(jwha.info 2010) Boggs survived, but Mormons came under immediate suspicion. Dunn, acting under the orders of Doniphan, continued on to Adam-ondi-Ahman. [53] On October 18, these Mormons began to act as vigilantes and marched under arms in three groups to Daviess County. The Mormon War is a name that . [4] 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". [73] Generals Atchison, Doniphon and Parks decided they needed to call out the Militia to "prevent further violence". Colonel Hinkle and Mormons of the Caldwell County militia were joined by church leaders including Joseph Smith and also by elements of the Danite organization. 30 August: Governor Lilburn W. Boggs . 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. Once they were established in a county of their own, a period of relative peace ensued. 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. [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. [56] Even Mormon leader Parley P Pratt conceded that some burnings had been done by Mormons. 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. [17] They had also founded the Caldwell County town of Far West as their Missouri headquarters. In 1834, Latter Day Saints 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.[15]. [120], Whatever the case, the following year Rockwell was arrested, tried, and acquitted of the attempted murder,[118] although most of Boggs' contemporaries remained convinced of his guilt. [53][55] Millport, Grindstone Fork and the smaller Missourian settlement of Splawn's Ridge were also plundered and had some houses burned. Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the church, and fellow Apostle Orson Hyde were alarmed by the activities which had taken place in Daviess County. 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. Sheriff Morgan was ridden through town on an iron bar, and died shortly afterward from the injuries he suffered during the ride. [24] Possession became unclear and the dissenters threatened the church with lawsuits. This is how it was explained in a letter to US Army Colonel R. B. Mason of Ft. Leavenworth: While the state militia gathered, Missourian vigilante parties continued to act on their own, driving Latter Day Saints inward to Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. Executive paralysis permitted terrorism, which forced Mormons to self-defense, which was immediately labeled as an "insurrection," and was put down by the activated militia of the county. Colonel Hinkle and Mormons of the Caldwell County militia were joined by elements of the Danite organization. News of the battle quickly spread and contributed to an all-out panic in northwestern Missouri. On October 19, 1838, the day after Gallatin was burned, Thomas B. Marsh and fellow apostle Orson Hyde left the association of the Church. 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. [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. [12], At the same time, a leadership struggle between the church presidency and Missouri leaders led to the excommunication of several high-placed Mormon leaders, including Oliver Cowdery (one of the Three Witnesses and the church's original "second elder"), David Whitmer (another of the Three Witnesses and Stake President of the Missouri Church), as well as John Whitmer, Hiram Page, William Wines Phelps and others. On May 6, 1842, Boggs was shot in the head at his home three blocks from Temple Lot. Format: Paperback. Fight against grand gangsters and crime lords to finish mafia crime from city. To do so, would be to act with extreme cruelty. Fearing attack, many citizens of Ray County moved their wives and children across the Missouri River for safety. Hinkle and Murdock refused, citing their right as American citizens to settle where they pleased. Battle of Crooked River.jpg 564 452; 106 KB. 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]. [39], In the spring of 1838, Henry Root, a non-Mormon who was a major land-owner in Carroll County, visited Far West and sold his plots in the mostly vacant town of De Witt to church leaders. "[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. At that time, opponents of the Mormons used a pattern that would be repeated four times,[14] culminating in the expulsion of the Mormons from the entire state. 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. [51][53] Ignoring this counsel, a Mormon judge in Caldwell County called out the Caldwell militia, led by Colonel George M. Hinkle. [1] Clark to Boggs, 29 Nov. 1838, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives. Robinson, Ebenezer. However, they remained an important part of . [1][42], Sentiment among the anti-Mormon segment of Carroll County's population hardened, and some began to take up arms. Rumors among both parties spread that there were casualties in the conflict. And Subsequent Expulsion. The soldiers shot down our oxen, cows, hogs and fowls, at our own doors, taking part away and leaving the rest to rot in the streets. He surmised that the perpetrator had fired upon Boggs and lost his firearm in the night when the weapon recoiled due to its unusually large shot. Mormon settlement increased as hundreds of members from Kirtland and elsewhere poured into Missouri. [111] One resolution passed by the Quincy town council read: Resolved: That the gov of Missouri, in refusing protection to this class of people when pressed upon by an heartless mob, and turning upon them a band of unprincipled Militia, with orders encouraging their extermination, has brought a lasting disgrace upon the state over which he presides.[112]. "If found, they will be shot down like dogs," warned Hyrum. Published March 09, 2022 05:36:49. Both sides had vigilante groups who plundered and destroyed property. [103][104] 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."[1]. 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. Mapping Mormon History 11. "The Year of Decision: 1846". 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". [91], Colonel Hinkle rode to the church leaders in Far West and informed them of the offered terms. They moved into a blacksmith shop which they hoped to use as a make-shift defensive fortification. Agitation against the Latter Day Saints had become particularly fierce in the sparsely settled counties north and east of Caldwell County. De Witt possessed a strategically important location near the intersection of the Grand River and the Missouri River. [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. [98], It is also believed that Smith's imprisonment had become an embarrassment, and that an escape would be convenient for Boggs and the rest of the Missouri political establishment. According to Hinkle, Smith wanted a treaty with the Missourians "on any terms short of battle. 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. Despite the inferior numbers of the Mormons, the Missourians scattered before them, causing both sides to think many of the Missourians had been killed. [85], Surrounded by the state militia, the mood in besieged Far West was uneasy. Ebenezer Robinson described the scene at Far West, "General Clark made the following speech to the brethren on the public square:'The orders of the governor to me were, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the state, and had your leaders not been given up, and the terms of the treaty complied with, before this, you and your families would have been destroyed and your houses in ashes.'"[90]. The soldiers also turned their horses into our fields of corn.[98][99]. And Subsequent Expulsion. [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. Boggs held strong preconceptions against the Latter Day Saints, dating from the time when both he and they had lived in Jackson County, and the governor believed the reports. The men under the command of Lucas were then allowed to ransack the city to search for weapons. INTRODUCTION: The Mormon presence in nineteenth-century Missouri was uneasy at best and at times flared into violence fed by misunderstanding and suspicion. [35] The crowd dispersed, and the Mormons returned to their homes. However, Reynolds was unable to capture Rockwell. At the start of the brawl, Mormon John Butler let out a call, "Oh yes, you Danites, here is a job for us!" John Whitmer recounts that Smith bribed the guards. [1][96] The court of inquiry began November 12, 1838. [74], While the State Militia gathered, Missouri unorganized Militia continued to act on their own, driving Mormons inward to Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. The conflict expanded to involve state officials, including the governor, and resulted in the incarceration of Joseph Smith and the forced expulsion of the . Their economic cohesion allowed the Mormons to dominate local economies. One of the principal points of conflict in the 1838 Missouri Mormon War, the battle resulted in Missouri Executive Order 44, sometimes called the . [3][84] 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. On September 7, Smith and Lyman Wight appeared before Judge Austin A King to answer the charges. The Mormons divided into three columns led by David W. Patten, Charles C. Rich, and James Durphee. [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." 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. 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. Published July 23, 2017. The exact circumstances that allowed for him to escape are not certain. Soon after the "Extermination Order" was issued, vigilantes attacked an outlying Mormon settlement and killed . Reynolds discovered a revolver at the scene, still loaded with buckshot. One contemporary critic of the Mormons wrote: Mormonism is a monstrous evil; and the only place where it ever did or ever could shine, this side of the world of despair, is by the side of the Missouri mob. You can also get a slight stat buff from the equipment investments. [77] Other members of the mob opened fire, which sent the Latter Day Saints fleeing in all directions. [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". The day has gone by when masses of men can be outlawed, and driven from society to the wilderness, unprotected. 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. [102][103], During a transfer to another prison in the spring of 1839, Smith escaped. 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