| Killing of Joseph Smith | |||
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| Part of a series onanti-Mormonviolence in theU.S. | |||
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| Date | June 27, 1844; 181 years ago (1844-06-27) | ||
| Location | Carthage, Illinois, U.S. | ||
| Caused by | (see below) | ||
| Resulted in | Deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith | ||
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Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of theLatter Day Saint movement, and his brother,Hyrum Smith, were killed by a mob inCarthage, Illinois, United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail on charges oftreason.
As a result of the1838 Mormon War anda state executive order by Missouri GovernorLilburn Boggs, a large group ofMormons, including Smith and his brother, had to flee Missouri. In 1839,the group settled in Commerce, Illinois, where Smith soon becamemayor and which he renamedNauvoo.
In 1844, a group ofex-Mormons who opposedpolygamy and who had recently beenexcommunicated fromthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints established theNauvoo Expositor newspaper. On June 7, 1844, the newspaper published its first (and only) issue, which criticized Smith and other church leaders, reporting thatSmith was practicing polygamy, marrying the wives of other men, teaching a "plurality of Gods", and alleging that he intended to set himself up as atheocratic king. After a vote of theNauvoo City Council, Smith, as mayor, ordered theExpositor'sprinting press destroyed.[1]
The destruction of the press led to broader public outrage in the communities surrounding the city. The Smith brothers and other members of the Nauvoo City Council were charged by the State of Illinois with inciting a riot. Joseph Smith was apprehended, but freed by the Nauvoo municipal court. Smith declaredmartial law and called for theNauvoo Legion to help keep the peace. After failing and briefly fleeing Illinois, Smith received a personal statement from the governor of Illinois,Thomas Ford, who "pledged his faith and the faith of the state (Illinois) to protect him while he underwent a legal and fair trial",[2] convincing Smith and Hyrum to return to Illinois and face trial voluntarily.[3] When the brothers arrived at thecounty seat of Carthage to surrender to authorities, they were charged withtreason against Illinois for declaring martial law.
The Smith brothers were detained atCarthage Jail awaiting trial when an armed mob of 150–200 men stormed the building, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder. Hyrum was killed almost immediately when he was shot in the face, shouting as he fell, "I am a dead man!"[4] After emptying his pistol towards the attackers, Joseph tried to escape from a second-story window, but was shot several times and fell to the ground, where he was again shot by the mob.
Five men were indicted for the killings, but all were acquitted at a jury trial. At the time of his death,Smith was also running forpresident of the United States,[5] making him thefirst U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated. Smith's death marked a turning point for theLatter Day Saint movement.
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In 1830, Joseph Smith, aged 24, published theBook of Mormon, which he described as an English translation of ancientgolden plates he received froman angel. The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it arestoration of theearly Christian Church. Members of the church were later called "Latter Day Saints" or "Mormons". Smith and his followers sought to assemble together in a theocratic community under Smith's leadership, or"Zion", first inKirtland, Ohio, and later inIndependence, Missouri.[6]
In 1833, a mob of settlers attacked a Mormon newspaper's printing office, destroyed the press, andtarred and feathered two Mormon leaders. Mormons wereviolently driven from Jackson county.[7][8] After losing the1838 Mormon War, Smith was jailed and his followers were forced out of Missouri.
AfterSmith escaped custody, he fled to Illinois, where he founded a new settlement that he namedNauvoo,[9] then traveling on toWashington, D.C., to meet withPresidentMartin Van Buren, seeking intervention and compensation for lost property. Van Buren said he could do nothing to help. Smith returned to Illinois and vowed to join theWhig Party. Most of his supporters switched with him to the Whig party, adding political tensions to the social suspicions in which Smith's followers were held by the local populace.[10]
Despite public denials of polygamy, Joseph Smith had a practice of secretly beingsealed to his female followers. As early as 1838, Smith had faced accusations of polygamy. On April 18, anti-polygamistsWilliam Law, Wilson Law, Jane Law, and Robert Foster wereexcommunicated. On May 10, a prospectus announcing theExpositor was circulated.
On May 23, a grand jury from theHancock County Circuit Court issued a criminal indictment against Smith on the charges of perjury based on the statements of Joseph Jackson and Robert Foster. A second indictment, for "fornication andadultery", was issued based on the statements of William and Wilson Law who swore Smith had been living with Maria Lawrence "in an open state of adultery" since the prior October 12.[11]
In 1844, in the city ofNauvoo, Illinois, where Smith was mayor, several anti-polygamist Mormons, recently excommunicated from Smith's church, joined to publish a newspaper called theNauvoo Expositor. It put out its first and only issue on June 7, 1844.[12]: v6, p. 430 Based on sworn statements, theExpositor alleged that Smith practicedpolygamy, marrying at least eight other men's wives, and he had tried to marry the wives of some of theExpositor's publishers.
In response to public outrage generated by theExpositor, theNauvoo City Council passed an ordinance declaring the newspaper a public nuisance which had been designed topromote violence against Smith and his followers. They reached this decision after some discussion, including citation ofWilliam Blackstone's legal canon, which defined alibelous press as apublic nuisance. According to the Council's minutes, Smith said he "would rather die tomorrow and have the thing smashed, than live and have it go on, for it was exciting the spirit ofmobocracy among the people, and bringing death and destruction upon us."[13]
Under the council's new ordinance, Smith, as Nauvoo's mayor, in conjunction with the council, ordered the city marshal to destroy theExpositor and itsprinting press on June 10, 1844. By the city marshal's account, the destruction of the press type was carried out orderly and peaceably. However,Charles A. Foster, a co-publisher of theExpositor, reported on June 12 that not only was the printing press destroyed, but that "several hundred minions ... injured the building very materially".[14]
Smith's critics said that the action of destroying the press violatedfreedom of the press. Some sought legal charges against Smith for the destruction of the press, including charges oftreason and inciting ariot. Violent threats were made against Smith and the Latter Day Saints. On June 12,Thomas C. Sharp, editor of theWarsaw Signal inWarsaw, Illinois, a newspaper hostile to the church, editorialized:[15]
War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! To ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!!
Warrants from outside Nauvoo were brought in against Smith for the charge of riot. On June 12, Smith was arrested by David Bettinger,constable of Carthage. Bettinger sought to convey Smith to the Hancock County Court that issued the warrant, Smith was freed when the charges were dismissed in Nauvoo municipal court on a writ ofhabeas corpus.[16] Smith declaredmartial law on June 18[17] and called out theNauvoo Legion, an organized city militia of about 5,000 men,[18] to protect Nauvoo from outside violence.[17]
In response to the crisis,Illinois governorThomas Ford traveled to Hancock County, and on June 21 he arrived at thecounty seat inCarthage. On June 22, Ford wrote to Smith and the Nauvoo City Council, proposing a trial by a non-Mormon jury in Carthage and guaranteeing Smith's safety. Smith fled the jurisdiction to avoid arrest, crossing theMississippi River into theIowa Territory. On June 23, aposse under Ford's command entered Nauvoo to execute an arrest warrant, but they were unable to locate Smith.
After briefly fleeing Illinois, Smith received a personal statement fromGovernor Ford, who "pledged his faith and the faith of the state (Illinois) to protect him while he underwent a legal and fair trial",[2] convincing Joseph Smith along with Hyrum to return voluntarily.[3] He was reported to have said, "If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself."[12]: v6, p 549 He reluctantly submitted to arrest. He was quoted as saying, "I am going like alamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he was murdered in cold blood."[19] During the trip to Carthage, Smith reportedly recounted a dream in which he and Hyrum escaped a burning ship,walked on water, and arrived at a greatheavenly city.[20]On June 25, 1844, Smith and his brotherHyrum, along with the other fifteen Council members and some friends, surrendered to Carthage constable William Bettisworth on the original charge of riot. Upon arrival in Carthage, almost immediately the Smith brothers were charged with treason against the State of Illinois for declaring martial law in Nauvoo, by a warrant founded upon the oaths of A. O. Norton and Augustine Spencer. At apreliminary hearing that afternoon, the Council members were released on $500 bonds, pending later trial. The judge ordered the Smith brothers to be held in jail until they could be tried for treason, which was acapital offense.[21]
The Smith brothers were detained atCarthage Jail, and were soon joined byWillard Richards,John Taylor andJohn Solomon Fullmer. Six other associates accompanied the Smiths:John P. Greene, Stephen Markham,Dan Jones,John S. Fullmer, Dr. Southwick, and Lorenzo D. Wasson.[22]
Ford left for Nauvoo not long after Smith was jailed. The anti-Mormon[10] "Carthage Greys", a local militia, were assigned to protect the brothers. Jones, who was present, relayed to Ford several threats against Joseph made by members of the Greys, all of which were dismissed by Ford.[23]
On Thursday morning, June 27, church leaderCyrus Wheelock, having obtained a pass from Ford, visited Smith in jail. The day was rainy, and Wheelock used the opportunity to hide a smallpepper-box pistol in his bulky overcoat,[25] which had belonged to Taylor.[26] Most visitors were rigidly searched,[27] but the guards forgot to check Wheelock's overcoat,[28] and he was able to smuggle the gun to Smith. Smith took Wheelock's gun and gave Fullmer's gun to his brother Hyrum.
Before a trial could be held, a mob of about 200 armed men, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder, stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844. Early on June 27, Smith authored an order to Nauvoo Legion commander Jonathan Dunham instructing him to bring the Legion to Carthage and stage a jailbreak.[29] In a final letter to his wife, Smith wrote "I just learn[ed] that the Governor is about to disband his troops, all but a guard to protect us ... This is right as I suppose."[30] Smith and the other prisoners were guarded only by six members of the Carthage Grays, led by Sgt. Frank Worrell.[31][32][33][34]
A division of militia began marching away from Carthage, but soon received orders from the Governor to disband.[35] Learning that the Governor had dismissed the troops, a group from Warsaw set out to Carthage to see the Governor. En route, a messenger informed the group that the Governor had gone to Nauvoo and "there is nobody in Carthage [that] you can [depend on]".[36][37]When the group approached the building, jailers became alarmed, but Smith, mistaking the mob for the Nauvoo Legion, told a jailer: "Don't trouble yourself ... they've come to rescue me."[38] Smith did not know that Jonathan Dunham, major general of the Nauvoo Legion, had not dispatched the unit to Carthage to protect him. Allen Joseph Stout later contended that by remaining inactive, Dunham disobeyed an official order written by Smith after he was jailed in Carthage.[39]
The Carthage Greys reportedly feigned defense of the jail by firing shots or blanks over the attackers' heads, and some of the Greys even reportedly joined the mob, who rushed up the stairs. The mob first attempted to push the door open to fire into the room, though Smith and the other prisoners pushed back and prevented this. A member of the mob fired a shot through the door. Hyrum was shot in the face, just to the left of his nose, which threw him to the floor. He cried out, "I am a dead man!" and collapsed. He died immediately.[40]
Smith, Taylor, and Richards attempted to defend themselves. Taylor and Richards used a long walking stick in order to deflect the guns as they were thrust inside the room, from behind the door. Smith fired Wheelock's pistol.[41] Three of the six barrels misfired,[42] but the other three shots are believed to have wounded three of the attackers.[43][44]
Taylor was shot four or five times and was severely wounded, but survived. It has been popularly believed that hispocket watch stopped one shot. The watch is displayed in the LDSChurch History Museum inSalt Lake City, Utah; the watch was broken and was used to help identify the time of the attack. In 2010, forensic research by J. Lynn Lyon of theUniversity of Utah and Mormon historianGlen M. Leonard suggested that Taylor's watch was not struck by a ball, but rather broke against a window ledge.[45]Columbia University historianRichard Bushman, the author ofJoseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, also supports this view.
Richards, physically the largest of Smith's party, escaped unscathed; Lyon speculates that after the door opened, Smith was in the line of sight and Richards was not targeted.[46]
After using all of the shots in his pistol, Smith made his way towards the window. As he prepared to jump down, Richards reported that he was shot twice in the back and that a third bullet, fired from amusket on the ground outside, hit him in the chest.[12]: v6, p620 Taylor and Richards' accounts both report that as Smith fell from the window, he called out, "Oh Lord, my God!" Some have alleged that the context of this statement was an attempt by Smith to use aMasonic distress signal.[47]
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There are varying accounts of what happened next. Taylor and Richards' accounts state that Smith was dead when he hit the ground. Eyewitness William Daniels wrote in his 1845 account that Smith was still alive when members of the mob propped his body against a nearby well, assembled a makeshiftfiring squad, and shot him before fleeing. Daniels' account also states that one man tried todecapitate Smith for abounty but was prevented bydivine intervention, an affirmation later denied.[48] Additional reports said that thunder and lightning frightened off the mob.[49] Mob members fled, shouting, "The Mormons are coming," although there was no such force nearby.[50]
After the attack was over, Richards, who was trained as a medical doctor, went back to see if anyone besides himself had survived, and found Taylor lying on the floor. Richards dragged Taylor into the jail cell (they had not been held in the cell, but in the guard's room across the hallway). He dragged Taylor under some of the straw mattress to put pressure on his wounds and slow the bleeding and then went to get help. Both Richards and Taylor survived. Taylor eventually became the thirdpresident ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Richards had escaped all harm except for a bullet grazing his ear.
Joseph and Hyrum's younger brotherSamuel Harrison Smith had come to visit the same day and, after evading capture from a group of attackers, is said to have been the first Latter Day Saint to arrive and helped attend the bodies back to Nauvoo. He died thirty days later, possibly as a result of injuries sustained avoiding the mob.[51]
There have been conflicting reports about injuries to members of the mob during the attack, and whether any died. Shortly after the events occurred, Taylor wrote that he heard that two of the attackers died when Smith shot them with his pistol.[12]: v7, p102
Most accounts seem to agree that at least three attackers were wounded by Smith's gunfire, but there is no other evidence that any of them died as a result. John Wills was shot in the arm, William Vorhease was shot in the shoulder, and William Gallaher was shot in the face.[52][53] Others claimed that a fourth, unnamed man was also wounded.[53] Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, and a Mr. Allen (possibly the fourth man) were all indicted for the murder of the Smith brothers. Wills, Vorhease, and Gallaher, perhaps conscious that their wounds could prove that they were involved in the mob, fled the county after being indicted and were never brought to trial.[54] Apart from Taylor's report of what he had heard, there is no evidence that Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, or Allen died from their wounds.[citation needed]
Joseph and Hyrum Smith's bodies were returned to Nauvoo the next day. The bodies were cleaned and examined, anddeath masks were made, preserving their facial features and structures.
A publicviewing was held on June 29, 1844, after which empty coffins weighted with sandbags were used at the public burial to prevent theft or mutilation of the bodies. The coffins bearing the actual bodies of the Smith brothers were initially buried under the unfinishedNauvoo House, then disinterred and reburied deep under an out-building on the Smith homestead.
In 1928,Frederick M. Smith, president of theReorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) and grandson of Joseph Smith, feared that rising water from theMississippi River would destroy the gravesite. He authorized civil engineer William O. Hands to conduct an excavation to find the Smiths' bodies. Hands conducted extensive digging on the Smith homestead and located the bodies, as well as the remains of Joseph's wife,Emma, who was buried in the same place. The remains—which were badlydecomposed—were examined and photographed, and then reinterred close by in Nauvoo.
After the killings, there was speculation about who was responsible. Ford denied accusations that he knew about the plot to kill Smith beforehand, but later wrote that it was good for Smith's followers to have been driven out of the state and said that their beliefs and actions were too different to have survived in Illinois. He said Smith was "the most successful impostor in modern times,"[55] and that some people "expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement."[56]
Ultimately, five defendants—Thomas C. Sharp,Mark Aldrich,William N. Grover,Jacob C. Davis andLevi Williams—were tried for the murders of the Smith brothers. All five defendants wereacquitted by a jury, which was composed exclusively of non-Mormon members after thedefense counsel convinced the judge to dismiss the initial jury, which did include Mormon members.[57] The defense was led byOrville Hickman Browning, later aUnited States senator and cabinet member.[58]
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After the killing of Smith, asuccession crisis occurred in the Latter Day Saint movement. Hyrum Smith, theAssistant President of the Church, was intended to succeed Joseph asPresident of the Church,[59] but because he was killed alongside his brother, the proper succession procedure became unclear.
Initially, the primary contenders to succeed Smith wereSidney Rigdon,Brigham Young, andJames Strang. Rigdon was the senior surviving member of theFirst Presidency, a body that had led the Latter Day Saint movement since 1832. At the time of Smith's death, he was estranged from Smith due to differences in doctrinal beliefs. Young,president of theQuorum of the Twelve, claimed authority was handed by Smith to the Quorum. Strang claimed that Smith designated him as the successor ina letter that was received a week before his death. Later, others came to believe that Smith's son,Joseph Smith III, was the rightful successor under the doctrine oflineal succession.
Aschism resulted, with each claimant attracting followers. The majority of Latter Day Saints followed Young; these adherents later emigrated to what becameUtah Territory and continued as the LDS Church. Rigdon's followers were known asRigdonites, some of which later establishedThe Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Strang's followers established theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite). In the 1860s, those who felt that Smith should have been succeeded by Joseph Smith III established the RLDS Church, which later changed its name to theCommunity of Christ.
Modernly, Joseph Smith is known to havemarried women who were already married as well asgirls as young as 14.[60] Some accounts say Smith may have had sexual relations with one wife, who later in her life stated that he fathered children by one or two of his wives, howeverDNA evidence does not support this.[61][62][63][64] Some Mormons, especially those belonging to splinter groups such as the Community of Christ continue to deny that Joseph ever practiced polygamy in any sense.[65] However, in 2014, LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins said "(The church) publicly asserted Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy over a century and a half ago, especially in debate with other faith groups who traced their origin to Joseph Smith and who asserted that he did not practice plural marriage". Mainstream Mormons on the other hand tend to accept that he practiced polygamy, but emphasize thesealings as a spiritual bonding ritual which wasplatonic and intended to unify the human race into one family.[66][better source needed]
A mob had stormed into Independence, burned the printing house, smashed the press, carried off the newly printed collections of revelations, tarred and feathered Bishop Partridge, and ordered the whole colony to leave the county.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Provided by BYU Studies. Published in book form in 1902.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)[...] Joe Smith being armed with a six barrelled pistol, furnished by his friends, fired several times as the door was bursted open, and wounded three of the assailants.
Joseph Smith probably then decided he might be able to save Willard Richards's life by moving into the line of fire and attempting to jump from the east window, which was the nearest window to Joseph Smith's haven in the northwest corner of the room. This action would draw the attackers outside
Reliable evidence indicates that Joseph Smith fathered some children through his plural marriages with single women, but that evidence does not necessarily support intimacy with polyandrous wives.
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