An
account of the arrest, imprisonment and
martyrdom
of President Joseph Smith and
Patriarch Hyrum Smith in Carthage jail, Hancock
county, Illinois, as collected
from
the journal kept at the time by Willard Richards,
and the
statements published
by John Taylor, Messrs. Reid and
Woods and John S. Fullner, and the writings and statements of Dan
Jones, Cyrus H. Wheelock, Stephen Markham
and
many other persons,
who were personally
acquainted with
the
transactions.* - By the Historian. **
* This is
the title of the first Compilation
of
Data as it appears in the Millennial
Star, Vol. XXIV, P. 332. A Second
Compilation was made by the Church
Historian, extending from the 22nd
of June to the 8th of August, 1844,
at which time the Twelve
were
accepted for the time as the Presiding Council
of the Church; and the
claims of
Sidney Rigdon rejected.
**
George A. Smith was the Historian from 1854 to
1875. Consequently this
compilation was made under his supervision.
Saturday,
June
22, 1844. - About 9 p.
m. Hyrum came out
of the Mansion and gave his hand to Reynolds Cahoon,
at the same time
saying,
"A company of men are seeking to kill my brother
Joseph, and the Lord
has
warned him to flee to the Rocky
Mountains
to
save his life. Good-by, Brother Cahoon, we shall see
you again." In a
few
minutes afterwards Joseph came from his family. His
tears were flowing
fast. He
held a handkerchief to his face, and followed after
Brother Hyrum
without
uttering a word.
Between
9
and 10 p. m. Joseph, Hyrum and
Willard, while waiting on the banks of the river for
the skiff, sent for
William W. Phepls, and instructed him to take their
families to
Cincinnati by
the second steamboat, arriving at Nauvoo; and when
he arrived there to
commence
petitioning the President of the United States
and Congress for
redress of
grievances, and see if they would grant the Church
liberty and equal
rights.
Joseph then said: "Go to our wives, and tell them
what we have
concluded
to do, and learn their feelings on the subject; and
tell Emma you will
be ready
to start by the second steamboat, and she has
sufficient money
wherewith to pay
the expenses.
If
you ascertain by tomorrow morning that there is
anything
wrong,
come over the river to Montrose, to the house of
Captain John
Killien,
and there you will learn where we are."
About
midnight, Joseph, Hyrum and Dr.
Richards called for Orrin P. Rockwell at his
lodgings, and all went up
the
river bank until they found Aaron Johnson's boat,
which they got into,
and
started about 2 a. m to cross the Mississippi
river.
Orrin P. Rockwell rowed the skiff, which was very
leaky, so that it
kept
Joseph, Hyrum and the doctor busy baling out the
water with their boots
and
shoes to prevent it from sinking.
Sunday,
23. – At daybreak
arrived on the Iowa
side of the river. Sent Orrin P. Rockwell back to
Nauvoo with
instructions to
return the next night with horses for Joseph and
Hyrum, pass them over
the
river in the night secretly, and be ready to start
for the Great Basin
in the Rocky Mountains.
Joseph,
Hyrum and Dr. Richards walked up to Captain
John
Killien's house, where they arrived at sunrise; but
he not being at
home, they
went from thence to Brother William Jordan's. About
9 a.m. Dr.
Bernhisel came
over the river to visit Joseph; also Reynolds
Cahoon, who made some
explanations respecting Governor Ford's letter.
Early
in the morning a posse
arrived in
Nauvoo to arrest
Joseph, but as they did not find him,
they started back to Carthage
immediately, leaving one man of the name of Yates
behind them, who said
to one
of the brethren that Governor Ford designed that if
Joseph and Hyrum
were not
given up, he would send his troops and guard the
city until they were
found, if
it took three years to do it.
At
1 p. m. Emma sent
over Orrin P. Rockwell, requesting him to
entreat of Joseph to
come back. Reynolds
Cahoon accompanied him with a letter which Emma had
written to the same
effect,
and she insisted that Cahoon should persuade Joseph
to come back and
give
himself up. When they went over they found Joseph,
Hyrum and Willard in
a room
by themselves, having flour and other provisions on
the floor ready for
packing.
Reynolds
Cahoon informed Joseph what the
troops intended to do, and urged upon him to give
himself up, inasmuch
as the
Governor had pledged his faith and the faith of the
state to protect
him while
he underwent a legal and fair trial. Reynolds
Cahoon, Lorenzo D. Wasson
and
Hiram Kimball accused Joseph of cowardice for
wishing to leave the
people, adding
that their property would be destroyed, and
they left without
house or home.
Like the fable, when the wolves came the
shepherd ran from the
flock, and left
the sheep to be devoured. To which Joseph replied,
"If my life is of no
value to my friends it is of none to myself."
Joseph
said to Rockwell, "What
shall I do!" Rockwell replied, "You are the
oldest and ought to
know
best; and as you make your bed, I will lie with
you." Joseph then
turned
to Hyrum, who was talking with Cahoon, and said,
"Brother Hyrum, you
are
the oldest, what shall we do!" Hyrum said, "Let us
go back and give
ourselves up, and see the thing out." After studying
a few moments,
Joseph
said, "If you go
back
I will go with you, but we shall be butchered."
Hyrum said, "No,
no; let us go back and put our trust in God, and we
shall not be
harmed. The Lord is in it. If we live or have to
die, we will be
reconciled to our fate."
After a short pause, Joseph told Cahoon to request
Captain Daniel
C. Davis to have his boat ready at half-past five to
cross them over
the river.
Joseph
and Hyrum then wrote the following letter [to
Governor Ford]:...
About
4 p. m. Joseph, Hyrum,
the Doctor and others started back. While walking
towards the river,
Joseph
fell behind with Orrin P. Rockwell. The others
shouted to come on.
Joseph replied,
"It
is of no use to hurry, for
we are going back to be slaughtered, " and
continually expressed
himself
that he would like to get the people once more
together, and talk to
them
tonight. Rockwell said if that was his wish he would
get the people
together,
and he could talk to them by starlight.
It was
the
strong
persuasions of Reynolds Cahoon, Lorenzo D. Wasson
and Hiram Kimball,
who were
carrying out Emma's instructions, that induced
Joseph and Hyrum to
start back
to Nauvoo. They re-crossed the river at half-past
five. When they
arrived at
the Mansion in Nauvoo, Joseph's family
surrounded him, and he
tarried there
all night, giving up the idea of preaching to the
Saints by starlight.
He
sent
the letter of this date to Governor Ford by Col.
Theodore
Turley and Elder Jedediah M. Grant,
who carried it to Carthage,
where they arrived about 9 p.m. They gave the letter
to Governor Ford,
who
first agreed to send a posse to escort
General Smith in safety to Carthage.
Immediately
afterwards Mr. Skinner came in and made a very
bitter speech to
the Governor,
in which Wilson Law and Joseph H. Jackson
joined, telling him
naught but lies,
which caused Elder Grant to ask if messengers to him
were to be
insulted in
that manner. The Governor treated them coldly, and
rescinded his
previous
promise, and refused to send or allow an escort to
go with Joseph, as
he said
it was an honor not given to any other citizen. He
would not allow the
messengers to stay in Carthage through the night,
but ordered them to
start at
10 o'clock, and return to Nauvoo with orders for
General Smith to be in
Carthage at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning without an
escort; and he
threatened
that if General Smith did not give himself up at
that time, that Nauvoo
would
be destroyed and all the men, women and children
that were in it.
Messrs. Grant
and Turley immediately started; but on account of
their horses being
wearied,
they did not arrive in Nauvoo until
about
four a. m. of the 24th, when they went
to General Smith to report to him the state of
excitement in Carthage. He
would not hear one word of the
warning, as he was determined to go to Carthage
and give himself up to the Governor.
At
night Joseph conversed with Captain
Anderson, who reported that the mob at Warsaw
had stopped his boat, and threatened to fire into
her with his
cannon.... H
PORT MADISON,
IOWA
Preparations
are making for an early
start tomorrow morning for Carthage.
Joseph gave directions to gather some horses for the
purpose of
carrying him and
his friends to Carthage
tomorrow. Although
the Governor has threatened to send his troops into
the city, none have
appeared as yet.
Monday, 24.-Francis
M.
Higbee having sworn out a writ before Thomas
Morrison, a justice of
the
peace at Carthage on
the 11th instant, against Joseph
Smith, Hyrum Smith, Samuel Bennet, John Taylor,
William W. Phelps,
John P.
Greene, Stephen C. Perry, Dimick B. Huntington,
JonathanDunham,
Stephen Markham, William W. Edwards,
Jonathan Holmes, Jesse P. Harmon, John Lytle,
Joseph W. Coolidge,
David Harvey
Redfield, Orrin P. Rockwell and Levi Richards for
riot, in destroying
the Nauvoo
Expositor press, the property of William and
Wilson Law and
others, on the
10th instant, and Governor Ford having sent word by
the posse that
those
eighteen persons should be protected by the militia
of the state, they,
upon
the assurance of that pledge at half-past six a.m.
started for
Carthage,
Willard Richards, Dan Jones, Henry G. Sherwood,
Alfred Randall,
James Davis,
Cyrus H. Wheelock, A. C. Hodge and several other
brethren, together
with James
W. Woods as counsel, accompanying them.
When
they arrived at the top of the hill,
Joseph sent Rockwell
with a horse for Dr. Southwick, a
Southern gentleman who had been staying some days at
the Mansion, and
who
wished General Joseph Smith to buy considerable
property in Texas; but Ed.
Bonny took possession of the
horse, so that Dr. Southwick could not then go.
Joseph
paused when they
got to the Temple,
and looked with admiration first on that, and then
on the city, and
remarked,
"This is the loveliest place and the best
people under the
heavens;
little do they know the trials that await them." As
he passed out of
the
city, he called on Daniel H. Wells, Esq., who was
unwell, and on
parting he
said, "Squire Wells, I wish you to cherish my
memory, and not think me
the
worst man in the world either."
At
ten minutes to 10 a. m. they arrived at
Albert G. Fellows' farm, four miles west of
Carthage, where they met
Captain
Dunn with a company of about sixty mounted militia,
on seeing which
Joseph said,
"Do not be alarmed, brethren, for they
cannot do
more to you than the enemies of
truth did to the ancient
Saints-they can
only kill the body." The company made a halt, when
Joseph, Hyrum and
several others went into Fel1ows' house with Captain
Dunn, who
presented an
order from Governor Ford for all the state arms in
possession of the
Nauvoo
Legion, which Joseph immediately countersigned.
Henry G. Sherwood went up to
Joseph and said,
"Brother Joseph, shall I return to Nauvoo and
regulate about getting
the
arms and get the receipts for them' " Joseph
inquired if he was under
arrest, or expected to be arrested. Sherwood
answered "No," when
Joseph directed him to return ahead of the company,
gather the arms and
do as
well as he could in all things. Joseph then said to
the company who
were with
him, "I am going like a lamb to the
slaughter, but I am
calm as a summer's morning. I have a
conscience void of
offense toward
God and toward all men. If they take my
life I shall die an
innocent man, and my blood shall cry from
the ground for vengeance, and
it
shall be said of me 'He was murdered in cold
blood!'" He then said
to
Father Sherwood, "Go, and God bless you. " Sherwood
then rode as
swiftly as he could to Nauvoo.
Esquire
Woods left the company there,
and continued his journey to Carthage.
This
order for the delivery of the state
arms was evidently designed to drive the
citizens of Nauvoo to
desperation,
so that in the heat of their indignation they might
commit some overt
act which
the Governor could construe into treason, and
thus have a shadow
of excuse for
his mob militia to destroy the Mormons.
Captain
Dunn requested
the company to return to Nauvoo to assist in
collecting the arms; and
pledged
his word as a military man, that Joseph and his
friends should be
protected even
if it were at the expense of his own life, and his men
responded to the pledge by three
cheers. Captain Dunn, no doubt feared that the order
of the
Governor would
excite the inhabitants of Nauvoo beyond endurance,
and therefore chose
to
depend on the well known integrity of General Smith
than to risk the
chances of
exciting the feelings of a much-abused people. At
the same time Joseph
sent a
messenger to the Governor with the following
letter:...
Letter:
Joseph Smith to Governor Ford-Explaining his
Return to Nauvoo.
FOUR
MILES WEST OF' CARTHAGE
MOUND.
HANCOCK
COUNTY, ILLINOIS,
Monday,
10 o'clock.
His
Excellency Governor Ford:
DEAR
SIR.-On my way to Carthage to
answer your request this morning, I here met
Captain Dunn, who has here
made
known to me your orders to surrender the state
arms in possession of
the Nauvoo
Legion, which command I shall comply with; and
that the same may be
done
properly and without trouble to the state, I shall
return with
Captain Dunn to
Nauvoo, see that the arms are put into his
possession, and shall then
return to
headquarters in his company, when I shall most
cheerfully submit to any
requisition
of the Governor of our state.
With
all due respect to your Excellency,
I remain your obedient servant.
J0SEPH
SMITH.
He
also issued the following order:
Order: Joseph Smith to General Dunham –
Complying with Governor
Ford’s Demand for
State Arms.
HEADQUARTERS
NAUVOO LEGION,
Prairie
Four Miles West of Carthage.
June 24th,
1844, 10 o'clock
and 10 minutes.
To
Major-General Jonathan Dunham and all
commissioned and noncommissioned
officers
and privates of the Nauvoo Legion:
You
are hereby ordered to comply strictly with the
within order of the
Commander-in-Chief, Governor Ford.
J0SEPH
SMITH.
Lieut.-Gen.
Nauvoo Legion.
...Hyrum
then said to
Abram C. Hodge, "You go on into Carthage
and see what is going on, and hear what is said on
this matter." Joseph and
his company then returned with Captain
Dunn, and
arrived in Nauvoo at half-past two p. m.
When
Hodge arrived at Carthage,
he met with Rev. Mr. Dodge, who had
some time previously been very kindly treated by
Hyrum. He warned Hodge
that as
sure as Joseph and Hyrum came to Carthage,
they would be killed. Hodge also saw Hamilton, the
innkeeper, who,
pointing to
the Carthage Greys, said, "Hodge, there are the
boys that will settle
you
Mormons." Hodge replied, "We can take as many men
as there are there
out of the Nauvoo Legion, and they would not be
missed."
When
the fact of the order for the state
arms was known in Nauvoo, many of the brethren
looked upon it as
another
preparation for a Missouri
massacre; nevertheless, as Joseph requested that
it should be complied
with,
they very unwillingly gave up the arms.
About
6 p.m., when all
the states' arms were collected, and the company
were ready to start,
Captain
Dunn and Quartermaster-General Buckmaster made a
short speech,
expressing their
gratitude at the peaceable conduct of the
citizens of Nauvoo, and
that while
they thus conducted themselves they would protect
them.
It
appears that
Governor Ford feared that the Nauvoo Legion,
although disbanded, might
avenge
any outrage that might hereafter be committed on
the persons of their
leaders,
and so thought he had better disarm them as he had
previously disbanded
them;
yet the mob was suffered to retain their portion
of the state's arms,
even when
within a half-day's march of Nauvoo, and they
in a
threatening and hostile
attitude, while the Nauvoo Legion had not evinced
the
least disposition whatever, except
to defend their city in case it should be
attacked; and they had not
set a foot
outside the limits of the corporation.
Joseph
rode down home twice to bid his
family farewell. He appeared solemn and
thoughtful, and expressed
himself to
several individuals that he expected to be
murdered. There appeared no
alternative
but that he must either give himself up, or the
inhabitants of the city
would
be massacred by a lawless mob under sanction of
the Governor.
The
company (about fifteen) then started
again for Carthage,
and when opposite to the Masonic Hall, Joseph
said, "Boys, if I don't
come
back, take care of yourselves; I am going like a
lamb to the slaughter.
"
When they passed his farm he took a good look at
it, and after they had
passed
it, he turned round several times to look again,
at which some of the
company
made remarks, when Joseph said: "If some of you
had got such a farm and
knew you would not see it any more, you would want
to take a good look
at it
for the last time." When they got to the edge of
the woods near Nauvoo,
they met A. C. Hodge returning from Carthage.
He reported to Hyrum what he had heard in
Carthage, told him what his
feelings
were and said, "Brother Hyrum, you are now clear,
and if it was my duty
to
counsel you, I would say, do not go another foot,
for they say they
will kill
you, if you go to Carthage," but as other persons
gathered around,
nothing further was said. About this time Joseph
received the following letter:
Letter:
Messrs. Reid and Woods to Joseph Smith
- -Documents for Defense.
CARTHAGE, 5 o'clock
p. m.
General
Joseph Smith:
DEAR
SIR.-In accordance with previous
arrangements with Elder Adams, I am here at your
service; and it will
be
necessary for us to have, on the examination
here before the justice, a
certified
copy of the city ordinance for the destruction
of the Expositor press,
or
a copy
which has been published by authority: We
also
wish the original order issued by you to the
marshal for the
destruction of
said press, and such witnesses as may be
necessary to show by whom the
press was
destroyed, and that the act was not done in a
riotous or tumultuous
manner.
Yours
respectfully,
H.
T. REID.
DEAR SIR.-I
concur fully as to the
above, and will add, from an interview with
Governor Ford, you can,
with the
utmost safety, rely on his protection, and that
you will have as
impartial an
investigation as could be expected from those
opposed to you. The
excitement is
much allayed, and your opponents (those who wish
to make capital out of
you) do
not want you to come to Carthage.
Mr. Johnson has gone east, and that will account
for Mr. Reed being
here.
Respectfully,
your obedient servant,
JAMES
W. WOOD.
CARTHAGB,
24th June, 1844.
The
company arrived at
Fellows' house, four miles west of Carthage,
about 9 p. m., where they stopped about half an
hour, and partook of
such
refreshments as they had brought with
them.
Captain Dunn and his company of
mounted
militia, returning
with the state arms from Nauvoo, joined them here,
and escorted them
into Carthage,
where they arrived at
five minutes before 12 at
night, and went to Hamilton's
tavern. While passing the public square many of
the troops, especially
the
Carthage Greys, made use of the following
expressions, which were
re-echoed in
the ears of the Governor and hundreds of others,
"Where is the damned
prophet?" "Stand away, you McDonough boys, and let
us shoot the
damned Mormons." "G-d you,
old Joe, we've got you now." "Clear
the way and let us have a view of Joe Smith, the
prophet of God. He has
seen
the last of Nauvoo. We'll use him up now, and kill
all the damned
Mormons." The rear platoon of the Carthage Greys
repeatedly threw their
guns over their heads in a curve, so that the
bayonets struck the
ground with
the breech of their guns upward, when
they would run back and pick them up, at the
same time whooping, yelling, hooting and cursing
like a pack of
savages.
On
hearing
the above expressions, the Governor put his head
out of the
window and
very fawningly said, "I know your great anxiety to
see Mr. Smith, which
is
natural enough, but it is quite too late tonight
for you to have the
opportunity; but I assure you, gentlemen, you
shall have that
privilege
tomorrow morning, as I will cause him to pass
before the troops upon
the
square, and I now wish you, with this assurance,
quietly and peaceably
to
return to your quarters." When this declaration
was made, there was a
faint "Hurrah for Tom Ford," and they instantly
obeyed his wish.
There
was
a company of apostates also quartered at Hamilton's
hotel-namely William
and Wilson
Law, the Higbees and Fosters, Augustine
Spencer, Henry O. Norton,
John A.
Hicks, (formerly president of the Elder's
quorum) and others.
Hicks stated to
C. H. Wheelock that it was determined to shed the
blood of Joseph Smith
by not
only himself, but by the Laws, Higbees, Fosters,
Joseph H. Jackson, and
many
others, whether he was cleared by the law or not.
Jackson
talked freely and
unreservedly on
that subject, as though he were discoursing
upon the most common occurrence
of his life. Said he, you will find
me a true prophet in this respect. Wheelock told
Ford what Hicks had
said, but
he treated it with perfect indifference, and
suffered Hicks and his
associates
to run at liberty and mature their murderous
plans.
A
writ was also issued by Robert F.
Smith against Joseph W. Coolidge on complaint of
Chauncey L.
Higbee, charging
him with the illegal detention of Charles A.
Foster.
Tuesday,
June 25, 1814.-This morning
the prisoners
voluntarily surrendered themselves to the
constable, Mr.
Bettisworth, who held the writ against them.
The Governor was at
headquarters in person, and had pledged his own
faith and the faith of
the state
of
Illinois,
that the Smiths and other persons should be
protected from personal
violence, and should have a fair and impartial
trial, if they would
surrender themselves to be dealt with
according to law. During the
Governor’s stay in Carthage,
he repeatedly expressed to the legal counselors of
the Smiths his
determination to protect the prisoners, and
to see that they
should have a fair and impartial examination.
At
8 a. m. President Smith had an interview with
William G. Flood of Quincy, U. S.
Receiver of Public
Moneys. While in conversation with him, Constable
David Bettisworth
arrested Joseph for
treason against the state of Illinois,
with the following writ, which had been granted on
the oath of
Augustine Spencer:
Writ of
Arrest on the Charge of Treason – Joseph Smith.
STATE
OF ILLINOIS
CITY
OF NAUVOO
The
people of the State of Illinois,
to all sheriffs, coroners and constables of
said state greeting:
Whereas
complaint has been made before me, one of the
justices ofthe
peace in
and for said county aforesaid, upon the oath of
Augustine Spencer, that
Joseph Smith, late of the county aforesaid, did,
on or about the
nineteenth day of June. A. D. 1844, at the
county and state aforesaid,
commit the crime of treason against the
government and people of the
State of Illinois
aforesaid.
These
are therefore to command you to take the said
Joseph Smith if he be
found in your county, or if he shall have fled,
that you pursue after
the said Smith into another county within this
state, and take and
safely keep the said Joseph Smith, so that you
have his body forthwith
before me to answer the said complaint and be
further dealt with
according to law.
[Seal]
Given under
my hand and sea1 this 24th day of June, A,D.
1844.
Hyrum
Smith was also arrested at the same time for
treason on the same writ,
granted in the affidavit of Henry O. Norton...
8:30
a. m.-Governor
Ford
called all the troops and ordered them to form a
hollow square on
the public ground near the Court House; and when
formed, he mounted an
old table, and addressed them in a
most inflammatory manner, exciting the feelings of
indignation against
Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith which were
already burning in their breasts, occasioned by the
falsehoods and
misrepresentations
that were in circulation, giving his assent and
sanction to the rumors
that had
gathered them together, and stating that although
they were dangerous
men in
the community, and guilty of all that they might
have alleged against
them,
still they were in the hands of the law, which must
have its course. He
continued speaking twenty or thirty minutes.
9: 15
a. m.- The Governor came in
and invited Joseph to walk with him through the
troops. Joseph
solicited a few
moments' private conversation with him, which the
Governor refused.
While
refusing, the Governor looked down at his shoes,
as though he was
ashamed. They
then walked through the crowd with
Brigadier-General Miner R.
Deming and Dr.
Richards, to General Deming's quarters. The people
appeared quiet until
a
company of Carthage Greys flocked around the doors
of General Deming in
an
uproarious manner, of which notice was sent
to the Governor. In
the meantime
the Governor had ordered the McDonough troops to
be drawn up in line
for Joseph
and Hyrum to pass in front of them, they having
requested that they
might have
a clear view of the Generals Smith. Joseph had a
conversation with the
Governor
for about ten minutes, when he again pledged the
faith of the state
that he and
his friends should be protected from violence.
Robinson,
the postmaster, said, on
report of martial law being proclaimed in Nauvoo,
he had stopped the
mail and
notified the Postmaster-General of the state of
things in Hancock
county.
From
the General's
quarters Joseph and Hyrum went in front of the
lines, in a hollow
square of a
company of Carthage Greys. At
seven
minutes before ten they arrived in front of the
lines, and passed
before the
whole, Joseph being on the right of General
Deming, and Hyrum on his
left,
Elders Richards, Taylor and Phelps following.
Joseph and Hyrum
were introduced
by the Governor about twenty times along the line,
as General Joseph
Smith and
General Hyrum Smith, the Governor walking in front
on the left. The
Carthage
Greys refused to receive them by that
introduction, and some of the
officers
threw up their hats drew their swords and said
they would introduce
themselves
to the damned Mormons in a different style. The
Governor mildly
entreated them
not to act so rudely, but their excitement
increased. The Governor,
however,
succeeded in pacifying them by making a
speech, and promising them
that they
should have “full satisfaction." General Smith and
party returned to
their
lodgings at five minutes past ten.
10:30.-News
reached Joseph at the hotel that the Carthage
Greys had revolted,
and were put
under guard by General Deming. Joseph told all his
friends to stay in
the two
rooms occupied by them in the hotel.
10:50.-Quietness
was apparently restored
among the Carthage Greys.
11
:15.-News arrived that the Warsaw
troops
were near Carthage,
and had come of their own accord.
Mr.
Prentice, U. S. Marshal for Illinois,
called to see Joseph.
12
minutes
before 1.-Inte1ligence
was
given to Joseph that the Laws, Higbees, Fosters
and others, were going
to
Nauvoo to plunder. The Governor called at the
door with some
gentlemen when
Joseph informed him of what he had heard, and
requested him to send a
guard to
protect the city of Nauvoo.
Willard
Richards wrote a letter to his wife.
1
:30 p.m.-
After
dinner, Mark
Aldrich of Warsaw
called to see Joseph.
2
:30.-The
Governor
communicated that he had ordered Captain Singleton
with a company of
men from
McDonough county, to march to Nauvoo to
co-operate with the police
in keeping
the peace; and he would call out the Legion, if
necessary.
Joseph
wrote to Emma as follows:
Letter: The
Prophet to
Emma Smith-Governor Ford Going to Nauvoo.
CARTHAGE,
June 25th, 1844.
2:30
o'clock p. m.
DEAR
EMMA.-I have had an interview with Governor
Ford, and he treats us honorably. Myself and
Hyrum have been again
arrested for
treason because we called out the Nauvoo Legion;
but when the truth
comes out
we have nothing to fear. We all feel calm and
composed.
This
morning Governor Ford introduced myself
and Hyrum to the militia in a very appropriate
manner, as General
Joseph Smith
and General Hyrum Smith. There was a little
mutiny among the Carthage
Greys,
but I think the Governor has and will succeed in
enforcing the laws. I
do hope
the people of Nauvoo will continue pacific and
prayerful.
Governor
Ford has just concluded to send
some of his militia to Nauvoo to protect the
citizens, and I wish that
they may
be kindly treated. They will co-operate with the
police to keep the
peace. The
Governor's orders will be read in the hearing of
the police and
officers of the
Legion, as I suppose.
3 o'clock.-The
Governor
has just agreed to
march his army to Nauvoo, and I shall come along
with him. The
prisoners, all
that can, will be admitted to bail. I am as
ever,
JOSEPH
SMITH.
Joseph
also sent a message to Orrin P. Rockwell
not to come to Carthage,
but to stay in Nauvoo, and not to suffer himself
to be delivered
into
the hands of his enemies, or to
be taken a prisoner by anyone.
It
was reported by Israel Barlow that he had heard
resolutions
of the Warsaw
troops read, to the
effect that
they would return to Warsaw
at 3 p. m., then go to Golden's Point on Thursday,
and thence to Nauvoo.
Several
of the officers of the troops in Carthage,
and other gentlemen, curious to see the Prophet,
visited Joseph in his
room.
General Smith asked them if there was anything in
his appearance that
indicated
he was the desperate character his enemies
represented him to be; and
he asked them
to give him their honest opinion on the subject.
The reply was, "No.
sir,
your appearance would indicate the very contrary,
General Smith; but we
cannot
see what is in your heart, neither can we tell
what are your
intentions."
To which Joseph replied, "Very true, gentlemen,
you cannot see what is
in
my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me
or my intentions;
but I can
see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what
I see. I can see
that you
thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will
satisfy you. It is not
for
crime of any description that I and my brethren
are thus continually
persecuted
and harassed by our enemies, but there are
other motives, and some
of them I
have expressed, so far as relates to myself; and
inasmuch as you and
the people
thirst for blood, I prophesy, in the name of the
Lord, that you shall
witness
scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire
satisfaction. Your souls
shall be
perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who
are now present
shall have
an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth
from sources you think
not of; and
those people that desire this great evil upon me
and my brethren, shall
be
filled with regret and sorrow because of the
scenes of desolation and
distress
that await them. They shall seek for peace, and
shall not be able to
find it.
Gentlemen, you will find what I have told you to
be true.”
12
minutes
to 4.-Report
came to Joseph
that William and Wilson Law, Robert D. Foster,
Chauncey L. Higbee and
Francis
M. Higbee had said that there was nothing
against these men; the
law could
not reach them but powder and ball would,
and they should not go
out of Carthage
alive.
Joseph,
Hyrum and thirteen others were
taken before Robert F. Smith, a justice of the peace
residing in Carthage (he
being also
captain of the Carthage Greys) on the charge of riot
destroying the
printing
press of the Nauvoo Expositor.
It is
worthy
of notice here, that when
the defendants went before Esquire Wells, the
prosecution objected, and
insisted that they should be taken before the
justice who issued the
writ-viz.,
Thomas Morrison, and that Governor Ford had
also stated in his
letter to General
Joseph Smith that he must go before the justice in
Carthage who issued
the
writ. But when the prosecution had the defendants
in their own power in
Carthage, they could then ride over their own
objections by taking them
before
another justice, who was known to be a greater
enemy to the defendants
than
Justice Morrison, and moreover, before one who was
not only a justice
of the
peace, but also the military commander of a
company of Carthage Greys,
who had
already been arrested for mutiny.
Chauncey
L. Higbee, one
of the prosecutors, moved an adjournment.
H.
T. Reid and James W
. Woods on behalf of the defendants, objected to
an adjournment, and
said that
the court was not authorized to take recognizance
without their
acknowledging
their guilt, or having witnesses to prove it, and
we admit the press
was
destroyed by order of the Mayor, it having been
condemned by the City
Council
as a nuisance.
They
read
law to show that justices could not recognize
without
admission of guilt, and offered to give
bail.
Mr.
Reid
stated that the law quoted by the prosecution
belonged
to civil, not criminal cases.
The
prosecution
insisted to have a commission of the crime
acknowledged.
After
a good deal of resistance on the part of
the prosecution, court asked if the parties
admitted that there was sufficient
cause to bind over, and the
counsel for the defense admitted there was, and
offered to enter into
cognizance in the common form, in order to
prevent, if possible, any
increase
of excitement.
5 p m.-
Court acknowledged the admission and ordered
recognizance,
whereupon Joseph Smith, Hyrum
Smith, John Taylor, William W. Phelps, John P.
Greene, Stephen C.
Perry, Dimick
B. Huntington, Jonathan Dunham, Stephen
Markham, Jonathan
H. Holmes, Jesse P. Harmon, John
Lytle, Joseph W. Coolidge, David Harvey Redfield,
and Levi Richards
gave bonds,
with John S. Fullmer, Edward Hunter, Dan Jones,
John Benbow, and other
unexceptionable
sureties, in the sum of $500 for each of the
defendants, total
$7,500, for
their appearance at the next term of the Circuit
Court for Hancock
county.
It
was evident that the magistrate
intended to overreach the wealth of the defendants
and their friends,
so as to
imprison them for want of ban; but it happened
that there was strength
to cover
the demand, for some of the brethren went security
to the full extent
of their
property; and Justice Smith adjourned his court
over, and left the
court house
without calling on Joseph and Hyrum to answer to
the charge of treason,
or even
intimating to those prisoners, or their counsel
that they were expected
to
enter into an examination that night.
Captain
Smith, the only magistrate who
could grant subpoenas for witnesses, disappeared
until a late hour, as
if
purposely to prevent the appearing of the
defendant's witnesses, and in
keeping
with the conviction expressed by Joseph's enemies
the previous day,
that the
law cannot touch them, but that powder and
ball win.
About
6:30 p. m.-Dan
Jones
heard
Wilson Law, whilst endeavoring to get another
warrant against Joseph
Smith for
treason, declare that while he (Mr. Smith) was
once preaching from
Daniel 2nd
chapter, 44th verse, said that the kingdom
referred to was already set up, and that he was
the king; over it. He
also heard Joseph B. Jackson, and other leaders of
the mob, declare
that they had eighteen accusations against Joseph,
and as one failed,
they would try another to detain him there, and
that they had had so
much trouble and hazard, and worked so hard in
getting him to Carthage,
that they would not let him get out of it alive. Jackson
pointed to his pistols and
said, "The balls are in there that will decide his
case." Jones
immediately went up stairs to Joseph and informed
him what he had heard Jackson
say.
About
7:30 p. m.-Dr.
Levi
Richards and most of the brethren, after they had
signed the bonds,
left for Nauvoo when Joseph and Hyrum went into
the Governor's room and
spoke with him, as Governor Ford had promised them
an interview. After
a few moments' conversation, the Governor left
them to order the
captain of the guard to give the brethren some
passes. They then went
to supper.
8
p. m.-Constable
Bettisworth
appeared at the lodgings of Joseph and Hyrum, and
insisted
that they should go to jail. Joseph demanded a
copy of the mittimus,
which was refused. Messrs. Woods and Reid, as
counsel, insisted that
the prisoners were entitled to be brought before a
justice of the peace
for examination before they could be sent to jail.
The constable, to
their surprise, then exhibited the following
mittimus:
The
False Mittimus.
STATE 0f ILLINOIS,
HANCOCK COUNTY
|
The people
of the State of Illinois
to the keeper of the jail of said County,
Greeting:
Whereas
Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith of
the county aforesaid,
have been arrested upon oath of Augustine Spencer
and Henry
O. Norton, for the crime of treason,
and have been brought before
me
as a
justice of the peace in and of the said county,
for trial at the seat
of justice thereof, which trial has been
necessarily postponed by
reason of the absence of the material witnesses-to
wit, Francis M.
Higbee and others. Therefore, I command you, in
the name of the people,
to receive the said Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith
into your custody in
the jail of the county aforesaid, there to remain
until discharged by due course of law.
[Seal]
Given
under my hand and seal this 25th day June, A. D.
1844.
R.
F. SMITH J. P.
Joseph
remonstrated
against such bare-faced, illegal, and tyrannical
proceedings, but the constable still insisted that
they should go to
jail. Lawyer Woods requested the officer to wait
until he could see
Governor Ford, and was told by Bettisworth that he
could only wait five
minutes.
Joseph
and Hyrum again remonstrated, and the constable
waited
until about nine o'clock, when they heard by
Mr. Wood that the Governor did not think it within
the sphere of his
duty to interfere, as they were in the hands of
the civil law, and
therefore he had not the power to stay
process, or the due course
of law, and that he could not interrupt a civil
officer in the
discharge of his duty.
Governor
Ford knew this [proceeding] was illegal, (for
he had
formerly been an associate-justice of the Supreme
Court of the state)
and when he was appealed to by Captain Robert
F. Smith to know
what he must do, as he had found his mittimus as a
magistrate was
illegal, and therefore that it was a false
committal, Governor
Ford replied, "You have the Carthage Greys at your
command." Captain
Smith therefore commanded his "Greys" to
execute and carry into
affect his illegal mittimus as a
magistrate, thus
practically blending the civil and military in the
same person at the
same time; and the prisoners were violently and
illegally dragged to
jail without any examination whatever, while
his Excellency was in
the adjoining room from that from which they were
thus taken. So much for his professions
that the law must be executed.
Thus
a justice of the peace acting as a
military officer also by virtue of his commission
as such, orders his
command
to appear under arms and to incarcerate the
prisoners whom he had
just before
ordered to commit to jail by mittimus without
having them brought
before him
for examination; and the Governor,
having been himself at one
time a judge
upon the bench, knew and well understood the
illegality of the above
proceedings.
He
also well knew that military power
and [ civil] authority had been used by one
and the same person,
and yet he,
acting at that time as Commander-in-Chief, which
gave him the
supervision over
all his officers, and in fact made him responsible
for all their acts
and
movements, refused to interfere when requested by
the prisoners to
interpose
his authority in their behalf against an illegal
civil process, and
also
refused to countermand the illegal, oppressive and
unofficer-like order
of one
of his captains.
Moreover,
having taken
the oath of office, as Governor of the state of Illinois,
he was by virtue of that
oath
bound to see the laws faithfully executed, and
not, as in this
instance, see
them violated and trodden under foot, and even
prompt one of his
officers in
his lawless course. Thus he violated his solemn
pledges and oath of
office.
Elder
John Taylor says. "As I was
informed of this illegal proceeding, I went
immediately to the Governor
and
informed him of it; whether he was apprised of it
before or not, I do
not know,
but my opinion is that he was. I represented
to him the character
of the
parties who had made oath, the outrageous nature
of the charge, the
indignity
offered to men in the position which they [the
prisoners] occupied, and
that he
knew very well that it was a vexatious
prosecution, and that they were
not
guilty of any such thing."
The
Governor replied that he was very sorry
that the thing had
occurred; that he did not believe
the charges, but that he thought that the best
thing to be done in the
premises
was to let the law take its course.
"I
then reminded him that we had
come out there at his instance, not to satisfy the
law, which we had
done
before, but the prejudices of the people in relation
to the affair of
the
press; that we had given bonds, which we could not
by law be required
to do, to
satisfy the people at his instance, and that it was
asking too much to
require
gentlemen in their position in life to suffer the
degradation of
being immured
in a jail at the instance of such worthless
scoundrels as those who had
made
this affidavit.
"The
Governor replied that it was
an unpleasant affair, and looked hard, but that it
was a matter over
which he
had no control, as it belonged to the judiciary;
that he, as the
executive
could not interfere with their proceedings, and
that he had no
doubt but that
they would be immediately dismissed.
"I
told him that we had looked to
him for protection from such insults, and that I
thought we had a right
to do
so from the solemn promises he had made to me and
Dr. Bernhisel in
relation to
our coming without a guard or arms; that we had
relied upon his faith
and had a
right to expect him to fulfill his engagements,
after we had placed
ourselves implicitly
under his care, and complied with all his requests,
although
extra-judicial.
"He
replied that
he would detail a guard, if we required it, and see
us protected, but
that he
could not interfere with the judiciary.
"I
expressed my dissatisfaction at
the course taken, and told him that if we were to be
subject to mob
rule, and to
be dragged contrary to law into prison, at the
instance of every
infernal
scoundrel whose oath could be bought for a dram of
whiskey, his
protection
availed very little, and we had miscalculated his
promises.
"Seeing
there was no prospect of
redress from the Governor, I returned to the
room and found the
Constable, Bettisworth,
very urgent to hurry
Brothers Joseph and Hyrum to prison, whilst the
brethren were
remonstrating
with him.
"At
the same time
a great rabble was gathered in the streets and
around the door, and
from the
rowdyism manifested, I was afraid there was a
design to murder the
prisoners
on the way to the jail.
"Without
conferring with any person, my next feeling was to
procure a guard, and
seeing
a man habited as a soldier in the room, I went to
him and said, "I am
afraid there is a design against the lives of the
Messrs. Smith, will
you go
immediately and bring your captain, and if not
convenient, any other
captain of
a company, and I will pay you well for your
trouble."
"He
said he would,
and departed forthwith, and soon returned with his
captain, whose name
I have
forgotten* and introduced him to me.
"I
told him of my
fears, and requested him immediately to fetch his
company. He departed
forthwith, and arrived at the door with them, just
as the time that the
constable was hurrying the brethren downstairs.
"A
number of
brethren went along, and one or two strangers, and
all of us safely
lodged in
prison, remained there during the night."
As
Esquire Woods went
to the door he met Captain Dunn, with some twenty
men, they having come
to
guard the prisoners in jail. Mr. Woods accompanied
Governor Ford to
(Captain)
Justice Robert F. Smith, who gave as a cause for
issuing the warrant of
committal,
that the prisoners were not personally safe at
the hotel. Mr.
Woods then
requested the Governor to have a company of troops
from some other
county
detailed to guard the jail.
Captain
Dunn, with his company, escorted
Joseph and Hyrum Smith from their lodgings...to the
jail....
|
