The Missouri Mormon War of 1838 was one of the saddest in Missouri history; it was a period or confrontation and violence. The Mormon War of 1838 between Latter Day Saints and their anti-Mormon Missouri neighbors lasted from August 8, 1838 until November 1, 1938. Although a short war, it affected more than ten thousand Mormons in Missouri. The war or some call it a conflict, may have lasted only four months but skirmishes continued to break out between Mormons and anti-Mormons for several years. As I researched books and articles for my paper, I found blame for this war could be placed on either side depending on the author’s opinion. Most of the research indicated this war was a matter of fear, fortitude, power, and politics on both sides. In my opinion we cannot in good conscience say one side or the other started the war. It may not be clear who actually started the war but, the anti-Mormons appeared to have a political reason to get the Mormons out of Missouri. I did find several reasons for the war and it appeared the anti-Mormons had the most to gain. One such reason I found was Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Smith believed and reveled to the Latter Day Saints the second coming of Christ would happen near the town of Independence, Missouri. It wasn’t long after Mormons from across the country descended on Jackson County. Causing a rapid growth of Mormon settlements in this area, they came to build up what they thought would be their “City of Zion” in 1831. It didn’t take anti-Mormons in the area long to become alarmed at how fast the settlement was growing. Some of the alarm came from both sides having different fundamental values and views on community affairs, religious believes were different and Mormons especially did not approve of slavery. Mormon also held abolitionist viewpoints conflicting with slave holders in Missouri. When you take all the causes mentioned it appeared the anti-Mormons were intimidated by the power the Mormons held as a group and it didn’t take long for slaveholders to dislike and assume the Mormon would help their slaves escape. The 1830’s as a whole was a time of change, controversy and extreme distrust with these factors the Mormon War was destine to take place. If you look at it from a Missourians point of view, it seems strange that a group of people would live in a religious community and at the speed in which they came caused unrest, let alone these Mormons dressed differently, their religions was strange, and throw in their strong conviction against slavery, violence was bound to happen. Although Slaveholders were a small part of the population, they were not likely sit by and let abolitionist view interfere with owning of slaves. Most Missourian were fearful of the strength the community had as a group. Because Mormons tended to vote as a unit they had the power to decide the vote, this appeared to give the Mormons the power and control over anti-Mormons. Other Missourians felt Mormons were helping slaves escape, and taking up good farm land, any reason Missourians could find against the Mormons they found. As always when to groups of people cannot get along, work out compromises or learn to live together conflicts are bound to arise so either way the Mormon war was going to take place. Surprisingly the war was not over religion reason, but because of the political vote and the power it provided. Missourians wanted the political power and felt cheated. A anti-Mormon leaders in the surrounding areas began to believe there political control was threaten by the Mormons they started to spread or at least didn’t attempt to stop the resentment from growing within the community. Mobs of vigilantes quickly grew, along with the harassment towards Mormons; with the violence growing many Mormons fled Jackson County and settled in Clay County once again looking for a safe place to live. It wasn’t just political leaders fanning the flames of hatred but, Ministers as well. Ministers started preaching prejudice, the Rev. Finis Ewing, the head of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, published this statement: “The Mormons are the common enemies of mankind and ought to be destroyed.” Another “Rev. Pixley, spent his time going door to door, seeking to destroy the church by spreading slanderous falsehoods to incite the people to acts of violence against the Saints.” To understand the influence these religious leaders had on it congregation, you have to comprehend that during the 1800’s religion played a key role in what people believed. People placed a great deal of trust and faith in their ministers and believed what was preached within their church. Eventually attitudes in the community began to change towards the Mormons and they believed Mormons had to leave “peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must.” You can see where the tide was turning as the anti-Mormons dislike for the Mormon community grew. Missourians were of the opinion “There is not enough room in Missouri for all to live together peacefully.” As distrust, violence and falsehoods spread, regarding the Mormons an anti-Mormon citizens committee was called in to meet in Jackson County. “It was decided during this committee “that no Mormon shall in future move to or settle in Jackson county; those now here, shall give a definite pledge of their intention, within a reasonable time, to move out of the county, shall be allowed to remain unmolested, until they have sufficient time to sell their property, and close their business.” The fear was so strong, Missourians felt justified in moving whole communities, of men, women and children with no regards to their property. Mormons were made to leave with just the clothes on their backs. Much of their livestock, household goods such as furniture, cooking utensil, and food had to be left behind. Missouri at this time were so focused on self-preservations they has little regard for Mormon families. But they were quick to benefit from items left behind, promptly selling homesteads, and household items as well as livestock they didn’t keep for themselves once the Mormons fled. As turbulent as Missouri was new converts to Mormonism continued to flock to Missouri, but not to Jackson County, they settled in Clay County. In 1836, Alexander William Doniphan of Clay County pushed a law through Missouri legislature that created Caldwell County specifically for Mormons. This was an attempt to cut down on violence as Mormons had already been buying land and settling in Caldwell County founding a town called Far West. As Mormons settled in Far West, an area exclusively set aside for them it became a peacefully period, until the summer of 1838. The compromise began to break down as the Mormon headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio started having problem and they moved it to Far West. In doing so the Mormon population started to grow, new community were started in De Wit in Carroll and Adam-Ondi-Ahman in Daviess Counties, Missourians took offence as these counties were not set aside for Mormon expansion. This cause rather a concern for anti-Mormon, who believed Mormon leaders, lied when they pledged that Mormons would stay in Caldwell County. Unbeknown to the Mormons the peace they were experiencing was quickly coming to an end. At the same time, Mormons were struggling with leadership concerns, several dissenters were asked to leave the county. The dissenters choose to stay, as an attempt to keep the church intact, a secret society known as Danite’s emerged. The Danite’s were an elite group of Mormons whose purpose was to obey the church presidency “right or wrong.” On July 4th the church had a celebration, the Danite’s and Mormon militia marched around the Liberty pole in Far West, and it has been referred to as the Mormon “Declaration of Independence.” For the Mormons declared they would not be driven from their homes again for persecution or from dissension from within, without a fight. By now Mormons were clearly taking a stand refusing to be driven from their homes again by anti-Mormons, they had built their community, their homes and they planned to stay even if it meant war. I don’t get the impression the Mormons were looking for a fight but they were definitely tried of building homes, planting crops, then being forced to leave because the anti-Mormons decided they had to go. This would be no different if it were Mormons making anti-Mormons leave their home after years of building a life, they would chose to stay and fight. The population of Mormons continued to grow as they settle in Daviess County this of course was seen as a threat to anti-Mormons as voting elections approached. The August 6, 1838 Gallatin Election Battle is considered to be the first skirmish between anti-Mormons and Mormons, starting the war. You could say Colonel William Peniston started the conflict. Peniston and Judge Josiah Morin were running for election. Morin apparently had the Mormon vote; this upset Peniston as the Mormons voted in groups giving Morin an unfair advantage. When the Mormons came to vote, Peniston gave a speech telling non-Mormons if they let the Mormons vote they would lose their suffrage, getting them irritated. As the Mormons arrived to vote an attempt was made by an angry crowd to keep them from voting. As the brawl broke out a cry went out for the Danites, although outnumbered the Mormons held their own and drove away the attackers. This was the beginning of the end for Mormons in Missouri. One day Mormons living in De Witt, on the 20th of September were surprised when one hundred anti-Mormons stormed into town. They were threatened with death if they did not leave the state; anti- Mormons relented and gave them until October 1st to get out. Of course the Mormons didn’t want to leave in an attempt to stay fifty Mormons signed a petitioned to the Governor asking of assistance, when nothing came of this the Mormons decided to stay put. On October 2nd approximately fifty men rode into De Wit and began firing upon the peaceful inhabitants. The Mormon leader Joseph Smith secretly made his way to the town of De Witt, he found it surrounded by the mob. Smith spoke with men a Mr. Caldwell, whom had no affiliation to the church, to gain information Smith. Mr. Caldwell agreed to take affidavits to the Governor on behalf of the Mormons. Any hope of relief was quickly extinguished as the Governor told Mr. Caldwell “The quarrel is between the Mormons and the mob, and they can fight it out.” It may have been politically correct for the Governor to withhold assistance to the Mormons’ for fear of what it would do to his career, however, it was moral wrong to let these people lose their homes and die. Governor Boggs should have taken a stand against this type of vigilante justice. As the Mormons waited in vain for help from their state governor, there was nothing they Mormons could do. They watched as there livestock was killed when it wondered off, if they attempted to search for the livestock or went looking for food they became human targets. Eventually they started dying from exhaustion, their provisions were gone, and they gave up on help arriving, it was then they decided it would be best to leave. They loaded up the sick, elderly, and all the personal property they could get in the only wagons left intact by the mob and heading for Far West, burying several along the way. Anti-Mormons were determined to get Mormons out of Missouri. A Presbyterian preacher, Parson Woods called a mob together; encouraged them to continue on to Daviess County to help rid them of the Mormons. It was surprising to read a preacher a man of faith and forgiveness involved in such violence. But, then again it didn’t stop there, besides preachers you had farmers, judges, military leaders, and elected officials including the Governor of Missouri, who by profession were to uphold the constitution and laws of Missouri. With this mixture of people against the Mormons they had no choice but to fight to defend themselves.
Within this three month period several small skirmishes between the Mormons and anti-Mormons, in Missouri took place. The Missourians fear towards the Mormons overruled common sense, and in Daviess County they set fire to their own homes, destroyed their own property and then charged the crimes to the Mormons. Rumors started to spread and Missourians sent petitions to the governor asking for protection from the Mormons, adding to this were other ex-Mormons no longer associated with the church making false statements against former friends. This only added fuel to the already strained relationship between Mormons and their neighbors.
One skirmish that took place was at Haun’s Mill where approximately thirty Mormon families were living. They were attacked by Col Thomas Jennings and his mob. During the attack Mormons started running in all directions, several men and boys ran into the blacksmith shop. The mob seeing this fired into the shop until they thought all were dead. When the firing stopped the mob entered the blacksmith shop, a Mr. Glaze found a twelve year old boy, Sardius Smith, hiding among the dead. Mr. Glaze placed the muzzle of his gun against the boys head and literally shot off the top of his head. Unbeknown to Mr. Glaze, Sardius younger brother Alma lay hidden also among the dead watched as his brother was killed. This story indicated just how ruthless the non-Mormons were to the Mormons, regardless of age. It’s not surprising, after this incident the Mormons accidently attacked a duly authorized militia under the belief it was an anti-Mormon mob. They were scared and didn’t want a repeat of the Haun’s Mill massacre. One of the attackers, Charles Ashby a state legislator from Livingston, in an attempt to redeem himself stated “the Missourians attacked because the Mormons were planning an invasion on Livingston County.” This was never confirmed. Since Governor, Lilburn Boggs, ordered the Saints expelled from the state or “exterminated.” By signing the Extermination Order Governor Boggs made killing Mormons legal. Haun’s Mill was the first act of Governor Boggs extermination order.
Crooked River was another skirmish between the Mormons and anti-Mormons. The Mormons had seen the mob headed toward them and when they made camp the Mormons attacked first. This only happened after several attempts to end the violence peacefully, they had sent several petitions to local official including the governor and no one helped. The Mormons felt justified in attacking first, after all they were the ones being massacred, and they finally decided to not let the attacks continue, without fighting back. The violence was continuing to get worst in Missouri and unpleasant for Governor Boggs, who by now had heard of the falsehoods. He was told Mormons were burning out homes and destroying of property of Missourians. Governor Boggs felt Mormons were openly making war against the People of Missouri. Governor Boggs enlists the militia to carry out his now signed Exterminating Order. This Order was for all Mormons to be removed from Missouri by peaceful means or to use all force necessary. This was all the vigilantes need to pursue the Mormons, violence increased towards the Mormons, Far West was surrounded and under siege. Mormon leaders wanted a peaceful solution to the problem, but yet didn’t want to run out of the state again, leaving homes and property to start over. John Smith called on the Mormons to fight against this injustice, they had applied to the Governor and he did nothing to help, it’s time we defend ourselves. John Smith also wanted to confiscate the property of any Mormon refusing to fight and give it to the ones who fought. It was at this time the Mormons started to raid farms, taking property burning homes; they even took a few prisoners. They were finally doing what they had already been accused of; the worst part the Mormons attacked and burned homes of people who had befriended them, like a local merchant Jacob Stollings, who sold them items on credit until crops came in. The Mormons burned his store and confiscated his receipt books. I don’t get the impression the Mormons were being vindictive, only tired of being blamed for everything that didn’t sit well with Missourians. They wanted peace, to be left alone, to raise a family and to be accepted into the community as equals. Missourians wanted them gone, out of Missouri and would not stop at nothing until they were gone. Even as the Mormons fought back they still held on hoping they would get to stay in Missouri, nevertheless, once leaders realized the Missouri legislature would not come to their defense they knew it was time to leave. As they prepared to leave Missouri, they were continually watched by anti-Mormons and the local law. The Mormons set to packing all their belongings as a community they agreed to help each other. A committee of seven Mormons was selected to assist in selling property and collecting the money. Several Mormon leaders including Joseph Smith were now being held prisoners awaiting trial for crimes they committed against Missouri; this in itself is ironic, as no anti-Mormons were ever charged with a crime. Joseph Smith and sixty others were taken prisoners, however, once the trial started all but a few were released. The prisoners that remained were found guilty of treason against the state of Missouri, along with arson, murder, burglary, robbery, and larceny. These men were sentenced to death by a military tribunal. They were ordered shot to death in the town square of Far West the town settled by Mormons. Upon transport to another prison they escaped, the circumstances surrounding the escape were unclear, it is said perhaps, Joseph Smith bribed the guards or they may have been allowed to escape by high state officials perhaps even Governor Boggs, this being more convenient for everyone involved. In December at the end of the conflict the Missouri legislators, appropriated two thousand dollars to Mormons and anti-Mormons for relief if they were rendered homeless during the war. They even took it one step further and fought to have an investigation into the incident, not only for the few guilty Mormons but the whole incident. Both sides Mormons and anti-Mormons supported the investigation but for different reasons. Most Missourians want the investigation to refute the charges made by Mormons. Mormons wanted to show they were innocent of crimes and acted in self-defense. The investigations did not pass the senate; it was placed on hold until July. Member of the house undoubtedly realized their actions doomed the Mormon cause, because it prevented the legislature from evaluating or repealing the governors’ expulsion order before the Mormons left the state. By July there were few Mormons left in the state and the public had lost interest in the investigation. There would be no investigation into the Mormon War as the Senate defeated the bill. The Mormons resettled in Nauvoo, Illinois in 1838 to start over. Over the next several years the Mormons prospered and grew. Joseph Smith continued to be the leader of the Mormons, teaching and inspiring new members. Some say he was a vengeful, hateful and violent man when his people were being attacked, but he was not the type of man to seek offensive action. More than anything he wanted peace, a safe place to live and to be accepted into the community. Because the Mormons were different they were singled out and persecuted. After several petitions to the governor for assistance in keeping the peace, he felt he had little choice but to protect himself and his people. Under Smiths leadership Nauvoo became one of the largest and most influential city in Illinois. Over time the Mormons started to experience the same resistances in Illinois as in Missouri.
Joseph Smith was shot and killed by an anti-Mormon mob in Carthage, Illinois in 1844. The newly elected leader, Brigham Young in 1846 decided it would be in the peoples best interested to leave Illinois. They traveled to Utah, where few white settlers and few Indians were settled. In Salt Lake City the Mormons finally established their Kingdom of God, it was here they had years of prosperity and growth. Governor Boggs political career plummeted after his term as governor, its unsure if this was a direct cause of the Mormon conflict. When we left office he was a man without a party and as far as the state was concerned he had no friends or support. In 1942 an assassination attempt on Governor Boggs life was said to have been committed by a Mormon. Joseph Smith had placed a cash reward on Boggs life for anyone who would kill him. Boggs was shot in four places by buck shot two in his skull, once in neck and the fourth entered his throat, he was not expected live but did in fact survived. In the years that followed Governor Boggs never apologized or showed any remorse for his unfair treatment to the Mormons. Boggs eventually moved to California lived out his live until his death in 1960 in Napa Valley. He never again held any political office. Each side felt the other wanted land, thus the reason for the war. In my readings it appeared more politically motivated, by both sides. With the influx of Mormons in Missouri their population grew at an alarming rate, giving this one group of people the deciding vote. Not all anti-Mormons were against the Mormons there were a few who protested against their mistreatment by mobs and authorities even some newspapers got involved. Nothing could stop the State of Missouri from expelling the Mormons, it seemed even the governor wanted them gone. The Mormon war will always be a dark period in Missouri history. Apparently Missourians had little pride and respect for themselves and their state to commit such horrendous crimes. It could also be remembered as the time Missourians lost sight of their states constitution and broke its laws, in order to remove a religious group from their beloved state. Governor Boggs Extermination Order remained legally enforceable until, June 25, 1976 when the current Governor Christopher S. Bond formally rescinded the Extermination Order after 137 years. Stating Governor Boggs by issuing the Extermination Order violated the rights to life, liberty, property and religious freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the State of Missouri. Governor Bond expressed the deepest regret for the injustice and undue suffering caused by this order.

Bibliography

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