Nauvoo Legion

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Nauvoo Legion
NauvooLegion.jpg
General Joseph Smith commanding the Nauvoo Legion infantrymen in formation between 1841 and 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois, with the Nauvoo Temple on a hill in the background
Active1841-1845
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg  United States Mayor of Nauvoo
Branch Illinois State Militia (1841–1845)
TypeMilitia
RoleProtect Mormon settlers from domestic and foreign enemies
SizeIllinois State Militia (2,500)
Engagements Illinois Mormon War (1844–1846)
  • Battle of Nauvoo (1846)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Lieutenant General Joseph Smith

General John C. Bennett

Brigham Young

Daniel H. Wells

Hosea Stout
The alleged Nauvoo Legion Flag. It is not known if it was used in Nauvoo, Illinois, or in the later Nauvoo Legion Utah period. It may have also been used by the Mormon Battalion in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War (1846-1847). Nauvoo Legion Mormon Battalion Flag.jpg
The alleged Nauvoo Legion Flag. It is not known if it was used in Nauvoo, Illinois, or in the later Nauvoo Legion Utah period. It may have also been used by the Mormon Battalion in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1847).

The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States from February 4, 1841 until January 29, 1845. It was first led by John C. Bennett, and then by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and mayor of Nauvoo. Its main function was the defense of Nauvoo and surrounding Latter Day Saint areas of settlement.

Contents

In 1845 the Nauvoo Legion lost its official sanction as an arm of the Illinois militia, following a controversy in which the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper was destroyed by the Legion on Joseph Smith's orders. [2] [3] Joseph Smith was ordered to the Carthage Jail under charges of treason, where Smith was then killed by a mob.

Formation in Nauvoo

In 1839, Joseph Smith relocated his followers from a hostile environment in Missouri to Commerce, Illinois, which he renamed Nauvoo. Aiming to win the Mormon voting bloc, Illinois Democrats and Whigs (including Abraham Lincoln) passed a bipartisan city-state charter for Nauvoo in 1840. [4] [5] On December 16, 1840 Governor Thomas Carlin approved the charter, which was certified by then Secretary of State Stephen A. Douglas. [4] In February 1841 the law went into effect, granting Smith and the city of Nauvoo broad powers including the authority to create a militia. [5] This military force was a militia similar to the Illinois State Militia, and it became known as the "Nauvoo Legion". The Legion was organized into two regiments (called cohorts) of infantry and one regiment of cavalry. A few light cannons were also attached. [5]

By April 1841, over 600 men had enrolled in the Legion. [6] By the end of 1841 that number had grown to around 1,500. [6] At its peak, the militia had, by conservative estimates, at least 2,500 troops, in comparison to the approximately 8,500 troops within the entire United States Army as of 1845. [7]

The Legion was unique among American militia organizations for its disproportionate number of high-ranking officers to regular soldiers. [5] At one point there were 13 major-generals and an even higher number of brigadier-generals. [5] Other ranks commissioned for the Nauvoo Legion included Judge Advocate, Assistant Chaplain, and Herald and Armour-Bearer. [5] Although the United States army and other contemporary militias held no office higher than a major-general, Joseph Smith held the rank of lieutenant-general, an honor that had not been bestowed on any American since George Washington. [6]

Joseph Mustering the Nauvoo Legion by C.C.A. Christensen Joseph Mustering the Nauvoo Legion by C.C.A. Christensen.png
Joseph Mustering the Nauvoo Legion by C.C.A. Christensen


Organizational chain of command

Nauvoo forming a city militia was uncommon, as typical militias of the time were formed within the county or state. [8] [6] The Nauvoo Legion was a regular unit of the Illinois state militia. [6] The state, rather than the county militia, provided arms to the legion, and service in the legion exempted members from mandatory service in the state or county militia. [8] [6] Officers in the legion were elected by the legion itself, but officers received their commission from the governor of the state. [5]

The state governor or the President of the United States had the power to call on the Nauvoo Legion for public defense of the state and country. [5] Uncommon for the time, the power to call upon the Legion extended to the mayor of Nauvoo for municipal defense, creating a measure of independence from the county militia and state government. [5] Joseph Smith himself was Nauvoo's second mayor, and the Nauvoo court martial also appointed him as highest-ranking officer of the Legion, a Lieutenant General. Gardner et al. argue that Joseph Smith's use of this power was one of the direct causes for the later suppression of the Legion. [5]

Role of the court martial

The Nauvoo Legion court martial differed in several ways from contemporary militias. Typical American court martials are judicial entities, created to try military personnel in accordance with military law. The state legislature granted the Nauvoo Legion additional legislative and executive powers: 1) the Nauvoo Legion court martial was granted the power to make, ordain, establish, and execute laws and ordinances and 2) The Nauvoo Legion was placed at the disposal of the city mayor to enforce city laws. [5]

On February 8, 1841, in accordance with the city charter, the Nauvoo City Council further expanded the executive power of the court martial to internally nominate officers for original commissions and promotions at a municipal level. [5] This was also a departure from typical procedure in contemporary state militias. At the same time, it granted the court martial the legislative duty to mirror the United States army “so far as applicable” in terms of discipline, drill, uniform, rules, and regulations. [5]

Activities in Nauvoo

Laying of the cornerstone of the Nauvoo Temple

Joseph Smith addressing the Nauvoo Legion.This was a preliminary sketch done in 1845 for a panorama painting for the Nauvoo Temple that was never completed. Joseph Smith Addressing the Nauvoo Legion painting done in 1845.PNG
Joseph Smith addressing the Nauvoo Legion.This was a preliminary sketch done in 1845 for a panorama painting for the Nauvoo Temple that was never completed.

On April 6, 1841 the Nauvoo Legion paraded in a full military display as part of the temple's cornerstone ceremony. [8] Nauvoo's fourteen companies and two volunteer Mormon cohorts marched from assigned points to the temple grounds, led by Brigadier Generals William Law and Don Carlos Smith. [8] Their entrances were marked by artillery fire. [8] At 9:30 am, Lieutenant General Joseph Smith reviewed the Legion, surrounded by guard, staff, and field officers. His entrance was marked by distant cannon fire. [8] He appeared on horseback in full military suit—a black cap with a red plume, a black coat, a red sash, and white pants, edged down the sides with red stripes. [8] Emma Smith rode sidesaddle next to him, followed by a number of women on horseback; during the ceremonies Emma presented Joseph with a silk American flag. [8] They were joined on stage by Major General John C. Bennett. [8] The ceremonies included religious services, public singing, dedicatory prayers, speeches by Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, after which temple architects lowered the southeast corner stone into place. [8] A hollow space in the cornerstone was filled with items such as a Bible, a Book of Mormon, a hymn book and silver money that had been coined that year. [8] The ceremonies concluded with music from the military band and choir. [8]

Local newspaper owner Thomas C. Sharp attended the ceremonies as a visiting dignitary. [8] This event, combined with John C. Bennett's appointment by Stephen Douglas to Master in Chancery in Hancock County, led Sharp to become a leading opponent of Joseph Smith. [10] Sharp reflected a growing sentiment in Illinois that the combined military and religious Latter Day Saint community posed a threat to the democratic values of individual freedom and separation of church and state, writing, "Every thing they say or do seems to breathe the spirit of military tactics. Their prophet appears, on all great occasions in his splendid regimental dress.... Truly fighting must, be a part of the creed of these Saints!" [8]

Junior legion

Up to 600 boys from Nauvoo decided to form a military unit in imitation of their fathers, and would parade and drill whenever their fathers did so. [8] Their mothers made uniforms for them; white pants, colorful blouse and a palm hat. [11] Joseph Smith III as a boy carried a wooden sword and a banner that read, "Our fathers we respect; our mothers we'll protect." [8] Other boys also had wooden guns. [11] At one point, they decided to conduct a raid on Nauvoo, mustering outside of town and then rushing into the city. They used pots and pans to make noise as they marched in, causing the horses to panic. According to Joseph Smith III, Joseph Smith rode forward on his horse and the boys scattered. [8]

Usage as local law enforcement

Prior to 1843 Nauvoo did not have a police force, and the legion was used as local law enforcement. [12]

On October 30, 1841, the city council ordered two companies of the Nauvoo Legion to destroy a local grog shop that was declared a public nuisance. [13]

On December 15, 1841, the Nauvoo Times and Seasons reported the city watch was disbanded and reorganized as a Legion assignment. [13]

From May to October 1842, Joseph Smith in his role as mayor established a night watch consisting of 8-16 members of the Nauvoo Legion. They maintained a shift from 6pm-6am and reported directly to the mayor. [13]

On August 14 1842, Smith ordered Major General Wilson Law to "preserve the peace of the city of Nauvoo" in any emergency situation. [13]

Military demonstrations

The Nauvoo Legion would sometimes perform theatrical military displays to garner local support. [8] On May 7, 1842 the Nauvoo Legion mustered as part of a “Programme Militaire.” [8] They performed a sham battle and Joseph Smith gave an address. [8] Special guests, including Judge Stephen A. Douglas, attended and were invited to Smith’s home for dinner. [8] This event marked a breaking point in the strained relationship between Joseph Smith and John C. Bennett. [8] [10] During the sham battle, Bennett had asked Joseph to move to the rear of the cavalry without his usual guards; Albert Rockwood, commander of the prophet’s bodyguards, objected and Smith chose a different spot. Rumors spread that Bennett had attempted to assassinate Smith during the demonstration. [8] [10] Although not the only factor in the dissolution of their collaboration, by the end of the month Bennett resigned from office of mayor, was removed from leadership in the Nauvoo Legion, was expelled from the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge, and was excommunicated from the church. [8] [10]

Thwarted extradition of Joseph Smith

On June 17, 1843, a warrant for Joseph Smith’s arrest was jointly issued by Illinois Governor Thomas Ford and Missouri Governor Thomas Reynolds on grounds of treason. [8] On June 23 Joseph Smith was arrested in the town of Dixon and preparations made to extradite him to Missouri. [8] [10] In response, the Nauvoo City council enacted what amounted to martial law and Nauvoo Legion troops organized and waited for instruction. [8]

On June 25, Joseph Smith sent a letter to Wilson Law, general in the Nauvoo Legion, asking him to bring a force to prevent his “being kidnapped into Missouri.” [8] In all, between 100-300 men left Nauvoo to rescue Joseph Smith. [8] [10] On June 27, Nauvoo Legion scouts intercepted the arresting party and Joseph Smith told his captors, “I am not going to Missouri this time. These are my boys!” [8]

On June 29, Generals Wilson and William Law, 60 of the Nauvoo cavalry, and 100 additional men escorted the party to Nauvoo, where Joseph Smith was released by the municipal court. [8] Smith spent the next few days greeting volunteer units of the Nauvoo Legion as they returned home, blessing them for their loyalty and efforts, and recounting the story of his kidnapping and triumphant return. [8]

Missouri response

Reaction to the failed extradition from Missouri was swift and negative. [12] Missouri Governor Thomas Reynolds felt the Legion had overreached its authority and demanded Illinois Governor Ford to call out the state militia to arrest Joseph Smith and extradite him to Missouri. [12] Governor Ford did not comply, which increased tension between the two states and infuriated many of the non-Mormon residents of Hancock County. [12] The Warsaw Signal published, "It will be but a small matter to raise volunteers enough here to raze the city of Nauvoo to the ground; if the governor of Illinois fears to deliver up Jo Smith, there will be something serious between the two states." [12]

In September 1843, a conference in Carthage, Illinois was organized to oppose growing Mormon political power. [12] The conference believed that Smith had too much power over the Legion and Municipal Court. [12] The conference resolved to resist "peaceably if we can, but forcibly, if we must"; to call on the Missouri Governor to once again demand the extradition of Joseph Smith, and to oppose any politician from any party that would "truckle to the heads of the Mormon clan." [12]

In Nauvoo, the Legion responded by drilling more intensely, requesting Governor Ford to provide more arms to the Legion, and a renewed recruitment push. [12] In direct response to the Carthage conference, the citizenry of Nauvoo passed a resolution affirming Joseph Smith's role as the General, Mayor and Prophet stating, "if he has equals, he has no superiors." [12] The resolution affirmed the professionalism of the Legion as a "well disciplined and faithful band of invincibles" and praised Governor Ford for not extraditing Smith. [12]

Arrest of Daniel and Philander Avery

On November 19, 1843 individuals from Missouri arrested Philander Avery and then on December 2, 1843 arrested his father Daniel Avery on charges of horse theft. [13] [8] With the assistance of Hancock County Illinois residents, they were taken to a Monticello, Missouri jail. [12] The arrest was viewed as a kidnapping in Nauvoo generating a nervous atmosphere in the city of Nauvoo. [13] Joseph Smith made a request to Governor Ford to call out the legion, which was denied by Governor Ford in a letter dated December 12th, who feared conflict with Missouri writing, "I would advise your citizens to be strictly peaceable torwards the people of Missouri." On the same day, December 12th, the Nauvoo City Council enacted an ordinance allowing for a municipal police force with Hosea Stout as its Chief of Police, greatly expanding an earlier "city watch" that had been created on January 30, 1843. [13] [12] The police force was under the authority of the city council, and could be ordered into action by the Mayor of Nauvoo, rather than the governor. [12] [13]

On December 18th Smith ignored the order from Governor Ford and called out both the city police force and members of the Legion to prepare against a rumored mob forming to the south in Warsaw, Illinois, tasking them to prepare to rescue the two men. [12] [13] The situation was defused when Philander Avery escaped, and on December 25th Daniel Avery was released due to a writ of Habeas Corpus. [12] [13]

Nauvoo under Mormon martial law

Last Public Address of Lieutenant General Joseph Smith by John Hafen, 1888 Last Public Address of Lieutenant General Joseph Smith.jpg
Last Public Address of Lieutenant General Joseph Smith by John Hafen, 1888

Tensions between Nauvoo and surrounding non-Mormon settlements peaked by the summer of 1844, in part because the Nauvoo Legion came to be regarded as Smith's private army. [4] Governor Thomas Ford called the militia "a military force at their own command." [4] [5] Tensions were further exacerbated by defectors from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including brothers William Law and Wilson Law, who was the Legion's ranking major General. [5] The Laws were key in starting the Nauvoo Expositor , a newspaper critical of Joseph Smith and his doctrines of plural marriage.

On June 10, 1844, the Nauvoo City council declared the Nauvoo Expositor to be a public nuisance. [5] Joseph Smith ordered acting major general Jonathan Dunham to use the Nauvoo Legion in assisting the city marshal to destroy the Expositor press and equipment. [5] Non-Mormons claimed the Legion was instrumental in destroying the press and called for the arrest of Joseph Smith and other members of the city council for riot. [5] They were arrested but released by the Nauvoo city court on a writ of habeas corpus. [5]

On Tuesday, June 18, 1844 Joseph Smith spoke to the Legion from the platform of a partially constructed building across from the Nauvoo Mansion. [10] [8] He stood in full military dress and spoke for an hour and a half to a group of about 4000. [8] Raising his sword, he said:

"I call God and angels to witness that I have unsheathed my sword with a firm and unalterable determination that this people shall have their legal rights, and be protected from mob violence, or my blood shall be split upon the ground like water, and my body consigned to the silent tomb." [8]

He declared martial law and afterwards marched the troops through Main Street, deploying them across the city to protect from water or land invasions. [10] [8]

In response to Nauvoo's military activity, an opposing force of armed Illinois Militia gathered, numbering between 1600-1800 men. [5] Governor Ford offered protection to Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith if they surrendered, but threatened to call out the state militia against Nauvoo if they did not. [10] They agreed to submit to arrest on charges of inciting a riot. [5] Ford called off most of the Illinois militia and recalled state-issued arms in Nauvoo. [10] On June 27, 1844 the Carthage Jail where they were held was attacked and they were killed.

Legion survival after death of Joseph Smith

Brigham Young in military uniform BrighamYounginMilitaryUniform.jpeg
Brigham Young in military uniform

The death of Joseph Smith caused a succession crisis over who would lead the Church going forward. [14] Brigham Young began to take on roles the Joseph Smith previously had, and on August 31, 1844 he was elected as the legion's "Lieutenant General". [14] [15] Previously, Young had been an assistant chaplain in the Legion. [11] In September, Young reviewed the Legion with Illinois Governor Thomas Ford in the audience. Ford had come to Nauvoo to intimidate anti-Mormon vigilantes after hearing rumors of impending attacks on Nauvoo. [14]

On December 19th, the Illinois Senate voted to repeal the Nauvoo Charter, and on January 24th the Illinois House passed its own version of legislation. [6] On January 29th 1845, the Illinois council of revision signed the repeal, and the Nauvoo Legion was no longer recognized as state militia. [6] [16] [12]

Whistling and Whittling Brigade

With the repeal of the Nauvoo Charter, the city was left without an official militia or police force. [17] [18] In response, in March 1845 Brigham Young organized the Bishops and Deacons to 1) "take care of the poor" and 2) guard the city at night, to keep everything straight.” [17] Out of these efforts came an organization known as the Whistling and Whittling Brigade who used legal, nonviolent means to monitor apostates, strangers, "Gentiles," or enemies and encourage them to leave town. [17] [18] Members would surround and follow suspicious individuals without engaging in conversation; They whittled pieces of wood, casting shavings in the person’s direction, all while whistling, gathering more members of the group. [17] [18] The organization lasted for less than two months and was phased out as Nauvoo regained law enforcement. [18] Initially composed of adult men, the group attracted more and more youth until by April, boys as young as twelve took on active roles as Whittlers. [18] This shift in demographic corresponded with increased criticism from within and without Nauvoo. [17] [18]

Battle of Nauvoo

Depiction of the Battle of Nauvoo by C.C.A. Christensen The Battle of Nauvoo by C.C.A. Christensen.png
Depiction of the Battle of Nauvoo by C.C.A. Christensen

On September 10, 1846, 1,000 members of the anti-Mormon party marched on Nauvoo to expel the remaining several hundred Mormon citizens. [19] In response, 150 men of Nauvoo gathered to defend themselves while women and children sheltered near the Temple. [19] [20] They were divided into the Spartan Band--remnant members of the Nauvoo Legion--and the Kill Devil Company--a group of non-Mormon New Citizens who were weary of anti-Mormon antagonism and hoped to defend their newly purchased property. [19] [20] Over the next five days the band of 150 withstood the siege of 1,000 men through methods such as guerrilla warfare, placing mines called a “hell’s half acre”, and building up bulwarks. [19] A steamboat shaft was turned into a makeshift cannon. [19] [20] Some women “gleaned” fields by collecting the anti-Mormon’s discharged cannon balls to be reused in Mormon cannons. [19] Three Mormons were killed and several injured on both sides. [20]

On September 16, 1846, the Mormons surrendered, knowing that they could not withstand the siege indefinitely. [19] [20] They agreed to leave Nauvoo within five days. [19] [20] Even with the treaty terms, anti-Mormon militia members harassed the Mormons by ordering some out of the city at the point of a bayonet, entering the temple and shouting obscenities from the belltower, interfering with the burials, and searching departing wagons to remove weapons and goods. [19] [20]

Legacy

Remnants of the Nauvoo Legion assumed roles such as guardians of the wagon companies heading west after being reorganized by Hosea Stout on September 22, 1846, as they amassed on the other side of the Mississippi River in the territory of Iowa where the citizens of Nauvoo were safe from attack by mobs and Illinois and Missouri militia, and waited for winter to end so they could migrate.[ citation needed ] An area memorialized by the somber Far West cemetery and LDS Temple.

Not long after the arrival of the Mormons in Iowa in 1846, Mormon legionnaires, many of whom were former members of the Nauvoo Legion, volunteered to serve in the 500 man Mormon Battalion for the U.S. government military expedition to Mexican California during the Mexican–American War.

Upon arrival to Utah in 1847, Brigham Young formed a territorial militia. In 1852 the militia was named the "Nauvoo Legion" in homage to the previous Illinois militia.

Uniforms, weapons, and equipment

12 Pound Carronade located at the Church History Museum. Used by the Nauvoo Legion in Nauvoo. Nauvoo Legion 12 pound carronade.jpg
12 Pound Carronade located at the Church History Museum. Used by the Nauvoo Legion in Nauvoo.

The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois was able to draw on Federal stands of arms. The most common musket issued to these militiamen was the Model 1816 Musket. This flintlock musket was an American built copy of the French 1777 Musket Model. Also, the Harper's Ferry Model 1803 Rifle was issued in smaller quantities. Personal arms were also used. A carronade, a ship cannon, was purchased by the legion in Nauvoo. It was carried to Salt Lake by the early party that occasionally used it as a speakers podium. It was nicknamed the "Old Sow" and is on display at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Groote, M. D. (2010, January 7). Secrets of the patriarch’s bear flag. Deseret News.
  2. ↑ Wicks, Robert S.; Foister, Fred R. (April 7, 2024). "Retributive Justice". Junius and Joseph. University Press of Colorado. pp. 132–144. doi:10.2307/j.ctt4cgn0s.16. ISBN   978-0-87421-608-0. JSTOR   j.ctt4cgn0s.16.
  3. ↑ Allaman (1990 , p. 10).
  4. 1 2 3 4 Nelson R. Burr (February 1949). "The Charter of the Mormon City Of Nauvoo". Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions. 6 (2). Library of Congress: 3–5. JSTOR   29780530 . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Hamilton Gardner; John C. Bennett; James Sloan; M. K. Anderson; James Shepherd (Summer 1961). "The Nauvoo Legion, 1840-1845: A Unique Military Organization". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 54 (2). University of Illinois Press: 181–97. JSTOR   40189784 . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Park, Benjamin E. Kingdom of Nauvoo the Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021. Page 49
  7. ↑ Allaman (1990 , p. 11).
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Bradley-Evans, M. (2016). Glorious in persecution: Joseph Smith, American prophet, 1839-1844. Smith-Pettit Foundation.
  9. ↑ Major, Jill C. (April 7, 2024). "Artworks in the Celestial Room of the First Nauvoo Temple". Brigham Young University Studies. 41 (2): 47–69. JSTOR   43044321.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bushman, Richard Lyman (2005). Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   1-4000-4270-4.
  11. 1 2 3 Leonard, Glen M. (1995) "Picturing the Nauvoo Legion," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 35 : Iss. 2 , Article 8
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Bennett, R. E., Black, S. E., & Cannon, D. Q. (2010). The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois: A history of the Mormon Militia, 1841-1846. Arthur H. Clark Co./University of Oklahoma Press. pgs 204-208, 247
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Allaman, John Lee (April 7, 1996). "Policing in Mormon Nauvoo". Illinois Historical Journal. 89 (2): 85–98. JSTOR   40193030.
  14. 1 2 3 Turner, J. G. (2014). Brigham young: Pioneer prophet. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. page 119-120
  15. ↑ Young, B., Smith, G. D., & Turner, J. G. (2021). Brigham Young, colonizer of the American west: Diaries and office journals, 1832-1871. Signature Books. location 3789 of 17847
  16. ↑ "Nauvoo Charter" Joseph Smith Papers project. Updated 2021-04-13
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Moody, Thurmon Dean (1975). "Nauvoo's Whistling and Whittling Brigade". BYU Studies Quarterly. 43 (4).
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mahas, Jeffrey David (2017). ""I Intend to Get up a Whistling School": The Nauvoo Whistling and Whittling Movement, American Vigilante Tradition, and Mormon Theocratic Thought". Journal of Mormon History. 43 (4): 37–67. doi:10.5406/jmormhist.43.4.0037.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Godfrey, Kenneth W. (April 7, 2024). "The Battle of Nauvoo Revisited". The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal: 133–146. JSTOR   43200410.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lee, Ryan K. “Battle of Nauvoo.” L. Tom Perry Special Collections: Special Collections Blog, 2014 Harold B. Lee Library, BYU https://scblog.lib.byu.edu/2014/09/14/battle-of-nauvoo/

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The life of Joseph Smith from 1839 to 1844, when he was 34–38 years old, covers the period of Smith's life when he lived in Nauvoo, an eventful and highly controversial period of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1844, after Smith was imprisoned in Carthage, Illinois, he was shot and killed when a mob stormed the jailhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Joseph Smith</span> 1844 deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail.

Mormons have numerous significant instances of violence throughout their history as a religious group. In the early history of the United States, violence was used as a form of control. According to Mormon history, their members have faced persecution and forceful expulsion from where they have settled, such as being driven from Ohio to Missouri and from Missouri to Illinois during the lifetime of church founder Joseph Smith. Soon, those that followed one of Smith's successors Brigham Young settled in the Utah Territory and became the largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, the LDS Church. Church history records that their migrations were accompanied by acts of violence that included massacres, home burnings, and pillaging.

George Miller was a prominent convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was the third ordained bishop in the Latter Day Saint church.

The history of Nauvoo, Illinois, starts with the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes who frequented the area, on a bend of the Mississippi River in Hancock County, some 53 miles (85 km) north of today's Quincy. They called the area "Quashquema", in honor of the Native American chief who headed a Sauk and Fox settlement numbering nearly 500 lodges. Permanent settlement by non-natives was reportedly begun in 1824 by Captain James White. By 1830, the community was called "Venus", and it was the site of the first post office in the county. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to "Commerce" in anticipation that the town would prosper under the United States' westward expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert P. Rockwood</span> American politician

Albert Perry Rockwood was an early Latter Day Saint leader and member of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Donald Quayle Cannon is a retired professor at Brigham Young University who specializes in Latter-day Saint history, particularly early Latter-day Saint history and international Latter-day Saint history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs</span>

An attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs occurred on May 6, 1842, when an unknown assailant fired buckshot into the home of Lilburn Boggs, striking the former Missouri Governor. Boggs was shot through a window as he read a newspaper in his study and was hit in four places: two balls were lodged in his skull, a third lodged in his neck, and a fourth entered his throat and was swallowed. Boggs was severely injured. Several doctors—Boggs's brother among them—pronounced his injuries fatal, and at least one newspaper ran an obituary. To general surprise, Boggs not only survived, but his condition gradually improved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Smith and the criminal justice system</span>

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was charged with approximately thirty criminal actions during his life, and at least that many financial civil suits. Another source reports that Smith was arrested at least 42 times, including in the states of New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.

Martial law in the United States refers to times in United States history in which in a region, state, city, or the whole United States was placed under the control of a military body. On a national level, both the US President and the US Congress have the power, within certain constraints, to impose martial law since both can be in charge of the militia. In each state, the governor has the power to impose martial law within the borders of the state. In the United States, martial law has been used in a limited number of circumstances, such as New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans; after major disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, or during riots, such as the Omaha race riot of 1919 or the 1920 Lexington riots; local leaders declared martial law to protect themselves from mob violence, such as Nauvoo, Illinois, during the Illinois Mormon War, or Utah during the Utah War; or in response to chaos associated with protests and rioting, such as the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, in Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and during the Civil Rights Movement in response to the Cambridge riot of 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah Territorial Militia</span> Territorial militia for Utah Territory from 1852 to 1887

The Utah Territorial Milita also known as the Nauvoo Legion was the territorial Milita for the United States Territory of Utah.

References

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