There is a discretionary power vested in my hands, which concerning your circumstances I will exercise for a season...[22][23]. [89] Smith believed that Hinkle had betrayed him,[92] but Hinkle maintained his innocence and claimed that he was following Smith's orders. Upon his arrival at Far West, General Clark delivered the following speech to the now-captive Mormons, in which he directly invoked Order 44: ...The order of the governor was to me, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the state; and had not your leaders been given up, and the terms of this treaty [21] complied with, your families before this time would have been destroyed, and your houses in ashes. On the Mormon side, Gideon Carter was killed in the battle and nine other Mormons were wounded, including Patten, who soon after died from his wounds. [105], Daviess County residents were outraged by the escape of Smith and the other leaders. You need not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the governor's orders be executed. Despite an attempt by the Mormons to parley, the mob attacked. In 1838, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri issued an order that “the Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state.”1 Soon afterwards, at Haun’s Mill, 17 Mormon men and boys were killed by a large mob, and Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested on … A Militia under the command of Samuel Bogart was authorized by General Atchison to patrol the no-man's land between Ray and Caldwell Counties known as "Bunkham's Strip" – an unincorporated territory 6 miles (9.7 km) east to west and 1-mile (1.6 km) north to south. The Mormons claimed that they had done nothing wrong, and were attacked for their religious beliefs. On Sunday, October 14, a small company of state militia under the command of Colonel William A. Dunn of Clay County arrived in Far West. Slavery has long been cited as the primary cause for the persecutions, but German immigrants, who were much more vocally against slavery than the Saints, were not targeted. They asked if the rumor was true and demanded that he sign a document disavowing any connection to the vigilance committees. religious persecution on the U.S. frontier. General Clark cited Executive Order 44 soon after the Mormon settlers, mostly unarmed and poor immigrants, surrendered in November 1838, saying that violence would have been used had they chosen not to surrender. The Mormon community was initially welcomed and expanded rapidly into a permanent, thriving center of Mormon religion, but over the cour… Within ten days every Mormon must be out of Missouri, or men, women, and children will be shot down indiscriminately. The temple will largely serve about 25,000 members in the Kansas City area and about 100,000 members in Kansas and Missouri. Peace officers, militia leaders, ministers, and merchants joined the mobs. John Smith, justice in peace Volume 3, Part Six. They also sent a request for assistance to Governor Boggs, noting that the mob had threatened "to exterminate them, without regard to age or sex". Of this their "Mormon" leaders were informed, and they said they would deal with any of their members who should again in like case offend. "[121], Siege of Far West and capture of church leaders. [63] None of these claims, however, purport to be eyewitness accounts. The skirmish is often cited as the first serious violence of the war in Missouri. [24] Possession became unclear and the dissenters threatened the church with lawsuits. King found that there was sufficient evidence to have the defendants appear before a grand jury on misdemeanor charges. "[46] After more than a week, a company of armed Mormons assisted Lathrop in rescuing his wife and two of his children (one had died while prisoner). Judge Josiah Morin and Samuel McBrier, both considered friendly to the Mormons, both fled Daviess County after being threatened. The question of whether or not Mormons should be allowed to settle in the county was placed on the August 6 ballot; a heavy majority favored expulsion of the Mormons. One of the Mormons present, Samuel Brown, claimed that Peniston's statements were false and then declared his intention to vote. Tensions built up between the rapidly growing Mormon community and the earlier settlers for a number of reasons: These tensions led to harassment and mob violence against the Mormon settlers. [48], The besieged town resorted to butchering whatever loose livestock wandered into town in order to avoid starvation while waiting for the militia or the Governor to come to their aid. Nathan Tanner reported that his militia company rescued another woman and three small children who were hiding in the bushes as their home burned. Violence broke out in 1833 as the “Old Settlers” under the guise of “extra-legal” justice took the law into their own hands. The Battle of Crooked River in late October led to Lilburn Boggs, the Governor of Missouri, issuing the Missouri Executive Order 44, ordering the Mormons to leave Missouri or be killed. [13][45], Some isolated Mormons in outlying areas also came under attack. According to Latter Day Saint witness Reed Peck, when Smith was told that the Mormons would be expected to leave the state, he replied that "he did not care" and that he would be glad to get out of the "damnable state" anyway. [79], None of the Missourians were ever prosecuted for their role in the Haun's Mill Massacre. N.K. On August 6, 1838, the war began following a brawl at an election in Gallatin, resulting in increased organized violence between Mormons and non-Mormons backed by the Missouri Volunteer Militia in northwestern Missouri. Traditionally, historians have cited a number of issues that led to the Missouri persecutions of the Latter-day Saints. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though Clark had offered to allow the Mormons to remain in Missouri until the following spring, they decided to leave right away; according to one account, most had departed within ten days of Clark's speech. The Mormons were driven from Jackson County by a mob in 1833 and resettled in Clay County and other parts of northern Missouri. Reynolds determined the man in question was Porter Rockwell, a close associate of Joseph Smith. ... And a persecution complex helps no one. They have been directed to communicate with you by express, you can also communicate with them if you find it necessary. Although Mormons won the battle, they took heavier casualties than the Militia, only one of whom, Moses Rowland, was killed. Many of Boggs's constituents felt that he had mis-managed the situation, by failing to intervene earlier in the crisis, and then by overreacting on the basis of partial and incorrect information. After most of the defenders in the blacksmith shop had been killed or mortally wounded, some of the Missourians entered to finish the work. The order was issued in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River, a clash between Mormons and a unit of the Missouri State Militia in northern Ray County, Missouri, during the 1838 Mormon War. Missouri blamed the Mormons for the conflict and forced the Latter-day Saints to sign over all their lands in order to pay for the state militia muster. But it was here too, that in the 1830s, Latter-day Saints suffered glaring persecution, culminating in 1838, when the Governor of Missouri ordered that Mormons must be "exterminated or driven from the state." If they choose to remain, we must be content. But their conduct here stamps their characters in their true colors. The setting in Missouri, the activities of mobs and militias, and the Mormon effort at self-defense are discussed, along with background on the development of the infamous Danites. Mormon leaders appealed to the state legislature to overturn the requirement that they leave the state, but the legislature tabled the issue until a date well after that when the Mormons would have left the state. Henry Chiles, attorney-at-law He left in late 1837 for Far West, Missouri. [101], The defendants, consisting of about 60 men including Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, were turned over to a civil court of inquiry in Richmond under Judge Austin A. Executive Order 44 was issued during the 1838 Mormon War, which was caused by friction between the Mormons and their neighbors due to the economic and electoral growth of the Latter-day Saint community. Traditionally, historians have cited a number of issues that led to the Missouri persecutions of the Latter-day Saints. "[60], The Missourians evicted from their homes were no better prepared than the Mormon refugees had been. Executive Order 44 was issued during the 1838 Mormon War, which was caused by friction between the Mormons and their neighbors due to the economic and electoral growth of the Latter-day Saint community. [27] Two days after Rigdon preached his Salt Sermon, 80 prominent Mormons, including Hyrum Smith, signed the so-called Danite Manifesto, which warned the dissenters to "depart or a more fatal calamity shall befall you". Missouri Executive Order Number 44 reads as follows: Sir: Since the order of this morning to you, directing you to cause four hundred mounted men to be raised within your division, I have received by Amos Reese, Esq., of Ray county, and Wiley C. Williams, Esq., one of my aids [sic], information of the most appalling character, which entirely changes the face of things, and places the Mormons in the attitude of an open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this state. By the fall of that same year these tensions escalated into open conflict, culminating in the looting and burning of several Mormon farms and homes, the sacking and burning of Gallatin by the "Danites", and the taking of hostages by Cpt. Shortly after what Mormons consider to be the restoration of the gospel in 1830, Smith stated that he had received a revelation that the Second Coming of Christ was near, that the City of Zion would be near the town of Independence in Jackson County, Missouri, and that his followers were destined to inherit the land held by the current settlers. [13] After hearing these reports Governor Boggs chose to act. Having taken control of the Missourian settlements, the Mormons plundered the property and burned the stores and houses. He had then appointed General John Bullock Clark to lead the State Militia in assisting those citizens to return. He stated that General Parks reported to him that "a portion of the men from Carroll County, with one piece of artillery, are on their march for Daviess County, where it is thought the same lawless game is to be played over, and the Mormons to be driven from that county and probably from Caldwell County." [12] Further dispatches spoke of an impending attack on Richmond, county seat of Ray County, though in fact no such attack was ever contemplated. [44], As tensions built in Daviess County, other counties began to respond to Carroll County's request for assistance in expelling the Mormons from their county. As for your leaders, do not think, do not imagine for a moment, do not let it enter into your mind, that they will be delivered and restored to you again, for their fate is fixed, their die is cast, their doom is sealed. [50] Boggs, however, ignored this plea and continued to wait as events unravelled. [16] They had also founded the Caldwell County town of Far West as their Missouri headquarters. Initial reaction by Missourians was mixed. [13] In Daviess County, where Whigs and Democrats had been roughly evenly balanced, Mormon population reached a level where they could determine election results.[22]. [22] Although Governor Boggs belatedly ordered a militia unit under Colonel Sterling Price (later to achieve fame as a Confederate Civil War general) to northern Missouri to stop ongoing depredations against the Mormons, he refused to repeal Order #44. Most Mormon immigrants to Missouri (which was at the time a, This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 08:25. LDS Living. Thomas McBride surrendered his rifle to Jacob Rogers, who shot McBride with his own gun. Joseph Smith and the other arrested leaders were held overnight under guard in General Lucas' camp, where they were left exposed to the elements. The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three "Mormon Wars". [57], Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the church, and fellow Apostle Orson Hyde were alarmed by the events of the Daviess County expedition. Ironically, as a result of his kindness, he was the only Mormon who was positively identified to have participated in the home burnings. [102][103], During a transfer to another prison in the spring of 1839, Smith escaped. Mormon dissenters from Daviess County who had fled to Livingston County reportedly told Livingston County militia under Colonel Thomas Jennings that Mormons were gathering at Haun's Mill to mount a raid into Livingston County. [15] Mormons had already begun buying land in the proposed Caldwell County, including areas that were carved off to become parts of Ray and Daviess Counties. When faced with the Mormon refugees from Missouri, the people of Quincy, Illinois, were outraged by the treatment the Mormons had experienced. The Livingston men became thoroughly imbued with the same spirit, and were eager for the raid ... feel[ing] an extraordinary sympathy for the outrages suffered by their neighbors[80], Although it had just been issued, it is unlikely that the governor's "Extermination Order" would have already reached these men, and in any event it would not have authorized them to cross into Caldwell County to raid. Our husband pitched his tent by a blacksmith's shop. Louis Franklin, jailer In addition, orders explicitly stated the Mormons were to have their weapons removed. [57] Even Mormon leader Parley P Pratt conceded that some burnings had been done by Mormons. They also reported the existence of the Danite group among the Mormons and repeated a popular rumor that a group of Danites was planning to attack and burn Richmond and Liberty. That's offence enough. Although county officials could only legally act within the county, this judge authorized Hinkle to defend Latter-day Saint settlements in neighboring Daviess County.[54]. These rumors only increased as reports of the Battle of Crooked River reached the capital at Jefferson City, with accounts of Mormons allegedly slaughtering Bogart's militia company, including those who had surrendered. On October 11, Mormon leaders agreed to abandon the settlement and move to Caldwell County. The men under the command of Lucas were then allowed to ransack the city to search for weapons. [51][53] Ignoring this counsel, Judge Higby, a Mormon judge in Caldwell County called out the Caldwell militia, led by Colonel George M. Hinkle. Possibly playing on Rigdon's July 4 sermon that talked of a "war of extermination", Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the "Extermination Order", on October 27, which stated that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace..."[76] The Extermination Order was finally rescinded on June 25, 1976, by Governor Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond.[77][78]. ", "We are law-abiding Americans, and have given no cause of offence. Boggs held strong preconceptions against the Mormons, dating from the time when both he and they had lived in Jackson County. 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