The men under the command of Lucas were then allowed to ransack the city to search for weapons. The Settlement of The Peculiar People in Jackson County. Spelling in the Manuscripts and Editions, The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon. Agitation against the Latter Day Saints had become particularly fierce in the sparsely settled counties north and east of Caldwell County. One woman died of exposure, the other (a woman named Jenson) died in childbirth. I do not say you shall go now, but you must not think of staying here another season, or of putting in crops, for the moment you do this, the citizens will be upon you; and if I am called here again, in a case of a non-compliance of a treaty made, do not think I will do as I have now. That's offence enough. When the Mormon armed mob from the town of Far West moved south to the militia camp on the Crooked River, causing rumors of a planned full-scale invasion of Missouri that ran rampant throughout the summer and aroused terror throughout the western part of the 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. They asked if the rumor was true and demanded that he sign a document disavowing any connection to the vigilance committees. 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. Not only was Congress appealed to, but legislatures of other states were urged to petition in their behalf. They openly blaspheme the Most High God, and cast contempt on His holy religion, by pretending to receive revelations direct from heaven, by pretending to speak unknown tongues, by direct inspiration, and by diverse pretenses derogatory to God and religion, and to the utter subversion of human reason. John C. Bennett, a disaffected Mormon, reported that Smith had offered a cash reward to anyone who would assassinate Boggs, and that Smith had admitted to him that Rockwell had done the deed. which rallied the Mormons and allowed them to drive off their opponents.[36]. [51][52] Although he was sympathetic to the Mormons' plight, Doniphan reminded the Latter-day Saints that the Caldwell County militia could not legally enter Daviess County, and he advised Mormons traveling there to go in small parties and unarmed. Finally, the Mormons who had taken up arms were to leave the state. And that mob that comes on us to disturb us; it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us: for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses, and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed.—Remember it then all MEN.[11]. On October 11, Mormon leaders agreed to abandon the settlement and move to Caldwell County. Samuel C. Owens, County Clerk The Militia broke ranks and fled across the river. In addition, orders explicitly stated the Mormons were to have their weapons removed. In his book, The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, historian Stephen C. LeSueur notes that “non-Mormon land speculators could not hope to compete with the Mormons, who were purchasing large tracts of land with Church funds,” and that the huge immigration of Mormons to the area also “threatened to displace older towns as the political and commercial centers for their counties” (p.3). The gun was found to have been stolen from a local shopkeeper, who identified "that hired man of Ward's" as the most likely culprit. [106], General Clark viewed Executive Order 44 as having been fulfilled by the agreement of the Mormons to evacuate the state the following spring. [102][103], During a transfer to another prison in the spring of 1839, Smith escaped. This page provides historical background on the persecution of Mormons in Missouri, leading to the 1838 Extermination Order. 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." Far from settling tensions, Rigdon's oration had the opposite effect: it terrified and inflamed the residents of surrounding counties. [114][115], LeSueur notes that, along with other setbacks, Boggs's mishandling of the Mormon conflict left him "politically impotent" by the end of his term.[116]. Our husband pitched his tent by a blacksmith's shop. The Mormon Church's experience in Missouri tested the American commitment to free exercise of religion, freedom to vote, and ultimately the ability of a democratic government to protect unpopular minorities. [97] Brigham Young recounts that, once the militia was disarmed, Lucas's men were turned loose on the city: [T]hey commenced their ravages by plundering the citizens of their bedding, clothing, money, wearing apparel, and every thing of value they could lay their hands upon, and also attempting to violate the chastity of the women in sight of their husbands and friends, under the pretence of hunting for prisoners and arms. After several non-Mormons made statements to the authorities that Johnson had acted as a moderating influence on the Danites, he was allowed to escape rather than stand trial. The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description. When McBride held out a hand, Rogers cut it off with a corn knife, then may have further mangled his body while McBride was still alive. A few miles more brought us to Haun's Mill, where that awful scene of murder was enacted. At that time, opponents of the Mormons used a pattern that would be repeated four times,[12] culminating in the expulsion of the Mormons from the entire state. Clark V. Johnson, “The Missouri Redress Petitions: A Reappraisal of Mormon Persecutions in Missouri,” Brigham Young … [24] The Missouri legislature deferred discussion of an appeal by Mormon leaders to rescind the decree. 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. [19] The firsthand account explains soldiers stated the governor had ordered their expulsion or extermination if they did not leave at once.[19]. On November 1, 1838, Smith surrendered at Far West, the church's headquarters, ending the war. However, the religious and political views of the Mormons did not sit well with the non-Mormon citizens of the state. The Missouri Mormons are forced to leave Clay County for the more remote Caldwell and Daviess Counties in the northern part of the state. Cummins, Indian agent [107] The militia was disbanded in late November.[13]. S.D. Elder Hyde in his Autobiography, in referring to this incident in his life, says: This summer [1838] I removed with my family to Far West, in Missouri, where I was taken sick, soon after my arrival, with billious fever, and did not fully recover until the spring of 1839. 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". Anti-Mormonism is discrimination, persecution, hostility or prejudice directed against the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sheriff Morgan was ridden through town on an iron bar, and died shortly afterward from the injuries he suffered during the ride. John Smith, justice in peace [55] The Missourians and their families, outnumbered by the Mormons, made their way to neighboring counties. [50] Boggs, however, ignored this plea and continued to wait as events unravelled. King, on charges of treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny and perjury. [26], The "Gallatin County Election Day Battle" was a skirmish between Mormon and non-Mormon settlers in the newly formed Daviess County, Missouri, on August 6, 1838. 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. "If you proceed any farther west," said the captain, "you will be instantly shot. [95], Joseph Smith Jr attempted to negotiate with Lucas, but it became clear that Lucas considered his conditions to be non-negotiable. [13] After hearing these reports Governor Boggs chose to act. This we can see it is not idle assertion, they fact susceptible of proof, or with these few exceptions above-named, they brought into our country little or no property with them and left less behind them, and we infer that those only yoked themselves to the "Mormon" car who had nothing earthly or heavenly to lose by the monad; and we fear that if some of the leaders amongst them, had paid the forfeit due to crime, instead of being chosen ambassadors of the Most High, they would have been inmates of solitary cells. [43] The citizens of De Witt sent non-Mormon Henry Root to appeal to Judge King and General Parks for assistance. Mormonism became somewhat of a religion of the oppressed in its early history. [20] Mormons felt that the compromise only excluded major settlements in Clay County and Ray County, not Daviess County and Carroll County. If you can increase your force, you are authorized to do so to any extent you may consider necessary. By JUSTIN COFFEY The city of Quincy has always been a welcoming community, but never more so than during the winter of 1838-1839 when the residents provided aid, … The Senate committee at Washington reported that the matter was entirely within the jurisdiction of the state of Missouri. It is more than two years since the first of these fanatics, or knaves, (for one or the other they undoubtedly are) made their first appearance among us, and pretended as they did, and now do, to hold personal communication and converse face-to-face with the Most High God; to receive communications and revelations direct from heaven; to heal the sick by laying on hands; and, in short, to perform all the wonder-working miracles wrought by the inspired Apostles and Prophets of old. [21], The earlier settlers saw expansion of Mormon communities outside of Caldwell County as a political and economic threat. 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. 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." 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. Doniphan refused to obey the order, replying: It is cold-blooded murder. [19], In the eyes of many non-Mormon citizens (including Alexander Doniphan),[10] these settlements outside of Caldwell County were a violation of the compromise. Meanwhile, a revelation came to Joseph that the Church needed to be in one body. [35][36], When the Mormons heard a rumor that Judge Adam Black was gathering a mob near Millport, one hundred armed men, including Joseph Smith, surrounded Black's home. [13][42], Sentiment among the anti-Mormon segment of Carroll County's population hardened, and some began to take up arms. Three days later, on October 30, 1838, a militia unit from Livingston County planned a revenge attack upon a Mormon settlement at Haun's Mill, Missouri. We arrived in Caldwell county, near Haun's Mill, nine wagons of us in company. To enforce this, U.S. President Chester A. Arthur sent the Utah Commission. Their economic cohesion allowed the Mormons to dominate local economies. [31], In the speech, Rigdon declared that the Latter-day Saints would no longer be driven from their homes by persecution from without or dissension from within, and that if enemies came again to drive out the Saints, "And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them until the last drop of their blood is spilled; or else they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed". [105], Smith and the other Mormons resettled in Nauvoo, Illinois, beginning in 1839. [53] On October 18, these Mormons began to act as vigilantes and marched under arms in three groups to Daviess County. Nearly all of the approximately 10,000 Mormons left Missouri by the spring of 1839, and would not begin to return to Missouri until approximately 25 years later. News of the battle quickly spread and contributed to an all-out panic in northwestern Missouri. ", "We are law-abiding Americans, and have given no cause of offence. They broke into homes, whipped men and threatened women, destroyed the Mormon press, and tarred and feathered Latter-day Saint leaders. 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. The Mormons were driven from Jackson County by a mob in 1833 and resettled in Clay County and other parts of northern Missouri. [13][45], Some isolated Mormons in outlying areas also came under attack. [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.