t ent s of t h e sol dier s and in e v e r y par t 05 t h e
t o wn , e v idently holding con dential comm u nication s the o n e w i th
the ot her while a s pirit of dis content m anifes t ly pervaded man y
o f t hes e l itt le c oll ections
N o one nor no s q u ad came o u t an d
b oldly p ro claimed thei r int entions t h e one w ay or t h e other B u t
expre s sion s falling from t h e l ip s of n u mb er s ther e as s emb le d ,
c o u ld leav e n o ot h e r impres sion u pon any s ane mind than that t he y
w ere det ermined t h e Smiths sho u ld n ot es cap e s u mmary pu ni sh
ment Ther e w ere at C arthage d u ring thi s day b ut v ery fe w o f
t h e citi z ens of W arsa w
The w ing of the force s u nder arms
n u mb e ring ab ou t v e h u ndred and compri sing t h e citi z ens of W ar
s a w and its v icinity w er e encamped at W ar sa w ; and b y the order s
of t h e commanding o fcer the near es t t hey w er e t o approximat e
C arthage w as at G olden s P oint ab ou t mid w ay of t h e t w o plac es
Thi s plac e they w ere r e q u ire d to r eac h b y n o o n on the 2 7 t h (the
d ay t h e S miths w er e killed ) in or d e r t o j oin t h e forc es from C ar t hage
on thei r contemp lated mar c ln t o N a u v oo
The impr es s ion left on my mind , as w ell a s on m ost o t hers
t her e w ith w hom I con v er s ed w as that v iolence w as contemplat e d
t o w ards the Smiths
I n a le t ter I w rot e to the A l t on Telegraph
dat ed t h e 2 6 t h ; the follo w ing pas sages o cc u r : N ot w ithstanding
the acc u m u lated w rongs and inj u ri es i nicted u pon the citi z ens b y
the M ormons there i s a commendab le s pirit on the part of the for
m er only to hold the l eader s r e s poh s ibl e a n d the c o nvi cti on s of my
mi n d a r e t ha t befor e t hey di sba n d a desper ate eor t wi ll be ma de t o
v i si t s u mma r
y pun i shmen t upo n th e two S mi t hs a n d possi bly on e or
t

1
4
t wo ot h er s a t
Y o u N E E D NO T B E A T A L L
T o HEAR A T
A NY TI M E
o r T H E D E ST R U C T I O N o r T H E
s u n p n rs n n

This l ett er it w ill b e r eme m

T wo S M I THS B Y TH E P O P U L A C E
b ered w as w ritten at C arthage t w enty eight ho u rs pre v io u s t o t h e
att ack u po n the j ail L e t u s no w examine w hat w ere the appr e
h e n s i on s of other s I n th e N a u v oo Ne i gh b o r E x t ra of J u ly 2d 1 8 4 4 ;
gi v ing an acco u nt of the death of the t w o Smiths thr ee stat ement s
ar e to b e fo u nd : one signed W illard R ichard s J ohn Tay l or Sam u el
H S mith ; another H T R eid and a t hird J ame s W W oods
In
the rs t s t atement t h e foll ow ing pas sage w ill b e fo u nd :
In
t h e mor n ipg (t h e 2 5 t h ) w e sa w t h e G o v erno r an d he pledg ed the
fa i th of t he S ta te that we shou ld be pr otec ted J Gen S mi th a nd hi s
brothe r H y r u m wer e a r r ested by a wa rr a n t feunded upon the o a th s of
KN O W I N G T H E
H 0 N or t on a n d a g n sti n e Spenc er for t r ea s on
TH RE A T S F R O M S E V E R A L P ER S O N S T H A T TH E T W O S M I TH S SH O U L D
N E V E R L E A V E C A R T H A G E A L I V E W E A L L B E GA N T O B E A L A R M E D
for t h eir per sonal safety H e r e t h e n i s concl u si v e proof from t he
M o r m ons th ems e lve s that on t h e 2 5 t h t hey kne w of threats b eing
m ade a ai n st th e Smiths and th at t hey w ere a lar med for thei r

er sonal sa ety
ei
d
ne of t h e c o u ns e l for S m i t h s , i n hi s
M
r
R
o
,
p
f
D

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2*
.

e m e nt s ays
O n W ednes day aft ernoon (2 6 t h ) t h e G o v er no r
i n company w ith one of hi s friends v is ited the pri soners at the j ail
an d again as s u red them that th ey sho u ld b e protected from v iolence
and t old them that if the troops marched the next morning t o N au
T H EY S H O U LD
B i:
T A KE N
v o o , as his E xcellency then expect ed

U
E
I
P
E
O
A
A
E
T
1
A L O N G I N O R D E R T O I N S R TH E R
R S N L S
F
Y
This ex
B u t to my min d it appear s concl u sive tha t
t ract sp eaks for i t self
i f no threat s from a so u rce e n t i le d to credi t had b een made agains t
t h e Smith s pre v io u s to the afternoon 0 1 th e 2 6t h it w as w holly s u
pe ru o ii s that the G o v ernor shou ld tak e them w ith the main body
of the forces to Na u voo
i n or d er t o i nsu re thei r per s onal s afety
M r W oo d in hi s statement u s es ne arly the same lang u age a S hi s
c olleagu e
G ov F ord in hi s addres s to t h e citi z ens of I llin o i s after the
death of the Smiths does not intimat e that he had any kno w ledge of
t he des ign of any per s on or per sons t o attack the Smiths ; b u t he
s t ate s un equ i voca lly that he wa s sa ti sed of a design on the part of
s ome of the troo ps i f an opport u nity o ffered to attack Na u v oo
T h e follo w ing is the pas sage in the G overnor s addres s to w hich I
all u de :
0 n the morning of the d ay the deed w as comm i t t qd w e
had propos ed to march t h e army u nder my command i nto N a u v o o ;
I h owever d i s c over ed o n the even i ng befor e t ha t n o thi ng bu t u tter de
s t r u c t i o n o the c i t
y wou ld s a ti sfy a por ti on of t he t r o ops and tha t if
f
W e marched into the c i ty pretext s w o u ld not b e w anting for com
menci n g hosti li ti es
The ab ove extract s are g i v en simply for t h e p u rpos e of sho w i ng
the state of fee ling that exis ted in the comm u nity at large at C ar
t h ag e and to maintain the position as s u med by me that if t he
vox

u
op
li
w as an y criterion to j u dge by an attack u pon the Smiths
p
L e s s than thi s I co u ld n o t say in
W a s an inevita b le cons e q u ence
r edeeming the pl edge made in the c ommencement of this p u b li ca
t ion to give a fu ll and fai r exposition of all the facts attending the
d eath of the t w o I mpos t ers
O n the morning of t h e 2 7 t h (Th u r sday ) Gov F ord calle d a
c o u ncil of the o i ii c e r s of the compani es encamped at C arth age and
w hich di d n ot i n c lu de any of the W arsa w soldi ers and s u b mitted to
t hem w heth er u nder the circ u mstanc es that then exi sted
the mor e
t han prob ab l e attack u pon N a u v oo if they w ent there
i t w o u ld b e
A fter a good deal
pr u dent to proceed in the contemplat ed march
o f dis c u s sion among th e o f
cer s a small maj ority decided to pro
o e c d t o N a u v oo
B ut not w ith s t andi ng thi s r es u lt on the pa rt of the
m aj or i ty G ov F ord as s u med the res ponsib ility of co u ntermanding
h i s previo u s order to mar ch to that c ity and of d ie b anding a ll the
t roops except t w o companie s s elected by him to g u ard the j ail a n d
a company of hors e sixty in n u mb er that w as t o act as an escort t o
hi m in v isi t i n g N au voo for the p u rpos e of addre s sing th e ci t i
Z ens of that plac e
The troops w ere accor d ingly disb anded an d
by noon of that day mos t of them w er e on the ir r et u rn to the i r
r es pective homes e s pecially thos e from oth er co u nti es
This s t e p
on the part of the G overnor has b een d eep ly cens u red on all s ides
The t ro ops w ho w ere anxio u s to visit N a u v o o w er e dis pleas ed in
c on se u enc e
The M ormons m u r mur e d
of t h e di s a
o i nt me nt
q
p
p
s t at

'

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b ec au s e they reli e d u po n t hes e forces (es pecially the M c D on ou g h

and Sch u yler troop s) as their prote ct ion A n d many of thos e n ot
pres ent or kno w ing the circ u mstances t hat S u rro u nded the G overn
or have deno u nced the meas u re as an impolitic one ; w hile other s
le s s charitab le and from the b as est moti v es attri b u te his co u rs e to
I maintai n here as I have thro u gh the medi u m of t he
desi g n
pres s and in s e v eral p u b l ic s peeches that G ov Ford w as j u sti e d
in the co u rs e he took Facts her etofore detailed i n thi s w ork
sho w concl u sively that t h e high est state of excitement if not ex
as p erati o n perv aded t he comm u nity ass em bled at C arthage M e n
called o u t by the a u thor ity of la w to aid in q u elling o u tb reaks and
s e cu ring t h e s ervi c e of legal proc e s s against pers ons charged w ith
the highe st most r e v olting crime s a n d u po n w hom the Governor
had reli ed i n maintaini ng peac e had to s o me extent b ecome d i s
content e d a n d determined to avenge b y force the w rongs they or
their fello w citi z ens had s u ffered The s ec eders fro m the M or
mons w ere mostly as s emb led at C art hag e and s ev e ral of them a c t
ing from the b elief that they w er e to be m u rdered b y the hil or
ni ons left no opportu nity u nimproved to in u ence the p ub lic mind
to the highest pitc h against them I n for ma t i oii in w hich the mos t
implicit con dence co u ld b e placed w as convey ed to the G overnor
t hat an o u tb reak among the troops w as contemplated b y a portion
of them and that i f they w ere mar ched to N au v o o an attac k u pon
the inhabitants of that place w a s rendered c ertain Gen D eming
the o f ce r in co mmand of the B rigade gav e hi s opinio n to the Go v
cr u or that it w o u ld b e u nsafe to mar c h the force s to Na u voo ? and
t hat if it w as done he sho u ld b e u na bl e to cont r ol or ma nage them
U nder s u ch circ u mstances can it b e do u bted, that Go v F ord pu r
s u ed the pr u dent proper co u rs e ? H a d he i n the face of all th e
w arning he had receiv ed not only from the B ri gadi e r Ge neral
b u t from others that a portion of the troops w o u ld attac k N a u voo
i f ma rche d the re per s evered i n his order to vi sit Na n voo and a
c ollis i on be t w een the troop s , or a po rtion of theme and the M o r
m ons tak e n place in w hich the lives of h u ndreds w o u ld ha v e b een
s acri ce d
and the destr u ction of m u ch property ens u ed w o u ld
not the w hole people have condemned him for th u s blindly leading
his forces into danger ? C o u ld it not have b een s aid w it h the
s t rictest propriety t h at G ov; F ord w as properly chargeab l e w ith
t h e li fe of e v ery citi z en lost inasm u ch a s h e had in the face of
the deli b erate opinion of th e B rigadier G ene ra l as w e ll as the i n
form ation O f s e v eral r e pu tab l e pe rs ons that an o u tb reak b et w een
t h e M ormons a n d the troops w as ine vitab le per s isted in carryi n g
o u t an order w hi ch w o u ld ha v e b ro u ght the b elligerent parties into
immediate con ict
N ay more co u ld it n o t have b e en r eas onab ly
i nferred that he desir ed the d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e M or mons and thei r
pro perty having gone ther e w ith a fu ll kno w ledge that the troop s
co u ld not b e controlled an d that a portion w ere in exi bl e in thei r
deter mi nation to vi s it s u m m ary p u ni shment u pon this modern S o
T o my mind it appears most manifest that the pu b li c
dom ?
s afety
and the pr evention of a disgracefu l rio t imperio u sly call
ed for the co u ntermanding of his pre v io u s order The marching
t hem , u nde r t h e c ir cum s t ance s to N a u v oo , w o u ld ha v e b een j us t

'

as to have s ent a chi l d i nto a po wde r magaz i ne with a

lighted torch
A s s oon as Gov e rnor For d di sbanded th e forces at C arth age h e
despatch e d a mes s enger t o Golden s P oint with an order counter
manding hi s previous order to t h e War s aw: tr 0 0 ps an d directing
their return home Many of them it i s s aid r eturned wh il e the
gr eater portion took up the i r line of march i n a n ot h e r di r e ct i on
Thi s how ev er i s not stated from pers onal obs ervation but giv e n
for what it i s worth as the current rumor of the day About
on Thursday the 2 7t h G ov F ord left Carth age for Nauvoo and
arrived ther e b etwe en four and v e o c lock with th e escort of hors e
b efore mentioned and s ome eight or ten others The Marshal of
the city gav e notice that as s oon as th e people could be collected to
gether they would b e address ed by the Gover n or ; and in a space
of time not exce e din g thirty mi nut e s at mo st F I V E T H O U S A ND r a m
S O N S w ere congregated
O n the O ppos ite corner of the street from the Nauvoo Mansion
(t he publi c hous e where the Governor and suite w as stoppin g )
stood a s mall one story frame build ing not covered in and with but
few of the rafters up O n the top of thi s frame a platform w as
made of a few rough boards and from this eminence G ov Ford a d
dres s ed th e as s embled thousands of Mormons Hi s s peech w as
evi dently ev ery t hing el s e than wha t they had expecte d from him
and its e ffect upon them was by no means sati sfactory They had
been l ed t o b e li e v e (and not W ithout good cau se ) that the G overn
or W as fri endly in th e extreme to them and that s o far as his Exec
utiv e interference could g o i t would b e exerted in their b ehalf
This impres sion J O E s ought to keep up until within twenty four
hour s of hi s surrender to the authorities of the law I mak e thi s
as s ertion upon t h e authority of t h e
M r Dodge formerly of
Upper Alton but now a re s ident of Burlington ; H e arrived about
midnight at Nauvoo and pas s ed uninterrupted to the hotel where
At th e time he W ent into Nauvoo h e
J o n and hi s family resided
was not aware that the city was under martial law The ne x t
morn i ng at the tabl e where wer e as s embled the Prophet and many
of hi s prominent men and follo w ers J o n profe s s ed to r ead a letter
he had j ust r eceived from Gov F or d directed to him (J o n ) i n
which the Governor gav e him renew ed as surances of hi s being hi s
I am sati s ed Gov F ord
friend and determination to sustain
never wrote the i mpo st or t h at l ette r ; and t h at h i s obj ect in mak ing
t h e statement h e did in the pres ence of Mr Dodge was to inspire hi s
peopl e with condence and gi ve to hims elf an apparent in uence with
the G overnor in this mel ee whi ch s u bs equent events s h o w h e did
not pos s es s The Mormons however b eli eved that such a letter
was in the hand s of their Proph et and t h at t h e G overnor woul d
favor them in their nefarious de signs upon the s eceders as well
as th e other
They
but littl e prepared for
It was rm
a s peech of th e character made to them by Gov Ford
decided u nequivocal H e stated to the m that they were the aggres s
ors and th e caus e of all th e excitement then pervading the community :
t he pas sage of
t hat thei r d estruction of the N auvoo Expositor
many of th eir ordi nances , the abus e of t h e e x e rcis e of the H ab eas
as

p i ti c ,
ol

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[ 21 ]
C orpus A c t and their resi sting the s ervice of proces s for violation s
of la w W ere all illegal ar bitrary and unj ustiable acts That
their leaders had decei ved them in all thes e things and warned
th em again st their repetition He told them plainly and e mph at i c al
ly of the ex citement and prej udice that exi sted against th emin a ll
s ections of the country and again Warned them ag ainst committing
any n e w act of aggres sion whi c h would inevitably res ult i n t h e i r e x
term i nat ion and the probabl e c o n ag r at i o n of their entire city I
They were admoni shed by the G overnor that s uch was the pr ej u
dic e an i excitement agai n st them that if a con ict was provoke d
betw een them and th e citi z en s he would b e una ble to render them
as the Executiv e of Illinois ; any protection ; and that candor com
pe l le d him to mak e thi s statement to them t ha t they might know
precis ely t h e ground they occupied and m u st n ece s sar ily o ccupy if
a colli sio n ens ued between them and the citi z ens The exi stence
of th e D A N I I E B A N D among the m was als o alluded to by Go v
Fe r d and the purpos e s for which it was created des cante d up on
in terms of merited s everity H e als o read the name s of s ome
s ev en or eight individual s who were s eceders from the Mormons
and who had called upo n the Governor for protection fro m the d e
sign s of thi s mur d erous band They w e r e i n fo r me d that thes e s ec a
ders had stated that the destruction of their live s h ad been determined
U p on by the Prophet and this Danite Band s elected as the persons by
W hom t h e requis itions of the Prophet w ere to b e put into execut ion
Gov F ord remarked that it was not for him to say then wh e ther
h e beli eved thes e repres entation s or not But hi s o bj ect in calli ng
the atten t i o n of the Mormon s to it was to tell them that if e it h e r
of th es e pers ons w ere as sas sinated privately or publicly or the
property of either of th em destr o yed T H E P E O P L E woul d hold them
accoun t abl e fo r the act and that nothing co u ld prevent not a t /
zou
marching down upon th e m an d
E N T H O U S A N D citi z ens
sa n d but
I t w as
driving the whol e of them from the border s of the
the reiteration of u n d en ia ble tr u ths such as the above to the Mor
mons that M r R ei d the couns el o f t he i mpostor s d e n o mi ri at e s i n

ha r a n g u i n g the pea cefu l ci t i zen s of

hi s s ta i ament o f fa c ts
N a u voo H a d the s ame s pirit of candor been dealt out to the
Mor mo n s ye r s g o by thos e w h o have be en in the habit of li a r
them fo r politi cal as well as sini ster purpos es all this ex
e i t e mc n t w o uld not have existed and peace and tranq uility woul d
have reig n ed t h i o u g h o u t the coun ty of Hancock A fter Go v F ord
had conclu le d his s pe ech to the M ormons on the evening of th e
2 7t h at Nauvoo h e immediately together with h i s e s c o r t took
and here for a s eason I
U p th eir march o n their return to Carthage
must leav e t h e Governor while t h e attentio n of the publ ic i s direct
ed to t h e s cene that was enacted at Carthage
Previous to returning to the attack upon the j ail and t h e events
res ulting from that attack it i s important to a correct under s tand
ing of t h e m atter that the reader should be put in pos ses s ion of
the lo c ation o f t he j ail and the situation of the pri soners within it
Th e j ail i s a large two story stone building si t uated on th e o ut
skirts o f t he town of C arthag e about a quarter of a mile d i stant
fro m t h e court hous e an d i n the direction of Wars aw so that a
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pe rson or b ody of p ersons , coming from t he dir ection of Warsa w}

c ou ld approach t h e j ai l without entering the dens ely populated por

tion of the town or without being di s covered by the citiz ens i n

general A portion of this buildi ng was occupi ed by the j ailor and
hi s family as their re sidence ; a nd the resi due w a s ni shed o ff into
cells for the s ecuri t y and s afe keeping of tho s e committed for
crime with in its walls After the pri s oners had a short ti me
be en conned within one of the s e place s o f s afety complai nt was
made to the G overnor by their coun s el that they w ere treate d
w ith unnece s sar y rigor and an application was made by the
couns el to the Governor that their cli ents might b e perm itt ed t o
occupy a mor e comfortabl e th o ugh far le ss s ecure portio n of the
T he Executive accordingly addre s s ed a note to th e o f
cer in char ge of the pri s o ners a dvi s i n g that they be treated with
all the leni ency and be made as comforta bl e a s t h e se curity of thei r
pers ons would warrant They were cons equently p ermitt ed t o
occupy a room in the s ec o nd s tory of the building attached to th e
apartments occu pied by and i ntended for the fami ly of the j ailor
The windows to thi s apartment were not ba r r ed but on the con
t rary entir ely Open like the windows of any othe r dwelli ng
Within thi s room the pri soner s were conned their s afet y being
r egarded as amply provided for by the guard which w a s constant
ly kept upon d uty in and about the j ail
T W O of the wind ows to
thi s room , w er e u p at t he time of t he attack and a curta in hung
before each of them
A short time previous to t h e den ouement , as I am credi bly i n
formed the pri soners as w ell as the guard had be en regaling
thems elv es over a bottle of wine furni shed by t h e Prophet or at
hi s request B ut none of them so far as my informa tio n ext ended
had partaken to exces s T w o c ompani e s h ad been left by Gov
Ford previous to hi s d eparture i n the mo rning for N au v oo as a
guard to s ecure the s afe custody of the pris oners as well as to
protect them in the ev ent of an attempt being made to commit per
s onal violence upon them O ne of these co mpanie s wer e the Car
t h ag e Greys and both were under the i mmediate command of Gen
D eming accus ed (whether j us tly or not , I cannot s ay ) of b eing a
Jack Mormon and inte rested di rectly i n their behalf From th es e
compani es eight me n w ere alternately detached and stationed a s
immedi a te guard s at the j ail whil e the main body w ere e ncamped
on the public s q uare 3 di stance o f about eighty or one hundre d
ro d s
At about s ix o clock i n t he aft ernoon of t he 27t h of June , a bo dy
of men numbering from one hundred to one hundred and fty di s
g uis ed by having their face s painted di fferent colors , approached
the j ail from th e direction of W ar saw , and sur roun ded it They
w ere armed and the obj e ct of thei r mi s sion not to be mi s u n d e r
stood A de mand w as immed i ately made upon the gua rd of eight
on duty at the j ail for t h e delivery of th e Smiths whi ch w as
promptly refus ed A rush was made for the sta ir cas e by a por
t ion of the populace and t h e mu sk ets of the guard were insta ntane
O US l
y di scharged at them i that the y did not ta ke e ffect I ente rta in no
r ea s onable doubt and whether intenti onally or n ot , th e fair
pr e su mp
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[ 23 ]
t i on i s from th e b e st i n formati on I can obtai n that the gu ns w ere red
over the heads of the as s ailants The guards in att endanc e were s ecu
red and the stair cas e eas ily gained by thos e s e eking the Smiths and
on reaching the door of the room where the pris o n ers were co n ned
'
a h indi s criminate ring took place be t w een th e as sailed and the a s
With the confus ion and dis may that i nevita bly existed at
s ai lan t s
the time it i s unreas o nable to expect that the fact of which party
Five minutes to
red rst can with any c e r t ai n t y b e ascertai ned
the v ery extent did not transpi re from the r st demand upo n the
g uards for the pr i son ers until the deed was committed and the as
s ai lan t s had retreated from the ground
U pon the r st di s charge of
musketry from thos e without the room Hyrum Smi th was instant
ly kil le d an d Taylor the editor of the Nauvoo N eighbor wounde d
with at least fo u r bullets Jos eph Smith the Prophet red hi s six
barrel r evolving pi stol thre e ti mes and on e of the balls took e ffect in
the wri st of a man by the name of W i lls and who was among t h e
The Prophet immediate
a s sailants as i s generally acknowledged
1y after di s char ging hi s pistol at thos e within the j ail retr eated to
the window and S pr u ng upon the s ill with the de sign as i s beli ev
e d of j umping to the ground and attempting an es cap e U pon
r eaching th e wi ndow and throwing as ide the curta in and pe r c e i v
ing unexp ecte dly a large armed force in di sgui s e at that end of
the building U pon the ground he exclaimed O h "my God
wh en a n umber of mus kets w er e with the rapidity of thought d i s
charged at the unfortunate w retch ve or six of which took e ffect
H e fell head forward to the earth and was d ead as I am informed
by one w h o examin ed him immediately on falling w hen he struck
t h e ground
H e w as wounde d i n the breast by ve or six di fferent
in all human probability hav e prov ed
s hots e ither of which wo u ld
fatal H yrum Smith w as wounded i n the head on e of the balls
pas sing immediately under the eye ball another through the neck
and the re sidue through hi s body D r R ichards who was als o in
the same room with the d e ceas ed es caped uninj ured by retr eating
at the rst ons et behind the door and against th e wall There wer e
i n addition to tho s e di sgui s ed as I have been informed and which
information I beli ev e to be correct about three h undred others w h o
were not disguis ed and w h o remained a short di stance from t h e j ail
i n ambush as a res erved corps should furth e r as si stance p rove n e
by some i s persi sted i n
It
was
at
rst
stoutly
deni
ed
and
c e s sar
y
to thi s day that the prisoners w ere not armed at all Thi s how
e ver i s a fact r educed to too absolute a c ertainty to admit of any
controv ersy It i s admitted by the Mormons th ems elves that Jo e
and Hyrum Smith w ere both armed w ith revolving pi stol s Joe
had di s charged but three of th e barrel s of hi s pi stol as w as di s
covered upon examination after hi s death Hyrum s w as found
upon hi s pers on t he barrel s all loaded and of cours e unus ed by
him Whether Taylor and R ichar d s w ere armed i s not k n own and
probably never will be I f they w ere armed they would no t ad
mit it ; but from the fact that their two as s ociates were prepared
for an at tack with pistols leaves the inference irr e si stibl e that they
H ow they oh
also had adopted the same precautionary m easures
t ai ne d the arms i s of c o urs e un explained . I nas much, h ow e v er
,

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as their friends had free admis s ion to them d u r i n g t h e w hol e o f the
t ime th e y were in connement t h e l egit imate conclusion i s that
they w ere furni she d with w eapons of defence by thos e v isiting
them O n the next day after the att ack I met with a man in W ar
s aw by the nam
e o f W i lls and heretofore r eferred to w h o inform
ed me he was shot by J oe Smith in the j ail The w ound was not
a dange rous one and my obj e c t i n alluding to it at all i s only in
corro b oration of the s tat ement th at the pri soners wer e a r med and
u s ed them e i the r in defence or in making an attack This M r
Wills had formerly b e e n a M dr mo n preacher W a s a s eceder from
Jo e and hi s impositions and felt no v ery fri end ly d is position to
w ards the s ect much les s to thos e ch arged w ith treason and con
ned i n the j ail That there w as no d oubt of hi s havi n g be e n
w ounded by the dis charge of a pistol red by the Prophet h e
gav e me the most unqualied ass urance Two other of t h e citizen s
of Hancock were w o u nded in the conict by the ring from the
pri son ers as t hey maintai n b ut neither of th em dan gerously
SM
u
S o s oon as t h e death of J o s
was ascertaine d the as
s a il an t s wit hdrew
a n d r eturned
as i s supp
os ed t o their respective
places of abode Th e con sternation that pervaded the entire com
m u nity at Carthage can better be imagine d than d es cribed t e n
the attack was rst made upon th e j ail and t h e qui ck succ es s ive
reports of the rie s heard the bells of the taverns were rung and
an alarm was rai s ed throughout t h e tow n th at t h e M ormo n s had
surrounded the j ail and were rescuing the pris oners from t h e cus
tody of its keeper hd an y crediti n g the report suppos ed the
v enge ance o f t h e followers of J o e w o ul d as s oon as h e w a s r e l e a s
ed b e t urned upon the citizens and that i ndis crim i nate mas sacre of
life and c o n l lag r a t i on o l pr o pe rt y would ensue A fe w moments
ll O W LV l on ly t rans pi r e d before t h e knowle d ge of the d eath of the
Smith s d i sabus e d the public mind as to th e rumor that t h e M or
mons had at tac ked t h e j ail though it by no means les s ened th e con
s t e r n at i o n a n d fear of t h e inh abitants in gen e ral
They s u ppos ed
that as s oon as in form ation could be conveyed to Nauvoo of t h e
death o f t h i r two principal men and the dangerous woun d ing of
the thir d t h e inhabi t ants of that city w oul d rush in a s pirit of r e
? of en d s
t h e mali nity
v cn e
with
U pon the towns of Carth a ge
g
g
and Wa rsaw a t d t l a e r e t h e rising of the morning s u n the bl a ck

ne ss o f ashes woul d alone mark w h ere they stood and all of

th eir i n h abita n ts w h o should fall wi th in th eir gr a s p would meet
the sam e fate w h ic h h ad been vi sited upon the Smith s A mes sen
g e r w as imm e d iate ly d espatche d to Go v For d to i n form him of
what h a d tr a n spi r e d a n d to e n abl e him to es cape whil e the citi
z ens wi t h but v e ry f w e xc r pt i o n s were r e i n g i n every directi on
from w hat t h e y r e g ar d ed a s i n evitabl e d estruction i f they remained
T h e m e s s e n g er d e sp atche d to the G overnor me t h i m about three
miles o u t of t h e city o n h i s way back to Carthag e w h o w a s r e
queste d to r e turn wi t h t h e escort and t h e w h ol e made all c on v e n
i e n t h a s t e fo r t h e S n e of co n stern a t i on A d espatch however was
s e n t tn
C a pt l i n pl t o n and hi s com pa ny w h o were suppos ed t o
hav e r em a i n e d in Nauvoo to inform th em of what had occurred
w i t h instructions to march without delay to Carthage
H e w as

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met

sh or t d istanc e out of Nau vo o and i nc reas i ng t he march of hi

men arrived t h e next morning at C arthag e T h e M o rmons di d n ot
that evening hear of the c at a st mph e that had befal le n thei r leaders ,
n o r w as the i nfo rmation imparted to the m
, unti l a bou t daylight t h e
next morni ng The Govern o r an d hi s e scort reached C arth ag e be
t w een ten and eleven o clock that evening Wha t h e di d, o n hi s
arrival I pr efer gi vin in hi s ow n language as tak e n from hi s ad

dr e s s T o the people o the S t ate of I lli n oi s u nde r d at e o f Jun e 2 9t h

1 844
I n it he s ay s M any of t he i nhabit an ts of C art ha g e ha d ed
wi th thei r fami li es; other s wer e pr epared t o g o I appr ehen ded da n
g er t a the s ett lemen t s fr om t he s udden fur y an d pass i ons o
f the M or
mon s an d sanc ti oned th ei r movemen ts i n thi s r espect
Gen D emi n g
volunt eer ed t o r emai n wi t h a
few t roops to obser ve t he pr ogr ess of
event s
t o defen d pr oper ty ag a i n st sma ll n u mber s a nd wi th or ders t o
r etr ea t
mena ced by a s uper i or fo r ce I dec i ded t o pr oc eed i mme
di a tely t o Qu i nc y t o pr epar e a fo r ce su
ic i en t t o suppr ess dis or der i n
c a se i t sh o u ld ensu e
or th e or e o i n g tr a ns acti ons or
r o m an
other
g
f
y
f
f

T he r esult w as a tota l abandonm ent o f t h e to wn of Car

c a us e
t hag e during that night b y men w ome n and c h ildre n s aving th e
handful of person s r emaini ng with G en D eming as S enti ne ls T h e
publi c rec ords of t he c o u n ty w er e all r emoved to t h e n eighb oring
t o w n of Au g usta whi ther the Gov ernor as w ell as most of t h e cit
In the rapid ight that ensued t he
i ze n s repair ed that evening
c annon
arms and ammunition of the citi zens w er e all left at C ar
t h ag e and th e property of thos e escaping from imagin ar y d an ger
l eft to chance for its pres ervat ion
U pon the ar r i v al of Capta in Singl eton s company at th e cou nty
s eat their apprehensions were gr eatly increas ed by Gen D e ming s
i nformati on impa rte d t o them ; and th e y too conceiving th at
di s

a
e
l
e
n t ench a/
t nc
pro ceeded w ith all conve n i ent
nt ment to t he vi ew
haste for their hom e s in S chuyler county The captain concluded
t o r epai r at hi s c as e to Q u incy whit her he di r ect ed his steps and
reported hims elf to t h e co mmander i h chief
At Warsaw a so mewhat di fferent state of thin gs exi sted I
r eached there a bout midnight of the s ame day upon which t he hi ll
ing of the Smiths took place Col Mar c h of Alto n and mys elf
left Nauvoo immediately after th e Go v er no r had conclu ded hi s
s peech to the Mormons
Ke okuk , by w ago n on
an d starte d for
the oppos ite side of the ri ver i n h opes of r eaching t he packet B o
previous to her departur e from that plac e T h e ma d e bei n g
r eas
bad w e did not reach Keo kuk until half past t e n o cl o ck at nigh t
an d found the boat go n e
W e had b ee n ther e bu t a few mom ents
when I he ard th e report o f a canno n in th e di r e ct ion of Warsaw
and at on ce suppo s ed it was intended as a sig nal o f triumph a nd
t hat t h e e v en t h ad occur red which I felt co nvin ced w o uld t ak e
pl ace t wen ty eig ht hour s previou s to its occurrence A n iri ou s to
le arn the facts a n d s omewhat i n he pe s that t h e B or ea s might n ot
h ave left Warsaw , w e procured a s hi and hired a coupl e of me n
to r ow u s do w n t he river to t hat place a d istanc e of about v e
mil e s W e reached ou r pl ac e of destination about midnight not

wi thout ho w ever be ing required to stand sev eral time s and r e

po rt who we wer e and what was our b usine s s , by sentinel s placed
a

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26

m
m

an di n
sp in: th e o uts ki rts of the t ow n , as w el l l as t h e mo st c o
g
3 H ere , too , I found con s ternatio n
o
nt
i
on the banks
p
lar pe rvading, to so me e xt e n t y t h e entire community ; The
a nd a
e v ents of t h e t r a
g i c sc e n e at Cart hag e , We r e S O O n i mpa rt e d to me
The troop s h o had marched frdm b old e n s Point , to C arthage , and
back again , that day , had but a : short t i me pr e v i o u s , return ed , w ere
aking o t some refreshm ents
v ery much fatigued , a nd w ere part
'
which had bee n prepar ed for th em by a pertion of t h e citiz ens
T hos e havi ng fa ili es , w ere co ng r eg at ipg t h e w ome n an d children
together , on the banks of th e Mis si s sippi , w ith a view of re ovin g
them to the little town of Alexandria , on t h e oppo s ite s id e of the
The B oreas lay on t h e opposite s ide , and w a s c r o iv d e d with
r iver
famili es de stined for t gu i n c y , a s a place of refuge , and dete rmined
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there to remain until the res ult should b e known whether War
a n d thei r
s aw w ould be t h e scene o f renewed act s of v iole n ce
homes laid was t e by the to rch of an infuriated and unrelenting ad
as s oon crowded with women and child
The
ferry
oat
v e r s ar
b
w
y
w ith what s catt ering article s of w earing apparel they could
r en
(collect -together in the hurry and ex citement of the moment ac c om
pan i e d by a few of the male citiz ens wh o w ere s ent along to pro
modations as t h e place of thei r refuge
v id e them with s uch acco m
Most of the men r emain ed at their pbs t s at W arsaw
w ould afford
and at o nc e commenced placing t heir t own in as formidabl e a stat e
as their numbers an d the quantit y of thei r h r a arms
o f defence
T h e str eets were patrolled by a vigilant guard :
W ould admit of
s entinels w ere placed at every point of ingre s , bn t h e ou t s ki r t s of
s
t h e town : th e fe w pie ce s of c ann on , they h a d w c r e stat ioned at
ost signal
t hos e points wher e it was believe d , they w o uld d o th e m
s ervice in case of an attack S everal o f t he me r c hant s had their
goods in wagons , ready for a r etreat i n the ev ent of t h e M or mons
A n d all t h at rema ined
att acking th e m w ith an ov e rpow e ri ng force
there were kept c onsta ntly un d e r ar in s , an ticipat in g ev ery mo
ment a visitation from the Morm ons
I cros s ed the Mi s si s sippi on the ferry boat c o n ta i n in g t h e fami
l ie s of t h e c i t i z e n s and at the r equest of M r R ockwell of VV a r
addres s ed them fo r a ffe w moments, a nd endeavored by d e
s aw
ta i ling t o them what tran spired at N au voo ; the characte r of t h e
Gov e r n Or s addre s s to the cit iz ens of that place t h e d e par t me n t of
th e M or mons a n d their d ej e cted appea rance to c alin t h eir ex cite
me r t a n d impres s u pon them the c onvictions of my o w n mi n d t hat
no a ttack wou ld b e made upon them by the Mormo n s but that they
would remain as a body in th ei r o Wn ci ty and ac t o n ly O n th e d c
0 1) rea r hing the O ppo s ite shore I e mbark ed on board t h e
fensive
B oreas a nd arrive d at Q uincy the ne xt mor ning at d ay light
Wh e n we l eft Warsaw gre at apprehens ions w ere entertained
t h e citize n s t h ere , that G ov Ford and s uite Wh o Were s uppos ed to
h av e encamp ed for the night within a few mil es of Nauvoo as
w ell as C a pt S i ng le t o n and: hi s littl e band of sixty men known t o
b e s tation ed i n th e city o f Nauv oo we re i n imminent danger of
It was i n s i st e d on the part
per s onal vi ol ence from the M ormon s
"
o f th e citize n s that a s s oon as the news reached the
o
t
H ly C i y
of th e fall of thei r t w o gr e at l eaders , their follo w ers
le d on b y
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e u

nprinci pled

d daring d e s perado

in

their midst , w oul d at

o nce t a ke v h e a n c e b
m
s s ac r e i n
a
g Go v F or d a n d h i s e s c or t as
g
: y
g
al s o C apt ai n S i n le t o n an d his company
A comm
ittee
c
on si sti n
g
g
c i t i z e n s fM e s s r s R o se v e lt and M atthews
of
were ao
c ar d i n l
g y d espat c ed to Q uincy with instructions to s eek t h e
as si s t a n c e o f t h e ci z en s of that place to r es cue t h e Gov ernor an d
others , fr o m what w as s uppos ed by s ome to be their danger
Im
m edi a t ely aft e r the boat reached Q uincy the bells of the di fferent
churches w ere at once rang and in t h e c ours e o f a few minutes
an im me ns e gathering of t h e peopl e had convened at t he court
hous e D r R alston was appointed chairman of the meeting w he n
Wm H R o s e v e lt E sq one of the committee from W arsaw w as
called upon to gi v e a s t at em ent o f facts to th os e as s embl e d Not
h aving heard h i m I of co urs e c annot state th e s u bstance of hi s r e
mark s It was how ever admi t ted on all hands that he was ve ry
much exci ted and the e li e c t of his e ti o r t was e v idently s uch as to
impres s thos e whom he ad d r es s ed w i th the beli ef that dange r
threatened thos e of our citi z ens who w e re suppos ed to have e m
cam ped e ither at Na u voo or in its v icinity A cting under s uch
impre s si ons abo u t thre e hundred of the citi z ens of Q uincy with
com me n dable alacrity at once prepared to march to W arsaw and by
eigh t o cl o c k that m o rning em barked on board the Boreas and pro
co o led to W ars a w w here they took up their encampment and r e
m ained until the S unday ev ening following when by the advi ce of
the G o ver n or they returned to A dams county The o fcers of t h e
t hree indepe nde n t comp a ni es of Q uincy proved thems elve s worthy
of t h e pos itio n s they occupied They had call ed out thei r r e s pe c
tive co mpa n ies to mi i n t a in n o t violate the law s of the land an d
r es ol v ed that not a blo w should b e struck b y one of them , sav e
under order s from th e commander i n chi ef or from thos e under
him Upon arriving at W ar saw it was as certained beyond much
doubt that the Gov ernor his e scort as w ell as Captain S ingleton s
company were safe as an expres s had r e a ched Warsaw from t h e
G o v erno r ab out 2 o clock the night previous instructing G ener al
K nox to m arch to C arthage with all convenient despatch with all
Their greatest soli citude was there for e ,
t h e forces he could rais e
\V h ile th ey were encamped at Ca rthage some attempts
r emoved
w ere mad e to ex cite the pr ej u d ices o f a portion of th e Q uincy
forces and prevail upon them to aid in the extermination of t h e
M ormons at any rate Thos e e fforts howe v e r were wholly una
vaili ng as they w ere all determined to do nothing s av e under t h e
authori ty o f the la w
The expect a tions o f th e p u bl i c may pos sibly anticipate a d i sc i a
s ur e of the name s of th e pers ons connected with the destruction of
th e Smith s ; and th e extent to which the citi z ens gener ally w e r e
privy t o t h e a ffa i r T o say that I do not know a ny w ho participate d
in the attack would n ot be true B u t the ci r cumstanc es under w h i c h
I came in pos s es s ion of that knowledge were o t t h at nature that n o
i nducement o n earth could prom pt or c oer c e me to d ivulge the i r
Nor c an I as sert wit h any de g ree of c e rta i n ty h o w far t he
n ame s
My in d ividu al opinio n is fro m
c iti z ens g e ne r a l ly ar implica t ed
i nfor matio n deri ved fr o mthe b est s ources , that t h e enti re com mu ni
s

an

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of th e whole co u nty ; with prob ably not t w ent y e x c epti on s,Wei-

rivy
to
a
determination
on the part of some of the ir n umb er , t hat
p
the S mith s n ev e r sho u ld leave th e C art hage j ail aliv e A s my
great obj ect in thi s publicat io n i s , to i mpart corr e ct i nforrnat i on t o
the public I feel constr ained from an imper ati ve s ens e of d ut y to
give the sub stance of a sta tement , in writing made to Gov Ford
by one who was an eye w itnes s , and ma rched t o War s aw ; and th e
the per us al of which the Gove rn or has fa vored me with T h e
i nforma nt of t h e Governor showed by h i s as s erti ons t hat there
w as a calm deliberate and xed determination, upon the part of
tho s e who w ere smarting und e r the inj uries in icted upon them by
J oe S m
ith to put hi m and hi s brother Hyrum out of exi stenc e
H e states the plan to hav e b een this (I shal l omit names ) O n
the morning of th e 2 7t h when the forces were on the i r march to
Golden s Point i n the expectati on of proceeding to N au v o o i n
company with the C arthage wing of the army it was ag reed th at
t w enty me n w ere to b e pick ed from the compani es named i n the
statement whos e duty it was to hav e be en to h av e proceeded to
C arthage and as sas s inate the Smiths wh ile the re sidue of the army
under Gov Ford w er e at Nauvoo The i nformant of the Gov
cruor states that the arr i val of the mes s enger from hi s Excellency
countermanding the order of the p revi ous day to march to N au v oo
'
and di sbanding the forces then at G olden s Point , or on the i r w ay
thither destroy ed th e original design of the manner in whi ch
their wishes w ere to be accompli shed The o i c e r s for mally dis
banded their t roops b u t re q uested them to remain for a few mom
ent s
They were calle d to order when a citi z en (not connected with
the troo
who believed he would b e murdered i f th e S miths
w e re al ow ed t o es cape addres s ed them for a short peri od in a
ma n ner at least not calculated to allay th eir prej udi ces Afte r h e
ha d concluded a contra riety of opinion existed as to the c ou r s e t h at
s houl d be purs ued a portion strenuously insi sting that they shoul d
return to Wars aw while the r esidue as pertinaciously adhered to
the vi ew s of the rst s p eaker an d insi sted upon prompt a ction
o n e s peake r declared (as the Governor s informant states ) that
t hey had n oth i ng to expect from the Ex ecutive and that they must
either take the matter i nt o their o wn hands and avenge the i r
wrongs o r their most implac able ene mi es wou l d e s cap e The r e
s ult cf the deliberati ons w as that a large proportion o f thos e as
s embled advanced on their march whil e the smaller portion di r e c

ted their steps hom eward bound

When w ithi n ve mile s or
thereabouts o f C arthage a mes s enger from that plac e met t h e
forces and delivered to one of their number a lett er s igned C a m

It stated that now w as a beautiful tim e to do the

T R A C E GRE Y S
w ork that Gov F ord and hi s es cort had left for N au v o o and that
the u ar d understood the m att er perfectly : that their guns woul d
b e c e ded w ith b lank cartridges an d would b e red over the
I t als o des cribed the manner i n
h e ads of the as sailants of the j ail
whi ch a por t ion of the guard at the j ail should b e s ei z ed and h el d
Thi s i nformant further s ays , that whe n
by s ome of t h e a s s ai lants
th ey arrived on t he o uts kirts of t h e t own , they wer e met by one o f
i
l in gl y, sh ook hand s
t he o fc er s ofthe C arthag e Gre s , who, v e r s m
y
y
ty

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w ith s o me

t wo of t h e forc es , and pa sse d int o t he r e ar of them }

at ta c k w as imme di at ely made on the j ail , an d t h e deed a c

w he n

on e

or

an
complished I giv e this s tat em ent fo r what i t i s w orth without
pretending to V ouch i n any way for it s accur acy : The knowl edge
o f rt s exi ste n ce was
impart ed to me un solicited ; and the r e spe c
t ab i li t y of the individual ma king it to the Executive
vouched for
by him t o me If he has stated the facts as they occurr ed he h as
nothing to fear an d the public hav e a right t o be put i n pos s e s s ion
of them I f h e h as concocted the story in w hol e or in part and
thus s ought to blast the reputations of s ome of the most e stimable
w ealthy and intelligent citi z ens of Hancock county he d es erv es
and wi ll without doubt receive the execrations of all honorable men
Whether it b e true or fals e the publi c will sho rtly know from a
j udicial i nvestigation whi ch I am informed will tak e place and i n
w hich thi s i ndividual will doubtl es s b e i ntroduced as a w itne s s
I hav e hitherto s ai d but littl e in regard to Gen Deming My
r eason for thi s is I h a d no con dence whatever i n him from the
attempts whi ch I knew he was consta ntly making while I remained
i n C arthage to give this unfortunate affair a political turn and to
impres s upon the minds of his s uperi ors that the Whi g s w ere th e
prime mover s throughout the whole of i t And as he had not s uc
c e ed e d i n making any body b eli ev e hi s s ill
y fo ol i s h story he failed
i n what I regarded a d i shono rabl e scheme for s e ls h purpos e s
Stil l I feel n o other than a d esire to plac e h im fairly b efore the
public At the time the attack was made upon the j ai l t h e Gener
a l was at his dwelling and knew nothing of it unti l all w a s ov er
O n t h e arrival of Gov F ord at Carthage that night he cons ented to
remai n with a small force as a guard to the property and to pre
v ent its destruction by small numbers that might po s sibly vi s it the
place for that purpos e O n th e morning of t he 28 t h June the d a y
s ubs equent to the affr ay the G eneral i s s ued the following order
w hich was s cattered throughout the county :
i

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l p Q u a nr r n s June

2 8t h , 1 8 4 4

f C a rth ag e a nd H anc ock C ou nty

In pursuance of an order from G ov Ford instructi ng me to the
ex e rcis e of s uch dis cretionary pow ers as I m ay deem neces sary
for the pres ervation of the public s afety and t h e li v e s an d property
of o u r citi z ens I hereby inv ite all citi z ens t o remain at th eir s e v
eral homes in Hancock county and c c operate w ith me i n establi sh
i ng tran quility an d s afety throughout the country The most e f
ci ent means hav e b een put i n r e q u i s i t i on for c o ncentrating the mili
tary forces of the n eighboring c o unties at C arthage and i n twelve
hours there will b e a s uf ci ent force for t h e prote ction of every citi
I con fi d e ntly believe there i s no j ust appr o
z e n in the county
h e n s i on of an at tack upon any place by t h e Mormon citi z ens of o u r
cou nty ; And I her eby strictly command all c iti z ens of Hancoc k
co unty to abstain from v iolence towards the M ormon p opul atio n
u nder penalty of th e s everest i n i c t i on s of milita ry la w; and in n o
cas e only on the defence
T o t he C it i ze n s

be for thwi th removed t o

Gi ven u nd er my

T hei '
c or s e s of t h
p

N auv oo w ith
h and , thi s 28t h d ay of J u ne

H e ad
1 844 ; 4

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M.

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M R DEMIN G ,
B rig Gen 4 t h Brigad e and 5 th Di v is i o n
G overnor will b e at h ead quarter s i n a fe w

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It i hoped t h e
h ours s
;
A fter the appearance ofth e abo v e pr oc la mati on a number as s em
bl ed at Carthag e and in its vicinity but were within a short pc r i o d
d isbanded by di recti on of the Gover nor as the most e fcient mean s
t o restore condence and tranquility throu gho u t the community
In
another part of this work, I shall hav e occasion to rec ur ag ain to
Ge n Deming
Go v F ord r eached Q uincy on Saturday morning the 2 9t h of J u n e,
and made it hi s head quarters where he has ever s ince princip ally
r emained
H e was much exhausted on hi s ar r i v al and apparently
was s u ffering greatly from chag rin mor t i c at i on and regret , at
what had o ccurred He immediately i s sued t h e following add res s
to the people of Illinois and accomp anying order to the militia of
the State :
T O T H E P E O P LE O F T H E S T A T E O F I LL IN O IS
I des ire to mak e a brief but true statement of the recent di sgrace
ful a ai r at Carthage in regard to the Smiths s o far as c i r c um
sta n
ces have come t o my knowledge The Smiths J os eph and Hyrum
have been as sas sinated in j ail by whom i s not known but will b e
as certained I pledged my s elf for their safety and upon th e a s sur
ance of that pledge they s urrendered as prisoners The M or
mons sur r endered the public arms in their po ss es sion and the
Nauvoo L egi on s ubmitted to the command of Capt Singleton of
Brown county deputed for that purpo s e by me All t h e s e things
were required to sati sfy the old citiz ens of Hancock that t h e Mor
mons w ere peaceably dis pos ed ; and to allay j ealousy and ex cite
ment in t hei r mi nd s It appears however that the compli ance of
the Mormons w ith every r equisition made upon them fai l ed ofthat
purpos e The pledg e of s ecurity to t h e Smiths was not given u p
on my i ndi vidual res pons ibility B efore I gav e it I obtained a
pl edge of h o nor by an unani mous v ote from the o f cers and men
under my command t o sustain me i n performing it If th e as
s a s s i n at i o n of t h e
Smiths was committed by any portion of th es e
they have added treachery to murder and hav e done all they could
do to di sgrace t h e State and s ully the public honor
0 u th e morni ng of th e day the d eed was committed w e h a d pro
pos ed to march the army under my command into Nauvoo I how
ever di s covered on th e evening before that nothing but utter d e
s truction of t h e city would satis fy a portion of the tr 0 0 ps ; and that
if w e marched into the city pretexts would not b e wanting for com
m an cing hostilities The Mormons had d on e every thing required
(Sr w hich ought to hav e been required of them
O ffensiv e opera
t ions on our part wo uld have b ee n as unj ust and d isgraceful as they
w opld have b een impolitic in the pre sent critical s eason of t he
n a
cided
ear
th
e
harvest
and
the
crops
F
or
thes
e
reason
s
I
de
y
ii
cers , to di sband t h e army , except thre e c ompan e s
c o u ncil of o f

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of w h ic h ; w e re r eta in ed as a g u ard for the j ail W ith the othe r

to addres s t he i nh abitants there r
c ompany [ ma rched into N a u v o o
e n J tell them what t hey might e x pect in case t hey de si gnedly or i m
I p e rforme d this du t y, as I think plai n
prudently provoked a war
W hen
ly a nd emphatic ally , a n d t h en set out to return to Carthag e
I had m
arched a bout three mile s a mes s enger in formed me of t he
occ urrenc es at Carthage I hastened on to t h at p lac e The g u ard
Many of the i n
it i s s ai d did their duty but were ove r powered
O thers w ere
h abitants of Carthage had e d with their famili es
prepared to go I apprehended danger to the s ettleme nts from t h e
s udden fury and pas sion of t he Mormo n s and sanctioned thei r mo v e
ments in this r espect
General Deming vol unte ered to remai n with a few troops to oh
s erve the progres s o f events to de fend property against s mall n u m
b er s and with orders to retreat if menaced by a s uperior force
I d e c i d e d t o proceed immediatel y to Q uincy to prepare a force ,
su fci ent to s uppres s dis orders in cas e it s hould ens ue for th e fore
going transactions or from any ot her caus e I have li O pe s t h at the
Mormon s will mak e no fu rther di fculties In thi s I may b e mis
taken The other par ty may not be s a tis ed They may r e c c m
mence aggres sion I am determi ned to pres er v e the peace agai nst
all break ers of the same at all hazards I th i nk pres ent circum
at my
s tances warrant th e precauti on of h a ving competent force
di spos al in readines s to march at a moment s warni n g My pos i
ti on at Q u incy will e n able m
e t o get the earliest intelligence , and
to communicate orders with greater c e lc r it y
I have decided to i s s ue the fo llowing general orders
H E A D Qu a nr nns
Q u i ncy J une 2 9t h 1 8 44
It i s ordered that the commandants of regiments in the counti es
of Adams M arquette Pik e Brown S chuyler Morgan Scott Cas s
F ulton a nd M c D on o u g h and the R egiment s composing General
S t a pp s B rig a de will call their re spectiv e R egiments and Battalion s
together immediately upon the rec eipt of t hi s order and proceed
by voluntary enlistment to enrol as m any men as can be armed i n
their respectiv e regiments They will m ak e arrangements for a
campaign of tw elve days and will provid e thems elves w i t lr ar ms
a n cl provis ions acco rd ingly
and hold thems elves i n
a mmunition
readines s immediately to n umb upon the receipt of furt her o r
ders
The independent compani es of R i e me n Infantry Cavalry and
A rtillery i n the above named counties and in th e county of Sang a
mon will hold the ms elves in readines s in lik e manner
TH O M AS F O R D
G overnor an d C o mmander i n Chi ef
O n the 30t h h e des patched C aptains Hart F ellows and A J o
nas Es q to Nauvoo and W arsaw to as certa in public s entiment ,
as far as practicable
as to t h e probability of an attack from t h e
M ormons or the citizens with power to di sband all forces i f n e
c e s s ary
and to hav e arrested any persons at either plac e who by
la ng u age or oth erwi s e w ere attempting to e x cite t he people to act s
t wo

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32

v iolence , T h ey retu rned on the 3d of J uly and mad e a report

to the G ov ernor , which w a s s ub se quently read at a publi c meeting
of t h e citiz ens of Q uincy wherei n they repo rted every thing qui et
at Nau voo but a di fferent feeling existing at Warsaw Pre v ious
to t heir arrival at Nauvoo the bodi es of Joe and Hyr u m Smit h
had been brought in and consigned to the nal resting plac e of all
mankind The b urial took place on Saturday ev ening the 29t h
i nst
at about o clock the r el ig i ou s c e r e mon i e s being perform
ed at their pu b i i c st a nd wh ile t h e bodies were depo s ited by a few
con dentia l per sons i n s ome u n kn ow n s pot Previous to t he death
of the Smiths t w o tombs had been erected by the direction of Joe
about one mile from the Templ e and in which their bodi es were r e
s ec t iv el
p
y to b e depos ited after their deceas e But thi s was not
done and the reas on as signed for it w as that the Mi s s ourians had
o ffered a rewar d of a th ousand dollars for the head of Joe and
they had conc eal ed h i s bury ing place with a v iew of pr eventing
hi s enemi es from getti ng h i s he ad
Thi s shallow excus e doubtles s
ans wered the end that it wa s i ntended fer amo ng the superstitious
and ignorant of their o wn s ect The more r eas onabl e s uppos ition
however is that the concealing of the place where the b o di e s rest
i s for th e purpos e of hereafter pract ising s ome new s cheme of
imposition upon the credulity ignorance and fanaticis m of the mas s
c om r i s i n
The leaders may al s o b e enabled to
p
g t h e i r n umbers
ma ke capital out of the following coinci dence : The pres s w as
de stroyed by th e mob in Nauvoo as i s shown by the r eturn of the
c
i c e r at 6 o clock P M
the Sm i th s w ere killed at the same
hour : Gov F ord addres s ed them at t he same hou r an d th e burial
took place at t h e s ame time i n the eveni ng But w hether t h e y do
or not subs equent ev ents show that the hour s el ected by J oe for
destroying the pres s W as a most fatal one
I hav e now put the public i n pos s es s ion of all the material fact s
co nn ected with the riot at Nauvoo t h e death of its au thors and
the s ubse quent occurrences up to the 3d of July I now propos e
to notice one or two obj ections made to t h e cours e of the Executi v e of
Illinoi s giving hi s ow n reas on s for that cours e ; al s o to r e c api t u
late hastily the circumstances r elied u pon by the citiz ens of
H ancock in mitigation of the o ffence they have committ ed against
the la ws of thei r country and then rel iev e the pati ence of t h e
r eader
T he s erious caus es of complaint made by t h e publi c against
Gov F ord ar e r st : h av i ng pledged to the Smiths and others
his faith as well as that of th e Stat e of Ill inois that they should
be protecte d from pers onal viol e n c e i f they would s urrender them
s elves to be dealt wi th according to law that p r otecti on shoul d
have be en extend ed to t h e ma t all hazard s 3 and s e c on dly h i s s end
i ng the M c D o n ou gh and Schuyl er troops home a n d r e t a i n i n g the
C arthage G reys as a guard over the pri soners , when had al read y r e
of

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v olt e d i

In rega rd to t he rst p r op os it i on , considered in an ab stract point

of v iew, its co rrectne s s cannot b e questi on ed B u t t h e fac t s fai rly
in regard to thi s p l e dg e are n ot understoo d , and have not b een
i
s
l
h
h
e
b roth 5 it w ill be r e
lai d b efore t he pub lic
J o e Smit and
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33

lect e d , fro m t he 1 3t h day of Jun e until the night of t h e 2 4 t h of

the s ame mo n th, had been openly re si sting the executio n of t he
la w s of t h e l an d backed by a military force of from three to four
thous and and avowing a determination not to s ubmit , as all other
citi z en s of the State W ere required to d o t o i t s proces s T he charge ,
an d the o nl
y cha r g e preferred agai n st h i m and his ass ocia te s (s ome
fte en in number ) was for a riot i n de str oying t h e pr es s A n d5
the proc es s the e x ecution of which h e wa s re sis ting W a s t he o n e
i s s ue d upon thi s c o mplai n t To ai d in i ts executi on t he citi z ens
w ere rst c all ed out as a pos s e by the constable the 4 t h Brigade
by G en Deming and the aid of the Executive solicited And not
unt il s ev eral communications had b een directe d by t h e Gov ernor to
the Mormons i n which t hey were give n to 1md e r s t an d that unl e s s
s ubmis s ion was mad e t h e forces of the State should be marched
down up on them did they yie ld In none of thes e communi
cations w a s a ny pledg e giv e n by the Gov ernor that they should be
protected from p er sonal violence It was not s o far as I can as
c erta in t he excus e made by J o n for not s urrendering but h e c c
c u i e d a h i h e r gro u nd t ha t h e was be o n d t he r ea c h o
p
y
f the law s av e
g
as administered by the Muni c i pal Court of the city of N au v oo of
whi ch he a n d hi s a ss o c i a tes i n g ui lt wer e t he presiding o f cer s ;
cons eq uently it cannot i n tr u th b e urged that this pledge of p er
s onal protection made by the Gov ernor was th e caus e of the s ur
r end er Had Jo e Smith and his as s ociates charged with crime r e
si sted u po n the ground that they would b e subj ected to personal
violenc e if they went to C arthage and expres s ed a perfect wil
l i n g n e s s to s ubmit to the ex ecution of proces s provi ded their per
s onal s afety was guaranteed by th e Governor the cas e would hav e
been an entirely di fferent one Bu t as before as s erted they as sum
ed no s uch position and they made a virtu e of neces sity a n d
yi elded only when satis ed t hat an overpoweri ng force would
driv e them to s ubmis sion Much therefore of the sympathy b e
stowed upon them at their death under the sanction of thi s pledge
of the Governor i s in my O pi nion undes erv ed It was a g r at u i
tous v erbal pledge given to the Morm on committee who vi sited C ar
t h ag e and s ub s equently repeated to the Smiths after they reache d
that place and not made by th em pr evi o u sly a conditio n of s uch
s urrender At the ti me the pledge w as given it w ill al s o b e
borne in mind that it extended on ly to the charge pr eferred against
the m that of riot a s no other proces s was out against them neith
er was any othe r contemplated s o far as the Gov ernor knew
Upon that charge , they u nderwent a hearing and were p eace ably
r eleas ed and s ecurely delivered out of th e hands of the law by
ent ering i nto th e requir ed recogni z ance to appear at th e next term
of t h e court The pledge extended to the w h ble T fteen arrested
for the riot and all of the m returne d safely to Nauvoo after giving
bail except the two Smiths arrested for treason ; and but for that
arrest they might al s o have reach ed their home s i n s afety I
maintain ther efore , that t h e pledge did not extend to their personal
on any other charge than the one
s afety
U pon th eir s urrender
p referred again st them for ri ot and to aid in the e x ecution of the
t
roces
s
for
ch
the
hole
forces
in
a
end
hi
anc e w ere c al le d out
t
w
w
,
p
col

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1
By so me it h as b een gravely ur ged th at t h e GQue rn or wh en h e
have opened t l ie pri son
fo n n i h e could not
do nj s and allowed th m t o e s cape : H ad h e don e
noth i n g
C uld ha v e pr eve nt ed hi s impeach m e nt and convictio n
T hes e men;
w re committed by due cours e c l law to j ail upon a charge o f t he
m ost s eriou s character known t o our ll W S T R E A S O N T h e pun
i s h me n t upo n convic t ion b e ing d eath the accus e d could not be
bet Ste I
A n d i shoul d li k e to kn w upo n what princ i pl e of law or
by w h at proces s of reasoning Gov Fo rd as the Execut iv e of UN
n oi s c ould have j usti ed a releas e of the pri soner s T he blo w
whi c h such a step would hav e aimed at the j udici al tr ibun al s of the
c ou n r
y would have b e n fraught with far more dan ge r an d d e g ra
dati on th an the ki lling of the Smi t h s hav e i ni cted d i sgrace either
up o n the Governor or th e S t at e I t would have been an i n t e r fe r
ence of the Executive with t h e J u i c i al d e pa r t me n t s o f our State
Govern ment which w ould have b een a far more agrant v iolation
of the C ons t itu t ion th a n any of which th e S mi th s had been guilty
and for t h e perpetra t i o n of which they have forfei ted t hei r n u
pro fitabl e lives T he gr eat error which Gov F ord com mit t ed w as .
in giving thi s voluntary pl edge T h e rede mptio n of it by h i m after
the a rre st for treas on, was a contingency placed enti rely b ey ond his
power although at the time of givin g i t h e did n ot k n o w i t
T he s e c on d and m o re s erio us obj ecti on made ag ain st him i s th e
pl acing t h e C a rth a g e Grey s as a guard ov er the pri so ne rs and
s en ling the M c D n o u g h and Schuyler troops home w h o were s up :
pos e "t o be fle e fro m t h e dis a lfec t i on and bitte r nes s t oward s t h e
M r m ms that all the citi z ens of H ancoc k u n disguis edly entertai n
te i n c l
It h a s ope nly been as s erted by s ome an d insinua
u s ted by others both Mor mon and A nti Mormon that Gov F ord
k n e w t he fe eli ngs o f the C a rthage G reys t owards th e S mith s ;
an i
as an evide n ce o f thi s po siti on t h e revolt of that company on
,
T u e s lay m or ning the 2 5 t h inst when th e two Smith s w e r e b e i ng
i n t r o d c ed ; by Gen D e ming to t h e populace i s reli ed upon
It
has been m intai n e d t hat th e rebellious s pirit exhibited by thi s com
p i ny wa s t o war d : th e S h i lhs But suc h i s not the cas e It was
d irected toward s Ge n Deming as t h e following facts will full y di s
clos e A great an xi ety had b een evinced by the force s coll ected at
C arthage to s ee J o n S mi r H
an l to grati fy that curiosity a gener
al rush w a s ma de at th e tav ern and for the mom where he was
k ept To di spel the crow 1 an ] sati s fy all the Governor remark ed
that during the day t hey s h o u l da ll s ee him In obedi e nc e t o thi s
pro mi s e the troops were d rawn up into\ a line and Gen D eming
i nstructe d to p ss the S mith s along th e l i ne under a gua rd s o that
all could s ee him Ge n D e ming ordered t he (Carthag e G re y s t o
o ccupy s uch a pos i tion a s ma d e them an es c or t not a
g u ar d t o t h e
two pris oners charg ed wi th t r ea son a g a in st thei r c o u n tr y and march
i ng down th e li n e i n tro duc d the Smiths as Gen er a l Jo se ph S mith
T h i S t he
o n m right a n d Gener l H
y
y r u m Smi th on my
C arthage G rey s r e g i r e d as a d irect in sult r st in i n tr oduc in g two
fel ons to thos e w h o had been calle d u pon to arrest t he m an d s econ d:
ly in their being made a n es cor t t o t h e felon s thus being i nt r o d u c
ed
Th ey accordingly upon t h e command of thei r o fc er l e ft t he
2

34

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pos ition Ge n D e mi ng gplage d t hem in :A n d for t hi s gt he y w ere o r

d e r e d un der a rre st
a s Ge n D e ming
.
gave t h e o r de r for
arr est C apt S mii stepped o u t in front 01 h is m n g and enq u ir ed
b oy s w i ll you st and t hi s ii
to whic h a u nit e d
was res pond
ed t h e n re marked t h e C aptain loa d wi th bull c a r tri dg es By

i
h
e
thi s t me
e forw ard and
t
a ca s cam
explained to the Greys that it was wi th ou t /
i t s o r ders that any i n ;
t r o d u c t i o n had ta k en pla c e o f t he S miths to the s old
that
t hey w ere r e garded as a guard :not as an e s cort
H e fu rthe r r e -3
marked that the order for t h ei r arrest s hould b e cou nte rmand ed ,
whi ch w as d on e A f t er this on Ge n D e mi ng s pa s s i n g up and
he w as hi s s ed at by the Gr eys Thi s is the si m
pl e
down
s t atement o f fa ct s in regard to the r ebelli on of th e Carthage Greys
wh ic h c le arly sho w s that all the demo nstrations mad e by them 0 1
violence was towards Ge n Deming , an d not tow ard s t he sm
iths :
The conduct of Ge n D e mi n g i n i n t r o d uc ing the Smiths an d t i tli n g
them at t h at w as reprehensible in t h e extreme ; and show ed on
hi s part a s pecies o f s y c o ph an c y to the Mormons Wh i ch i s ev ery
thing els e tha n creditable to him
I am fr ee to admit if the statement o f an eye witnes s made
to Gov F ord b e true (an d gt h e subst ance of which I h ave before

given
that th e C ar t h ag e Gre y s were mo st improper and unt per
s on s to b e stationed at the j ail as a guard over t he Smiths For
that stateme nt sho w s that in the killing of the Smiths t h e Gr e y s
w er e as de ep in the mud as t he as sailants wer a i n the mir e But
th e que stion for ev ery man to deter mine i s whether Gov F o rd knew
that they e nt e r t a i n e d t h e s e feelings of hostility S o me ot he r evid e nce

t
n
a
n
e
o hi s p rt a sc i e
than the r e
s hould be introduced to sho w
r
volt of the Grey s to wards Ge n Deming : that of i ts elf d oes not , in
my opinion warrant a c on c l u si o n ag ai n s t Gov Ford VV i t h the ex
t h e Gr eys an d Ge n D eming
of
thi
s
outbreak
e
ween
e e t i o n then
t
b
p
a n d the general i mpr e s s i on , tlza t a ll th e c i ti z en s of Ha ncock
of which t h e Grey s we re a portion w e r e o f o n e mind towa rds the
Mor mons there i s nothing that h as been di s clo s ed whi ch w ould hav e
l ed Go v F ord t o s u ppo s e that t h e guard he placed at t h e j ai l w ou ld
prov e recreant to thei r t ru st a nd becom e accomplice s i n t h e d e
of the pris oners
s truction
The r eason give n b y the Goy e r n o r for di sbanding the M c D o
They
nough a n d Schuyler troops and s ending them h o rne i s this
h a d for s ever al days b een upon duty with but a short supply of
provi s ion a n d : most o f t h e m being farmers their s er vices w ere
very m u ch required at hom e Th ey had grown u neasy and Wer e
anxiou s to return A n d not having the means (our State Treas u ry
being as empt y as a cont ribution box ) to pr ocure provis ions for the
men if detained any longer and not appr ehending an outbreak i i
the troops were keep away from Nauvoo he concluded to disband
them Thus far they had been pr ov i s i o n e d pr i n c i pally by contri
butions of the citi z en s Thes e are the reas ons as signed by t he Ex
co n tive for not retai ning troops from th e c ounti es of M c D on o u g h
and Schuyl er as a guard to the j ail in s tead of the Gartha g c Greys
And from them each reader must draw hi s own co nclus ions
I now propos e to explain the s ituation of the citi zens of Hancock
-

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M ormon s

36

enumerat e t h e t r i al s t h ey hav e
fe t e d from them an d to place fairly before t he pub lic , the reas on s
as s ign ed by thems elve s , for the i r r es ort to violence , w h ich has
brought upon them the an athemas of the united pres s , ah d
T h e death of the two
th e den u nciations of the entire publi c
S miths has b e en alleged to b e a deliberate c old blood murder
Without caus e or provocat i on and r ende r ed doubly odiou s from th e
fact that th ey w e re U n d e r the prot e ction of th e la w
Many hav e
gone still furt her an d stigmatiz ed it as t he foule st of all mobs w e
hav e ever had in t h e U ni on Far , v ery far i s it from my d e s ig n to
approv e in the rem ote st degree ofa res ort under any circumstances
to mob violence for the r edres s of public or private gri evan ces I
am of the number w h o maintain that ther e i s n o such thi n g as a
j usti cation for a res ort to popular v iol ence My convictions ar e
that a man or a community had b etter far better smart unde r th e
most oppres sive gri evances if the l aw fur nish es to him no redres s
than res ort to popular outbreak to cor re ct the e vil complained of
And I frankly admit t hat t he gr eate st danger of a e i v i l w ar and th e
destruct ion of our R ep u bli can institutions i s to b e appreh ended
from th e mob s pirit that for the last twelve or fteen years has
s wept ov er thi s entire Union ; and the i n di r ect apprb b at i on it has
met with from many in the communities where it has raged Y et
with t hes e convi ction s rmly e stabli shed in my ow n mind I shall
not b e deterred from doi ng j us tice to th e citi z en s of Hancock
though by s o doing I may subj ect myself to th e u nj ust imputation
of favori ng Wh at has b een done I i n s i st th en fromth e facts with
i n my knowledg e that the ki l ling of t h e Smiths a t C a rtha ge; w as
not fraught with half the od ium of t h e late riot i n Philadelphia ;
the killin g of L ov ej oy at Alton , c r the burning of the negro at St
L ouis
M y t i me will not admit of it or I could demon strate thi s
proposi tio n beyond succes sful controv ersy Th e stat ement of t h e
situati on of th e p eople of Hancock will bring nearly e v e ry u npre
e concl usion
j u di c e d mi nd to t he sam
S ince the foundation of th e Mormon s ect i n Western Ne w York
i n the y ear 1 830 down to th e pre sent time all e xperience h a s
sh own that the me mb e r s o f thi s s ect co u ld not i n pea ce re side
wi t h oth er citi z ens Why thi s i s
a matter easily explained
T h e founders of the s ect c omprisi ng the Pr oph et his brother s
and parents w er e unprinciple d depraved and s hiftle s s Inste a d
of resorti ng to h abits of in d ustry for t heir maintenan ce they reli
ed upon i mposi ti on as th e mean s o f ac qu i rin g th eir daily brea d

T hey cons equently profe s s ed to be

e
f
i
mon y nders or money

digger s 5 a n d J oe w as th e M agi ci an w h o by the ai d of a ch armed

s ton e h e profe s s ed to b e in po s ses sion of that th e h idden t r e asure s
o f t h e eart h w ere to b e found
The following certi cates of c h ar
acter mad e by ma ny o f th e mo st reputabl e c itiz en s i n Pal myr a
a n d Ma n chester
New Yor k sustain most fully my as s ertio n s
c oncerning J oe S mi t h as well as h i s p arents :
,
P A L M Y R A December 4 1 833

We t h e u ndersign e d , hav e be en ac q uainted with the S mith

fa mily for a n u mb er of ears while they r esided near thi s pla ce ,
y
an d w e h av e n o h e s ita tion in s ayi ng t hat w e co nsider t he m n r sr x
county , with t h e

to

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37

E o r T H A T M O R A L C HA R A C T E R which o ug ht t o enti tl e them t o

th e condence of an y c ommu n i ty They w ere particularly fam ou s
for vi sionary proj ects s pent much of the i r time i n d ig g i izg foe hi d
d en t r ea s u r es
J os eph S mith S r and hi s s on J o seph w er e in
p arti cular cons idered E N T I R E L Y D E ST I TU T E o r M O R A L c H A R A c
T E R A N D A DD I C T ED T O v r c ro n s H A B I TS And i n r eference to all,
w ith who m w e we re acquainted that hav e embrace d Mormonism ,
from thi s neighborhood w e are compelle d to s ay were v ery vi s
i on ar y and M O ST o r T H E M D E ST I T U T E o r M O R A L a
nA ca
and
W ithout inuence in this co mmunity ; and thi s may account w hy
t hey were permitted to go on with their impos itions undi sturbed 3"
G eo N Williams Clark R obins on
L emu el D urfee
E S Towns end H enry P Alger,
C E Thay er
G W Anders on
L Williams
Ge o W Cro sby
H P Thay er
L ev i Thayer
R S William s
P S exton
M B u t t e r e ld
S P S eymour
D S J a c k w ays
J ohn H u rb u r t
H Linn ell
J as Q u e n e r
S Ackley
J osiah R ice
T h P B aldwin
J es s e Towns end R ichard D C lark
J ohn S ot h i n gt on , D urfey Chas e ,
W ell s Ander son
R W Smith
G iles S Ely
P hilo D urfee
Pelatiah W est
H enry J e s s u p
Linu s North
Thos R ogers J r W m Parke
J osiah Franci s
G A Hathaway
D av id G E ly
A mo s I I o lli s t e r
H K J erome
G B eckwith
L ewi s F oster
H iram Pay ne
P Grandin
L Hurd
A s ah el Millard
J oel Thay er
C D R obins on
A Ensworth
I sr ael F Chi ls on
T UT

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M A N C H E ST E R N Y Nov emb er 3 1 833

W e th e unders igned b eing pers onally acquainted with the fam
i ly of J os eph Smith S r with whom the celebrated Gold B ibl e s o
called originated , state : That they w ere not only A L A Z Y I N D O
L E N T S E T O F M E N B U T A L S O rNr nM P s n A r D ; A N D T H E I R W O R D W A S
N O T T O B E D E P E N D ED U P O N
Pardon B utts
Warden A R eed
H iram Smith
J ame s G ee
Abel Chas e
A H W entworth
J o s eph Fi sh
H orace N B arn es
S ilv es ter Worde n
Mos es C Sm i th
A lfred Stafford
,

The abov e certi cates w ere procured after the Mormon s r e

mov ed to the State of O hio from New Y ork and with a view of
placing the people on thei r guard against men w h o wer e known
to b e of abandoned and dangerou s characters The reputation of
t h e t w o Smiths did not improve any in O hio ; and after swi ndling
the public out of a large amount of money (as J oe s bankrupt
s chedul e l ed i n thi s State s hows ) th ey l eft by the force of pub
li c opinion an d sought a home in the w estern portion of Mi s s ouri
T hei r conduct here was even wors e than it had been in New
And as J oe increas ed in stre h h i s vicio u s
Y ork or O hio
hab its b ecame more manifest
hav e al re ad y
a n d d eprave d
,

38

s po k en of hi s conduct in M i s s ouri and of hi s standi ng indicted i n

that State for the crimes of theft ar son burglary , murder and
treason Thes e facts ni ust sati sfy any reecting mind why he h a s
for the last t w e nt y years , b een unable to reside l ong in any on e
place at p e ace with the residue of th e community Since thei r
r esidence i n Illinoi s and the disgraceful , humiliating conduct of
politi cians towards them they have grown still more ov erb earing
i n their conduct towards thos e not of th eir s ect and far more n u
blushing in their depredations U pon s ociety It i s a fact as no
t or i ou s as that J oe Smith once lived that many of the most har
d e n e d felons des perate hor s e thi eve s and dangerous men known
in thi s State hav e ed to N au v oo b ecome members of t he s e ct of
Mormon s and b een r eceiv ed in full fellow ship with a church pr o
fessi ng t o be chr i s ti an It i s als o known that fugitives from j ustic e
from other portions of the U nion have ed to Nauvoo been r e
c e i v e d by J o r: into the church and s creened from arre st when th e
o f cer s of the law s ought them Witn es s the cas e o f J eremi ah
S mith indicted in the D i strict of Columbia for swindling th e Gov
e r n men t out of three thou sand dollars
w h o after diligent s earch
w a s traced to Nauvoo and when arrested by the D eputy Marshal
of this D i strict w as taken from him by J o n and di scharged I n
numerabl e other instance s might b e named were it deemed n e c e s
sary All that is de signed by me i s to show the public the e har
acter of the leaders as well as many of the members of the church
of " Latter D ay Saints that they may fo rm their o w n Opini o n
what s ecurity a n h on es t c o mmu ni ty has w h en surrounded by a s ect
o f the des cription of Joe Smith
This of its elf ought to sati sfy an
unprej udiced min d that the situation of the old citiz ens of Hancock
i s ev ery thing els e but desirable or even to b e tolerated It i s no
part of my design to charge the whol e community of Mormons with
pos s es sing hearts as vicious and depraved as thos e t h e two
From pers onal Ob servation I a m
S miths are shown to hav e had
convinced that there ar e many poor unfortunate deluded bei n gs
ther e w h o are naturally honest and w h o under t h e inuence o f
good example and upright leaders would act W ell thei r part i n
s ociety That clas s howev er are generally speaking of w eak
i ntellect t o a great extent uned ucated and easily made the dupe s
of the vi cious Their impli cit obedi ence to J o n in all the requi si
tions h e makes of them whether legal or illegal honest or dishon
e st exempli es i n a striking manner t h e truth of the axiom that

evil communication c orrupt s good manner s

O n the other hand
there are a large numbe r o f the most hardened and abandoned men in
t h e community who have on e there as sumed the garb of religion
g
become the con dential friends of th e Prophet and all for the pur
pos e o f acquiring an easy li v elihood by dishonest mean s I s it
not a s elf evident proposition that any s ect or body of men c on
ding in such leaders and fol low ing i mpli citly their directions can
not b e otherwi s e than a s courge to any comm unity who s e daily
walk in life i s honest and upright ?
I have shown in a previou s portion of thi s work the characte r
of the ordinance s pas s ed by the City Council of N au v oo in whi c h
t he y as sume d t o thems e lves l egi slati ve , as w ell as j udicial powers
,

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39

hos e ordinance s have ab ridged the freedom of s peech de

stroyed the liberty of the pres s 3 depriv ed man of hi s liberty

and prop erty without a resort to th e j udgment of hi s p eers and

the law of the land and hav e provided that no member of thei r
s ect shall undergo a trial for the commis sion of crime before any
Court State or F ederal except th e Municipal Court of the city of
N au v oo S o far then from any old citizen of Hancock co unty hav
ing l egal r edres s against any Mormon for the commis sion of
any depredation upon his property or pe r s o n t h at i n e st i mabl e con
s t i t u t i o n a l remedy was tak e n from them
To resort to the Munici
pal Court o f N au v o o for legal redres s w ould b e a perfect farce
for th e expe rience of their whole admini stration of j usti ce show s
that the j udges of that a u g u st bo dy were governed by on e xed
undeviating rule to releas e a Mormon charged with crime by any
other court no matter how evident the guilt of the accus ed Thes e
things the O ld citiz en s hav e born e long and patiently and might
hav e done s o still longer but for the recent outrages vi sited upon
them by thi s band of evil minded pers ons Within the last eigh
teen months their property has b een stolen time and tim e again
and th e depredator s th rough th e inuence of thes e bad men have
gon e unwhipped o f j u st i c e They have felt safe in the p os s es
s ion of nothi ng unles s it was under guards or lo ok and k ey They
have s een a sta b made at t h e reputation and life of one of their m ost
e stimable citizens by J o n S M I T H and which if it had proved s uc
c e s s fu l wo uld have incarcerated the ci t iz en for a few months in t h e
walls of the building where J o n met his death and ultimately made
him s u ffer an ignominious death upon the gallows T he facts ar e
thes e A gentleme n by the name of Simpson from the S tat e o f Ken
tucky owned a large body of land in Hancock county which h e was
anxious to di spos e of and for that purpos e remov ed to that county
The onl y emigration to Hancock was lVI or mon s and to them alone
c ould h e s ell if he s old at all This brought him in contact w ith
J o n w h o a s sumed to hi mself the right to s ell exclus ively to thos e
of his faith who should migrate to N a u v o o The pers on in question
u nde rs elling J o n however
had succeeded in di sp osing of s ome
tract s of land to Mormons Joe determined to rid hims elf of s o
troublesome a rival and adopted thi s plan A most atrocious mur
d er was committed by whom no one knew and until the s ecrets of
that wors e t han Spani sh Inquis ition T H E DA N I T E B A N D ar e
r eveal ed no one i n all human probability ev er will know J o n
S M I T H however entered a complaint before a l I or mon J ustice of
the Peace against the person who had been s elling lands to th e
d etriment of Joe s interests and in hi s a f davit swore that thi s
person was guilty of the murder as he Joe had good reason to b e
li eve The individual was arrested and most fortunately was able
to show by a c ombi n at i on of circumstances that with any honest j u
r y would far hav e outweighed the te stimony of all the M ormons
i n Nauvoo that he could not b e the murderer Joe s e eing the po
s i t i on h e was in t ook hi s own a i d a vi t fro m the J u s ti c e a n d des tr oyed

i t and then unsolicite d but with th e design of giving hims elf the
appearance of much honesty swore before the j ustice that he b e
li e v e d the v er y man h e hi m
self had ac cused of be i n g t he mur d ere r,

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[ 40 ]
A N D T H A T H E H A D N EV ER B E L I E V E D H I M GU I L
w A s I NN O C L NT
H ere then to rid hi ms elf of a person wh os e r eputation wa s
T Y
with out blemish and whos e only o ffending to his Ki n g s h i p w as
that he had dis po s ed of his own property to individuals to whom
Joe de sired to s ell he h a d committed the crime of perj ury and
unj ustly s ought to deprive an innocent man of hi s life Where i s
th e s afety and protection for either life or property when sur
rounded by men of the vil e and tota lly depraved character s of thes e
M ormon leaders ? And i s the re no mitigation for thos e w h o whe n
the y appeal but i n vain to the law s of their country for redres s
{all b a ck upon that rst law of nature
S ta
ffpr eser va t i o n
J O E S M I T H at the l ast term o f the Hancock Circuit Court was
i ndi cted for the perj ury referred to in the above cas e ; and in any
other county than a lvi o r mo n one or before any j ury bu t one s e
l e c t e d from the body of hi s own followers would have been con
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v i c t e d.

Another gri evance of the old citizens and which to som e ex

tent led to the k illing of the t w o Smiths was this Th ere was
i n the town of W arsaw a n ew s paper published called the W ar
s aw Signal I t was publi shed and edited by Thos C Sharpe
E s q of t hat place who had invariably s ince hi s co n nection with
the pres s expos ed the iniquities of the prominent l d o r mo n s and
warred against their arbitrary ex ercis e and agran t abus e of
the power s conferred upon t hem by t h e Legi slature of Illinoi s A f
ter the d e structi on of the N au v o o Expo sitor by Joe and Hyrum
Smith the latter publi cly th reatened the life of hI r Sharpe and
o ffered to any body of m en A s A R E W A R D hi s best farm i ft h e y would
a tt a ck and d estroy t h e o i c e and materials of Mr Sharpe in l V ar
saw This w as d one in the mo st publi c manner and the r eward
o ffered by Hyrum Smith for the commi s sion of crime was u n r e
bu k e d by the entire community i n which h e lived
The citizens
of Carthage a n d l V a r s a w having ascertained b eyond pos s ibility of
doubt that thes e threats h a d been made against both the life and
the property of one of thei r most e stimabl e citizens and knowing
from sad experience t h e wi ll of the Mormon populace to carry into
ex ecution the designs of t hei r l ea d ers , v ery properly entertaine d
the most s erious apprehensions for t heir safety They accordingly
as one of the initiatory step s of defenc e rst called a publi c meet
ing at W arsaw and ad opted a preambl e an d resolution s expr es s iv e
of their feelings and of the cours e they i n tended to purs ue for their
prot ection Sub sequently a mas s meeti n g w as convened at Car
t ha e on the 1 3th of J une 1 8 4 4 at which the body of t h e most
g
intelligent inuential substa ntial citi zens of t h e county g ave their
a ttendance
At this mas s meeting the preamble and r es olutio n s
a dopted a t the Warsaw meeting w ere read and unanimously adop
ted From them we s el ect the following a s e mb r ac in g al l t h at i s
material to inform the reade r of the t h r e at s mad e ag ainst t h e l i fe
a n d proper ty of Shar e :
p

And W H E R E AS Hyrum Smith did in pres ence of t h e c it y Coun

cil and the citizens of N au v oo o ffer a reward for the destructi on
of the print i ng pr es s and the material s o f the Wars aw S ignal a
ne i v s paper al so oppos ed to hi s i nte rest
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[
w n n n m s,

of t h e pr es s is on e of the car di nal

pri ncipl es o f our government rmly gua ranteed by t h e s ev eral con ?
as well as the U n it e d st at e s
s t i t u t i on s of the States
And W H E R E A S Hyrum Smith has Within th e last w eek pu b
li e ly threatene d th e life of one of our v al u ab l e b it i z e n s Thos : C
Sharpe the editor of the Signal ; therefore be it s olemnly
R es olved B y the citi z en s of Wa r s aw i n public meeti n g as s em
b led th at w e view the r ec ent o rdin ance of the city of: Nauv o o, and
the proceeding s th e reund er as an outrage of an al arming c harac
ter revoluti onary an d tyrannic al i n i t s tend e ncy and , b ei ng under
color of law as calcul at e d t o s ubvert and des troy i n th e minds of
the c ommu n it y alli reliance on law
R eso lved That as a community w e feel anxious when p os sibl e,
to redres s our gri evances by legal remedi es 5 but the tim e has n ow
a r rived when the l aw has ceas ed to b e a protection t o our li ves
and p r operty : a mob at Nauvoo under a city or d i nan c e h a s viola
ted t he highe s t priv i leg e in our go vernment , and to s eek redres s in
t h e ordinary mode would b e utt e rly i n e e c t u a l
R es o lved That the public thre at ma de i n the C ouncil of th e city
not only to destroy our printing pres s b ut to tak e the life o f its
editor i s su fcient in connection with the recent outrage to com
mand the e fforts and the s er v ices of every go od citiz en to put an
immediate stop to the career of the mad Proph et a n d hi s d e moniac
coadj utor s W e must not only defend ours elves from d an ger but
w e must resolutely carr y the w ar int o the enemy s ca mp
W e do
t herefore d eclar e that w e will s ustain our pre s s and the editor at
a il h a
zard s that: w e will take full vengeance terribl e v e n geance
should the li v e s of any of our citi z ens b e l o s t in the e ffor t : that
w e hold ours elv e s at all times i n readines s to c c operate with our
fellow citiz ens in thi s State Mi s s ouri and Iowa to exterminate u t
t e r ly exterminate th e w icked an d ab omi n ab le Mormon lea d ers t he
auth ors of o u r tro ubl es
It was under th e state of fe e li ng e xh ibit e d i n t h e forego i ng pr o
c e e d in s
and whi ch had bee n publ i shed to th e world t hat th e n
g
re st o t t h e pers ons took place connected with the des t ruction of
the Nauvoo Expos itor The apprehens ion of personal s afe ty w a s
not con n ed to Mr Sharp e but to many oth ers of t h e b e s t citi
zen s of th e county And in t h e sad ev ent wh i ch s u bs equently
o ccurred many who part i cipate d ii i it act ed from the rm convie
ti on t hat if t h e t w o Smiths e ca pe d an d r e t u r n e di t o Nauvoo many
of t he o ld citi zen s wo u ld have to fo rfeit the ir li ves They c on s e
quentl y acted upon the hypothesi s that either the Smith s woul d
e s cape and all who h ad t a k e n a p rominent part against them b e
murdered by th e Mormons or the two Smiths must b e put to
d eath
The s e I kn ow, are the i mpuls es under which many acted :
w h o were concerne d i n th e mas sacre at the j ail g an a that they
further beli eved if thes e two l eaders were out of the w ay no
other man or s et of men could spring U p in the community at
Nauvoo w h o w oul d have control su f ci ently over the will of
t h e populace as to di rect them in t h e pe r e t r at i on of outrage s
p
again st othe r s as Joe an d H yrum Smith h ad done : By many it
has been suppos ed , t h at t h e S miths "vver
an d if foun d
A

nd

th e lib erty

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e at h , as} t hat is t he
01d u l timately be p
d
I
W
L
9
W
p un i shment
g
for treason
I h ave no i dea my self, t hat t he c harge of t re a so n eould
h av e been sustai ne d agai nst; them , Thi s , the citi zens , on t h e day
They fu rther as
o f the de ath of the impost or s , b e gan als o to fear
esc ape of the pri s one rs w as to be
c er tai n e d; that on that n
ui

ut

to

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consummated 5 and to my mind i t appears perfe c tly plain they ha d

d etermined to prevent it
The eviden c e , r elied upon by them , to
s how that an escape w a s i nt e n d e d i s this
D uring the d ay (2 7t h , )
C ol M ar kh am a lead i n Mormon in Nauvoo and a man w hich
o wn to be of the most despe rate charac
s ubs equent events have sh
ter c all e d u po n O C Skinner Es q , of Carthage the aid de camp
o f G en D eming an d requested a permit from him to pas s the guard
at the j ail and carry a bundle of clothing to the Smith s M r S ki n
ner instructed the guard to examine th e bundle and i f it coh
t ai n e d noth ing but clothing t o pa ss i t up to the
pri son ers
Col ; Markham w ent to th e j ail and after subj e c t i n g the bundle to
i ns pe ction wi sh ed to take it up in pers on to the Mes srs Smiths
Thi s w a s refus ed by the guard upon the ground that the order
from the a id de ca mp was only to pas s the bun d le to the prison
e rs n ot to permit Col Markham to s e e th em U pon thi s Colonel
Markham retu r ne d to M r S kinner in a v i ole n t pas sion and ins isted
upon ta king the bundle i n pers on to the Smiths Mr Skinner p er
s isted in hi s refusal to allow Markham entrance into the j ail ; and
the bundle upon examination pr ov ed to be E ng li sh sh or t clo thes
are
B oth of the Smiths w er e clad as A mericans w ith t h e be st of
garments And t h e ques ti on naturally pres ents it s elf to every can
did mind what could the pri soners h av e wanted with old a s hi on e d
English clothing such as i s worn b y the peasantry but for the pur
pos e of d i sguis e in e ffecting an es cape
The abov e facts I had
p ersonally from Mr Skinner Another fact which places the
matter b eyond dis p u te i s that D r Taylor as w ell as an other M o r
mon w h o conducte d the bodie s of th e Smith s to N au v oo i nforme d
s ever al pers ons and amo ng t h e m a man by the name o f G oodrich
now resid i ng in Q uincy that t hey had ma de a rr ang ements or thei r
e ca e on t he n ext n i g ht
p
follo wi ng the d ea th of J oe a n H yr u m
Thi s i s v ouched for to me in a lett er from a gentleman of
S mi t h
the h ig hest character and re spons ibility and w ho could h av e no
motiv e in deceiving me
A noth er propos ition her e naturally pres ents its elf to t h e mind
I de em w orthy of note that i s what goo d reaso n
a n d which
was there for the person s engage d in or privy to th e death
of t h e Smiths for b elieving if they (the prisoners ) es caped any
of the c iti zen s would b e put to death for t h e part th ey had tak en i n
causi n g the arre st of the Prophet and hi s brother
The an s w e r
the proposition i s furnished by the Mormons thems elves and ou t
o f th eir ow n mouths mu st they stand con d emned b efore an i n t e lli
gent public Sidney R ig d on t h e i r c andidate fo r t h e V ice Presiden
c
y an d one of th e most promi nent men i n thei r midst delivered
befor e the communi ty of Mormon s , A r o u a r n o r J U L Y a n n n ns s
I n it h e recurred to w hat he term e d the pers ecutions of the S aints
a n d as a warning for the future t o ali th os e wh o might a nr ay them
s e lv e s in a h osti le att i tude t owards th e M ormo n s , us e d t h e follo w

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ing emphat ic a nd si gn i cant lan gua ge : We t a k e Go d and all the

n n a men n the name o f
holy
t hi s day that w e w a
i
J es us Chri st t o come on us no more for ev e n T he man or the set
0
men who att em
pts i t does it at the expens e of thei r li ves A nd
t at mob that come s on us t o di s turb us , it shal l be b etw ee n u s
and them a war of extermination ; for w e will E follo w t hem ti ll
the las t dr op of the i r bloo d i s spi lled , or else th ey wi ll ha ve t o em
tenmi
m
a te us
for we wi ll car ry the sea t of wa r t o their own h ouses , and
thei r own fa mi li es an d one pa rty or the other s ha ll be u tter ly des tr oy
No man s hall b e at liberty to come into our streets to
thr eaten us with mob s for if he does he shall atone fo r it b efore
he leav e s th e place neit her sh all he be at l i b erty to villify and slander u for s u e r i t w e w i ll not in thi s plac e We ther efore ta k e
all me n to record thi s day as did our fathers And w e pledge thi s
day to one another our fortunes our l ives and our sacred honors
to be deliv ere d fro m the pers ecuti ons wh i ch w e have had to endure ,
for age s past N ei ther wi ll we i n du lg e a n y man or set of men
st i tu t i ng la w su i ts a g a i ns t u s t o chea t us ou t o
f our j u st r i g hts
they attempt i t we s a y F u m
e be u n t o
The above declarations made i n sin cerity and propagated by t h e
M or mons thro ugho u t the commun ity as their rul e of action c learl y
i ndi cate what w ould hav e been their cours e in th e ev ent of the
Smi ths gett ing back among the Mormons The procee d ings com
me n c e d against them for riot treason perj ury adultery fornication
8L0 & c at C arthage would have been pr ocl ai me d hy the accus ed i n
the language of Sidney R igdon vexa ti ou s la w su i ts , and t h e
WO E B E U NT O THEM w ould hav e b een vi s ited upon t he
citiz ens by t he destructi on of li fe and th e c on ag ra t i on of their
proper t y There w as no s afety to the citizens if the S miths es
caped an d there i s but littl e s afety to them now N at that I ap
prehe n d a unit ed o u tbreak at pres ent on the part of the Mormons
but from thei r threat s s i nce the deat h of t h e Smith s the revengeful
d i spos ition of s uch men as O P R ockwell and Col Markham
their reckles sne s s of cha racter , and the w ell known parti cipation
of the former i n the attempted as sas sinati on of Gov B oggs by t h e
direction of Joe Smith l eav es a w ell grounded as s ur ance tha t
private as sa s sinati on, and concealed dest r u cti on o f pr O pe r ty w ill
most as suredly ens ue whenever the opportunity pres ents its elf t o

any of the D anite B and

I cannot b etter describe t h e characters of R ockw ell and Mark
h a m than by detaili n g the cour s e they pursued after the bodie s o f
the Smit hs were brought into Nau-vo o I derived this i n for
mation from a Mr J ack s on o f New O rl eans w h o s pent four or fi ve
da ys at N au v oo after t h e death of th e Smiths s imply to gratify hi s
curiosity H e has no i nterest whatev er i n Illinois and w as
h ere on a j ourney of recre ation
R ockwell took the ground Open
Iy that the murder of the two Smi th s w as a well d igested , an d
systematically a rra nge d plan that Gov Ford knew all about it
and promoted it H e fu rni sh ed as a reas on that th e Governor
profes s e d to come to Nauvoo to h u n t r coun terfeiter s and bogu s
money ; but he came there s pent an hour in abusing them on t he
T ha t th e wh o le
s t u mp and le ft witho u t m
ak ing any e xami n ati on

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of
th
s vis i t w as t o b e at N a uv oo o u t of t h e wa ysi h il e t he
i
y
j
murder w as perpetrated at Carthage A nd that if the b est Ge ner
al in the U nion h a d d e s i r e d to take the lives of the two S miths ,
and at t h e s am e ti me conceal hi s action or participation in it h e
could n ot have done it mor e s ucces sfully Mr Jacks on further i n
formed me that if the advi ce and condu ct of R oc kwell had b een
li stene d to and foll ow e d b ot h Warsaw and Cart hage would have
been laid w ast e i n les s than twe nty four hours after the kill i ng
was k nown at Nauvo o ; Col Markham aids an d abets R ock well,
in hi s incendiary de s ign o f impres sing upon th e Mor mons the idea
t hat Gov Ford was privy to the murder , by making the following
statement which Gov Ford has as s ured m
e is an unqualied fals e
hood Markham as s erts that on the morning of th e day upon w hich
t h e two Smiths w ere shot he w ent into the j ail to s ee them and on
hi s comin g out he was acco sted by the citizens around the j ail and
i n the town w ith very abus iv e language and that s evera l told hi m
re midnight of that day they meant to have his liTe as w e ll a s
That he w ent to the qu art er s of Gov Ford
t hat of th e Smiths
and reported to him the threats that had b een made against his ow n
life as w ell as that of the Smiths and that th e only r eply the
G overnor m
ad e to him was i t wa s the whi skey that spoke and n ot the

The de sign of R ockwell and Markham cannot b e mi sappre

men
hended They are determined if pos s ible s o to work upon t he
minds of some of their pop u lace as to caus e t h e as sas sination of
Gov Ford Thi s was n ot only the opinion of Mr Jack son of Ne w
O rlean s h a b it i s that of other gentl emen who have been there and
watche d th e workings of thes e t w o ev il spi rits Another fact
which warran ts thi s conclusi o n is th e followi ng a f davit which
w as made and transmitted to Gov Ford and which i s s i milar in
import to threat s that have b een made by a number of ot h e r M o r
mons Taken in connexion w ith t h e cours e and language of O
P R ockwell and Col Markham towards Gov For d it leav es but
li ttle doubt as to the ir wi shes, if t h e y c an muster the c ourage to car
r
t h e i r d e s ig n s into e x e c u t i hn :
y
ob

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S TA T E O F I L L rN oi s
ss
Hancock county
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W i lli am Vxad de ll being duly s worn s ays : that he h as j ust r e
turned from Knox county : that on his road to Knox county he met
wi th a man w ho said to him that he was a Mormon and was not
ashamed to own it that G ov Ford had acted wrong and that h e
was d etermined on killing him t hat t h e y w e r e strong enough to con
quer the State and that they w ere d etermined to do it : that they
w ould burn C a r t h a g e a n d kill all thos e who had j oined Ford in the
mob Another i n alr b e y on d thi s place endeavored to get thi s e ih au t
to j oin a mob That on re t urning he me t two men armed with pis
tol s a nd dirks who sto pped thi s afh an t and s earche d him by exam
ining his pock ets and ask ed him whether h e had any i ntelligenc e
and demanded it that they would not communi
v erbal or written
c ate what their busines s w as
that a fterwards he met thre e men on
t he prairie w ho s t oppe d him and ask e d him many que stions
The y
we re w e ll arme d and state d that O LD Fon n h ad c aus e d th e S mi ths
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and Tayl or to b ek illed an d they wer e determi ned to kill him, (F or d )

That thes e thi ngs took place i n places w her e t her e w as no i n h abi
t ants and further thi s deponent sai th not
WI LL IA M WA D D L E
S worn to and subs cribed b efor e me thi s 2 9 th day of J une A D
1 84 4
0 C S KINNE R M as t er in C han c ery
S uch i s a fai nt history of the charact er and designs of the Mormo n
l eaders
Ther e i s on e o t her r eas on as signed by the pres s as W ell as the
publi c for stigmati sing the death of the Smiths as a co wa r dly c old
bloo ded mu r der that de serv es a pas sing notice
It i s that the de
s eas ed could hav e been r e ached and punished by l a w
W ere thi s
s uppo sition correct the conclusion to b e drawn from it would b e
s elf e v i dent But it i s unfortunately not the cas e Every branch
of t h e c i v il government of H ancock county was under the contro l
o f the Mormons and a conviction rendered impos s ible
The only
w ay that indictments were found against Joe Smith at the last term
of the Hancock Circuit Court for perj ury adultery and fornication
was thi s : The County Commi s sioner s Court , which s el ects the
grand and petit j ury and whi ch i s compo s ed of three member s con
si sted of one Mormon a Jack hi o r mo n and an anti Mormon or
old citiz en The J ack Mormon growing alarmed at t h e increasing
outrages committed by the Mormons ag a inst al l the law s of soci ety
at the term of the County Commi s sioner s Court immediately pre
ceding the term of the Circuit Court at which the indi ctments were
found j oined the County Commi s s io n er w h o was one of the old cit
i z e n s and s elected a grand and pet it j ury the maj ority of who m
were from the body of the old citize ns The result was that the
grand ury according to the te stimony b efore them , found the bill s
of indictment against Joe U nder the practice of t h e State of
Illinois proce s s would is su e during vacation returnabl e t o the n ext
ter m of t he C o u r t or if th e re was any danger of es cape a cap i as
would i s s ue in stanter But the defendant wo uld hav e a right
les s con fi ned in j ail to continue hi s cas e until the n ext term of the
Court Thi s s ecured Smith ag ai n s t a trial until this fall In the
meantime the August el ection comes o ff at which the r e i s to b e
elected a County Commi s sioner for Hancock in th e place of th e
member of the court who i s an anti Mormon The Mormons hold
a large maj ority in that county and the result woul d b e the s elec
tion of another strong M ormon which would mak e the Court stand
two Mormon and one J ack M ormon At the S eptember term of
the County Commis s ioner s Court the panel of grand and p etit j u
t ors w ould b e s elected to s erve at t h e fall term of the Circuit Court
And the result would show that both t h e grand and petit j urors
would be nine tenth s Mormons Before thi s grand j ury of Mor
mons the complaints against the two Smiths for riot in the de struo
tion of the pres s treason & c would go And no man in hi s s ens e s
can shut his ey es to th e fact that no b ill s of indictment woul d
b e found against them upon any charge In thi s way they wer e
placed entirely beyon the reach of law as they must be indicted in
t h e co u nt where the o f
ence
Th i s
as committed , or n ot at all
f
w
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t h e couns el of the S mi ths as w ell as the pri soner s thems elves well
knew and it accounts satisfactorily for the readines s w ith which they
waived the examination and entered into recognizance for their ap
The whol e of them knew it was the last of it
pe ar an c e at court
and that by J oe h aving hi s minions in o i c e as County Commi s s ion
ers Sheri ff Cl erk of th e Circuit Court 8L0 & c they c o u ld and
Th e advantage
wou ld succes sfully defeat the ends of j ustice
whi ch all hi s principal men had i n th is respect w ill appear most
manifest from the following fact : An individual ow ed a larg e
amount in the city of St L oui s and failed Previous to hi s fai l ing
he trans ferred a large amount of property to hi s father or some
other near connexion and then turned Mormon The fraud w as
s o palpable that the cr editors led a bill in chancery to s et aside
the conveyances Testimony was taken i n th e caus e and on its
hearing the fraud w a s made t o ap pear s o manifest that the co u n s el
of the defendants r efu sed t o a ddr ess the j u r y O ne of t he defend
ants nothing daunted at the cours e of his couns el remark ed to him
you n eed h a ve n o fea r s t h e j u r y wi ll s ta n d ten for me t o t wo a g a i ns t

e
The j ury retired and after a long abs enc e came into court
m
and stated their inability to agree when they w ere di scharg ed and
upon inquiry as th e defendant had anticipated they stood ten for
nding a v erdict for the defendants and two for the complainants
Thi s was stated to me by one of the most prominent members of t h e
bar i n the city of Q uincy who was engaged in the caus e The
re as on why the defendants were abl e to j udge s o accurately of
what would be their deci sion ev en befor e retiring from th e j ury
box was T H A T T E N o r T H E J U R Y W E R E M O R M O N S and two of
them old citiz ens W ith a state of things lik e thi s every reas on
abl e man must s e e and acknowle dge that there was n o s uch thing
in Hancock county as leg a l r edr ess for any citiz en of that county
when his opponent was a Mormon Th e record s of t h e court of
H ancock show that i n any contested cas e between a Mormon and
an anti Mormon there i s s carcely a s olitary exception but what
the Mormon s ucceeded O C Skinner E s q of Carthage w h o
has done a great deal o f busines s for the Bl or mo n s as s erts pub
li c ly that it wa s only neces sary to inform a Mormon what h e must
prove to succeed and the testimony was alway s forthcoming
The idea of such a state of things existing i n a ny c ou n tr y i s
revolting i n the e xtreme ; much more s o however when a portion
of our own R epublican Gov e r n me n t i s shown to be t h e theatre of
s o unj ust and oppre ss iv e a state of soci ety That it does exi st
admits of no more doubt than that there i s a s ect call ed Mormons
And that the old citizens of Hancock hav e for months and month s
b e en the vi ctims of s uch oppr es sion i s equally true
Y et I
repeat even under such a state of things it was no j usti cati on
for the killing of the Smiths ; although I do insi st it goes far i n
mitigation and removes a great deal of the odium which under a
di fferent state of things would have atta ched to it
The public are now in pos ses s ion of all the material facts lead
i ng to and s urrounding the unlawful killing of two as wickedly
deprav ed men as e v er disgraced the human family I have e n
d eavor ed to do u stice t o all art ies and to place the i r si t u atio ns fai rl y
j
p
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47

the pub lic T he t as k has been an u npleas ant one as s umed

with reluctance and from the pres sure of other engageme nts having
paramount claims upon my time but imperfectly and to mys elf u n sat
K nowing however the deep solicitude that
i s fa c t or ily dis charged
would b e felt on all hands to obtain the facts in the cas e and j u dg
ing from the experience of the past that greatly exaggerated accounts
w ould go forth as to the un fortunate atfa i r I felt a dispo sition to
contribute my feebl e aid in correcting the error s into which many
had and still more would fall by placing i n as s uccinct a form as
pos sible all the facts b efore the p e opl e Thi s I hav e done honestly
and fearles sly
Illinoi s it i s true has had another foul stain indelibly fastened u p
on h er es cutcheon by thi s s econd outbr eak of popular violence
But knowing the facts as I do of the caus es that led to the murder
of L ovej oy as well as that of the Smiths c andor constrains me to
s ay that th a former was as far mor e atrocious than the latter as it
i s pos sible for one species of crime to b e greater than another
Would to Go d for the honor the credit the pro sperity o f the State
neither had disgraced its annals
By some it may be cons idered that I have spok en unneces sarily
har sh of the two Smiths and e specially of J oe I do not think
that I have The most obnoxious and licentious traits in his char
acter I hav e studiously r efrained from alluding to with a vi ew of
excluding from thes e pages every thing like ob scenity ; but which
if I had attempted to sp eak of in can dor I should hav e b een c om
My only regret i s that d u ty has driv en
pe ll e d to hav e introduced
me to speak as plainly as I hav e A desi r e to avoid woundi n g the
feelings of hi s wife if no other consideration has had its in uence
upon m e in l etti n g him off as easy as pos sible Though h e has
o utraged every feeling of decency and humanity in the g r at i c a
tion of hi s beastly propensiti e s which has caus ed hi s wife thre e
di fferent times to s eparate from him (as I am informed y et from
a forgiving di s pos ition and the hope of reformation she w a s i n d u c e d
to return to hi s polluted embrace and r emain steadfast to him unto
the end ; v erifying by s o doing the truth of the beautiful expres
sion of th e poet that
Li ke i vy w o ma n s l ove will c li ng
T o o o fte n ro u nd a wo rth l e ss t h i ng
Hi s s ins however should not be v isited upon her She i s a fe
mal e o f intelligence and can do much towards di spelling the delu
s ion that her etofore has so dens ely beclo u ded the minds of the Mor
mons In accomplishing thi s she will confer an inestimable bles s
ing upon th e community in which she li ves and may prov e the
means of prev enting an immens e deal of bloodshed and destruction
of property A di fferent cours e will attach much of the odium of
h er late husband s character to h er own
In conclus ion I have only to add that every s entence I hav e p enn
ed has b een under a deep s ens e of the responsibility I have as
s umed to th e public And that whatever may be t he j udg ment
they shall pas s upon thes e pages there i s upon them
No li ne wh i c h dy i ng I w o uld wis h t o b l ot
b e fore

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