A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri A Dissertation Presented to the Department of History Brigham Young University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Alexander L. Baugh
Dissertations in Latter-day Saint History Produced by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History and BYU Studies Volumes in the series: A Study of the Origins of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the States of New York and Pennsylvania, by Larry C. Porter A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, by Alexander Baugh A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri from 1836 to 1839, by Leland Homer Gentry To Make True Latter-day Saints : Mormon Recreation in the Progressive Era, by Richard Ian Kimball Alexander Schreiner: Mormon Tabernacle Organist, by Daniel Frederick Berghout The Japanese Missionary Journals of Elder Alma O. Taylor, 1901 1910, by Reid L. Nielsen The Mormon Idology of Place: Cosmic Symbolism of the City of Zion, 1830 1846, by Steven Olsen The Mormon Reformation, by Paul H. Peterson Early Mormon Pamphleteering, by David J. Whittaker Sister-Wives and Suffragists, by Lola Van Wagenen 2000 Alexander L. Baugh. All rights reserved. Cover image: The Arrest of Mormon Leaders, C. C. A. Christensen courtesy Brigham Young University Museum of Art This dissertation was approved on July 22, 1971. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author. To contact the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, write to: 121 KMB, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. To contact BYU Studies, write to 403 CB, Brigham Young University, PO Box 24098, Provo, Utah 84602. ISBN-13: 978-0-8425-2470-4 ISBN-10: 0-8425-2470-3 Printed in the United States of America 1 0 9 8 7 6 5
Dissertations in LDS History Over the years, graduate students have written many important dissertations on LDS topics. Unfortunately, they have typically been unavailable or unknown to lay readers. All too often, good copies of dissertations reside only at the institution at which they were written or on a few researchers bookshelves. BYU Studies and the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History hope to fill this gap by producing and distributing selected dissertations of interest to Latter-day Saints, making them available to a larger audience. The works in this series have been reformatted from the originals. Nevertheless, these dissertations have undergone only minimal editing. For example, some typographical errors have been corrected. Original page numbers are referenced by superscripted italicized numerals in brackets (e.g., [3] ). Occasionally, the author has included additional information in the endnotes to update old material. Those additions have been placed in brackets and italicized to distinguish them from the original text. An index has also been supplied. Otherwise, the text is identical to the work accepted by the dissertation committee. iii
Contents Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Historiography 1 Methodology and Statement of the Problem 2 2. The Mormons in Missouri and the Setting for the 1838 Mormon War 5 Early Mormon Movement in Missouri 5 Persecutions in Jackson County and Mormon Reprisals 7 Mormon Proposals 9 The Mormon Army From Ohio 10 Military Precedents and Historical Prelude 12 Mormon Removal from Clay and the Creation of Caldwell and Daviess Counties 12 Potential for Future Military Activities 14 3. The Historical Development of the Militia in America, 1607 1861, and in antebellum Missouri 19 The English and Colonial Militia System 19 The Militia and the Revolution 21 The Militia and the Constitution 22 Congressional Legislation 23 The Militia, 1800 1861 24 The Missouri Militia 25 The Militia and Public Order 28 4. Dissenters, Danites, and the resurgence of militant Mormonism 33 Far West Dissenters 33 The Danites A Paramilitary Organization 36 Historians and the Question of Joseph Smith s Connection with the Danite Organization 40 v
vi 5. The War Begins: Conflict in Daviess County, August September 1838 47 The Conflict Begins 47 Operation Adam Black 48 Repercussions Following the Adam Black Encounter 49 Fear of an Impending Conflict Spreads to Other Counties 50 Joseph Smith and Lyman Wight s Arrest and Trial 51 Mormons Intercept Goverment Arms and Ammunition 54 Vigilante Activities against the Mormons in Daviess and Livingston Counties 54 Call-out of the Third Division of the State Militia 56 6. The Mormon Defense of De Witt 65 The Mormon Acquisition of De Witt 65 Opposition to the Mormon Settlement at De Witt 66 Outbreak of Hostilities 67 The Siege, October 1 10 70 Negotiations and Surrender 73 Exodus 75 7. The Mormon Defense of Daviess County, October 1838 83 Vigilante Forces Converge on Daviess County 83 The Daviess Expedition 85 The Mormons Confiscate the Vigilante Cannon 89 The Daviess Campaign Continued 90 Conclusion 93 8. The Battle between Mormon and Missouri Militia at Crooked River 99 The Call-out of the Ray County Militia 99 The Call-out of the Caldwell County Militia 101 The Battle 102 Aftermath 105 Repercussions 108 9. The Massacre at Haun s Mill 115 The Haun s Mill Settlement 115 Prelude to the Attack 116 The Assault 118 Aftermath 124 The Attack Not Connected to the Exterminating Order 127
vii 10. The Mormon Defense of Far West 135 Vigilantes and Missouri Troops Mobilize 135 Atchison s Dismissal 136 Lucas Marches on Far West 137 Escape of the Crooked River Participants 142 11. Surrender and Military Occupation 149 The Mormon Surrender at Far West 149 Clark s Arrival at Far West 152 The Mormon Surrender at Adam-ondi-Ahman 154 Military Occupations of Far West, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Haun s Mill 157 The Richmond Court of Inquiry and Bogart s Activities 160 Epilogue 161 12. Conclusion 171 Appendices A. Mormons Receiving Commissions or Elections as Officers in the Caldwell/Daviess County Militias 173 B. The Calling Forth Act 177 C. The Uniform Militia Act 179 D. Militia Organization 183 E. Mormon Participants in the October Defense of Daviess County 185 F. Hostilities Documented to Have Transpired against Daviess and Livingston County Citizens by the Mormons, October 1838 189 G. Documented Ray County Militia Participants in the Battle of Crooked River 193 H. Documented Caldwell Militia Participants in the Battle of Crooked River 197 I. Missouri Participants in the Haun s Mill Massacre 203 J. Mormon Participants in the Haun s Mill Massacre 213 Bibliography 223 Abstract 239