Joseph Smith, returning to Far West from De Witt, was informed by General Doniphan of the deteriorating situation. Shortly after organizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1830, Joseph Smith Jr. revealed 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. ", http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/miscMormonRecords.asp?rec=doc, http://books.google.com/books?id=TcfYO8JFElcC, "An appeal to the American people: being an account of the persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints, and of the barbarities inflicted on them by the inhabitants of the state of Missouri", http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=2837&REC=4, "Mormonism in All Ages; or the Rise, Progress and Causes of Mormonism; with the Biography of Its Author and Founder, Joseph Smith, Jr", http://ia600401.us.archive.org/31/items/mormonisminalla00turn/mormonisminalla00turn.pdf, Mel Tungate's Battle of Crooked River sources website, History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 2 Chapter 11, Length of U.S. participation in major wars, Mormons stripped of property and expelled from Missouri. Mormon War vigilantes Missouri Extermination Order Utah War LDS enforcers Mormon War of 1838 The Mormon War is a name sometimes given to the 1838 conflict which occurred between Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and their neighbors in the northwestern region of the US state of Missouri. Having taken control of the Missourian settlements, the Mormons plundered the property and burned the stores and houses. [13], With the refusal of the Governor or Legislature to intervene, and having surrendered the bulk of their firearms, Mormons were left nearly defenseless to face the mob. [70], Meanwhile, exaggerated reports from the Battle of Crooked River made their way to Missouri's governor, Lilburn Boggs. Of the Missourians, only one, Moses Rowland, was killed. 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. On September 7, Smith and Lyman Wight appeared before Judge Austin A. This conflict is also sometimes referred to as the Missouri Mormon War to differentiate it from the Utah Mormon War (also known as the "Utah War") and the lesser known Illinois Mormon War. Most Mormon immigrants to Missouri (which was at the time a, This page was last edited on 10 December 2022, at 21:15. The third major and perhaps most significant conflict of the 1838 Missouri Mormon War occurred near this location along Crooked River on October 25, 1838. June: Danites organize in Far West. [47], On September 20, 1838, about one hundred fifty armed men rode into De Witt and demanded that the Mormons leave within ten days. The state militia broke ranks and fled across the river. Mormon settlement increased as hundreds of members from Kirtland and elsewhere poured into Missouri. The county seat, Gallatin, is reported to have been "completely gutted" only one shoe store remained unscathed. 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. The order was part of the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. When a Mormon band plundered and burned the Taylor home, one young Mormon, Benjamin F Johnson, argued his fellow vigilantes into leaving a horse for a pregnant Mrs Taylor and her children to ride to safety. There was scarcely a Missourian's home left standing in the county. 17 church members 15 men and two boys were killed by 240 militiamen/vigilantes at Haun's Mill in Caldwell County. Unfortunately, the shop had large gaps between the logs which the Missourians shot into and, as one Mormon later recalled, it became more "slaughter-house rather than a shelter. They moved into a blacksmith shop which they hoped to use as a make-shift defensive fortification. According to Hinkle, Smith wanted a treaty with the Missourians "on any terms short of battle. [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." With one child in each arm, she waded across an icy creek to safety in Adam-ondi-Ahman. [53] On October 18, these Mormons began to act as vigilantes and marched under arms in three groups to the Missourian settlements of Gallatin, Millport and Grindstone Fork. [26], The "Election Day Battle at Gallatin" was a skirmish between Mormon and non-Mormon settlers in the newly formed Daviess County, Missouri, on August 6, 1838. The Mormons divided into three columns led by David W. Patten, Charles C. Rich, and James Durphee. [79], None of the Missourians were ever prosecuted for their role in the Haun's Mill Massacre. Rumor reached Far West that a mob of vigilantes from Ray County had taken Mormons prisoner and an armed party was quickly assembled to rescue these prisoners and push the mob out of the county. John Corrill, one of the Mormon leaders, remembered: Friendship began to be restored between (the Mormons) and their neighbors, the old prejudices were fast dying away, and they were doing well, until the summer of 1838[18], In 1837, problems at the church's headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio, centering on the Kirtland Safety Society bank, led to schism. [43] The citizens of De Witt sent non-Mormon Henry Root to appeal to Judge King and General Parks for assistance. Overview: Sampson Avard (October 23, 1800 - April 15, 1869) was one of the founders and leaders of the Mormon vigilantes known as the Danites, which existed in Missouri during the Missouri Mormon War in 1838. Faster access than browser! [13][45], Some isolated Mormons in outlying areas also came under attack. "[30] The text of this speech was endorsed by Joseph Smith, who appeared at the event and participated in the raising of a liberty pole. [32][33], William Peniston, a candidate for the state legislature, made disparaging statements about the Mormons, calling them "horse-thieves and robbers",[34] and warned them not to vote in the election. [109][110] Judge Austin A King, who had been assigned the cases of the Mormons charged with offenses during the conflict, warned "If you once think to plant crops or to occupy your lands any longer than the first of April, the citizens will be upon you: they will kill you every one, men, women and children."[13]. In addition, LeSueur views the conflict as an expression of attitudes and beliefs that have fostered a vigilante tradition in the United States. On June 19, the dissenters and their families fled to neighboring counties where their complaints fanned anti-Mormon sentiment. The Mormon War is a name sometimes given to the 1838 conflict which occurred between Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and their neighbors in the northwestern region of the US state of Missouri. On May 6, 1842, Boggs was shot in the head at his home three blocks from Temple Lot. [30] The text of this speech was endorsed by Joseph Smith, who appeared at the event and participated in the raising of a liberty pole. The refinement, the charity of our age, will not brook it.[113]. [35] The crowd dispersed, and the Mormons returned to their homes. This triggered a brawl between the bystanders. 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 (9.7km) east to west and 1-mile (1.6km) north to south. [55] The Missourians and their families, outnumbered by the Mormons, made their way to neighboring counties. "In the summer and fall of 1838, animosity between Mormons and their neighbors in western Missouri erupted into an armed conflict known as the Mormon War. Reynolds determined the man in question was Porter Rockwell, a close associate of Joseph Smith. [86] Other Latter Day Saint witnesses remembered that Smith said to "beg like a dog for peace". [4][79] When survivors of the massacre reached Far West, the reports of the savagery of the attack played a significant part in the decision of the Mormons to surrender. The soldiers also turned their horses into our fields of corn.[92][93]. I have reviewed five books: Leland H. Gentry's A . The presidency responded by urging the dissenters to leave the county, using strong words that the dissenters interpreted as threats. They believed that if they were righteous they would inherit the land held by others in Missouri. Lucas tried Joseph Smith Jr. and other Mormon leaders by court martial on November 1, the evening of the surrender. Mormon leader John Corrill wrote, "the love of pillage grew upon them very fast, for they plundered every kind of property they could get a hold of. [79] One 19th century Missouri historian noted: The Daviess County men were very bitter against the Mormons, and vowed the direst vengeance on the entire sect. Joseph Smith and the criminal justice system, Office of the Secretary of State of Missouri 1841, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1968, "LDS Church History: LDS History, October 14, 1838", "The Extermination Order and How it was Rescinded", Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 1920, http://ldsliving.com/story/77142-porter-rockwell-7-unbelievable-facts-and-stories-you-didnt-know, "Clarification of Boggs' 'Order' and Joseph Smith's Constitutionalism", "Mormonism. Durante el conflicto fueron asesinadas 22 personas (3 mormones y 1 no mormn en el ro Crooked y 18 mormones en Haun's Mill). The skirmish is often cited as the first serious violence of the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. [37], At a meeting at Lyman Wight's home between leading Mormons and non-Mormons, both sides agreed not to protect anyone who had broken the law, and to surrender all offenders to the authorities. Format: Paperback. Several Mormon homes near Millport were burned and their inhabitants expelled into the snow. In all, 17 Latter Day Saints were killed in what came to be called the Haun's Mill Massacre. 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. [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. Although Mormons won the battle, they took heavier casualties than the Missourians. Overwhelmingly, these claims are contradicted by the majority of both Missourian and Latter Day Saint testimony (which implicate the Mormons in the burnings) and also by the evidence of the looted property found in the possession of Latter Day Saints. In 1834, Mormons attempted to effect a return to Jackson County with a quasi-military expedition known as Zion's Camp, but this effort also failed when the governor failed to provide the expected support.[14]. [65], Local citizens were outraged by the actions of the Danites and other Mormon bands. On the afternoon of 24 October 1838, some of Bogart's men, operating independently of Bogart's main command, took two Mormon spies prisoner at a home where the Mormon "spy company" (a group of Mormons who had been assembled to scout the movements of Bogart and other anti-Mormon vigilantes in the area [12]) was quartered. Many of Boggs' 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. [36], When about thirty Latter Day Saints approached the polling place, a Missourian named Dick Weldon declared that in Clay County the Mormons had not been allowed to vote, "no more than negroes". The conflict continued until early November, when the outnumbered Mormons surrendered and agreed to leave the state. Published July 23, 2017. All of the conflicts in the Mormon War occurred in a corridor 100 miles (160km) to the east and northeast of Kansas City, Missouri. Finding 10-year-old Sardius Smith hiding behind the bellows, William Reynolds of Livingston County shot and killed the boy, saying: "Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon"[74] Black refused, but after meeting with Smith, he wrote and signed a document stating that he "is not attached to any mob, nor will attach himself to any such people, and so long as they [the Mormons] will not molest me, I will not molest them. The Grand Mafia. As the year went on, there were a number of armed conflicts between Mormons and Missourians. [108] Mormon residents were harassed and attacked by angry residents who were no longer restrained by militia officers. Rumor reached Far West that a Militia unit from Ray County had taken Mormons prisoner and an armed party was quickly assembled to rescue these prisoners and push the Militia out of the county. Citizens in Saline, Howard, Jackson, Chariton, Ray, and other nearby counties organized vigilance committees sympathetic to the Carroll County expulsion party. "[48][49], On October 9, A C Caldwell returned to De Witt to report that the Governor's response was that the "quarrel was between the Mormons and the mob" and that they should fight it out.[48]. The Mormon War literallty changed the course of Missouri history.Caldwell and Daviess counties were carved out of the frontier specifically for Mormon settlers experiencing problems in Ray and other organized counties. [57] Millport, which at time was the largest city in the county and the center for trade, never recovered from the Mormon burnings, and became a ghost town. [101] The militia was disbanded in late November.[1]. People were slaughtered. Tensions rose in Clay County as the Mormon population grew. Burned and their families fled to neighboring counties as the Mormon population grew sent non-Mormon Henry Root appeal. 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