JS and , General Orders, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 25 Jan. 1842. Featured version published in “Nauvoo Legion,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1842, vol. 3, no. 8, 700–701. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.
Historical Introduction
On 25 January 1842 JS and , respectively the lieutenant general and major general of the , issued orders regarding an inspection and parade of the legion to be held on 7 May. An “independent military” body attached to the state militia, the legion derived from the same December 1840 act that officially organized the city of . Soldiers in the legion were required to perform the same duties as members of the regular state militia, which included periodically mustering for reviews such as the inspection and parade planned for the first Saturday in May. The general orders featured here instructed all of the city’s militia members to attend the review with their weapons and equipment in good order. They also formally invited Illinois governor , as well as local government officials and prominent officers in the Illinois state and territorial militias, to attend the event.
The orders were published in the 15 February 1842 issue of the ’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, although they are misdated as 1841 therein. If the published orders were based on a handwritten manuscript, that document is apparently not extant. The inspection and parade were held in May 1842 as ordered.
See An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 277–278, sec. 15.
Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly, Their Session Began and Held at Vandalia, the Third Day of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Eight. Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839.
All the public arms will be required to be in the best possible condition at the general inspection, and parade, on the 7th of May, proximo, and no deficiency whatever will be countenanced, overlooked, or suffered to pass without fine, on that occasion—all persons, therefore, holding said arms will take notice, and govern themselves accordingly: and, in order that the general inspection may pass off in a truly military style, alike honorable to the legion, and creditable to the citizen-soldier, the brigadiers are required to attend the battalion parades within their respective commands, and inspect said arms in propria persona, prior to the general parade. [p. 700]
The Illinois law governing militia service specified what weapons, uniforms, and other equipment the various categories of soldiers should use in the state militia. (An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 270, 276–277, secs. 1, 11–12.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.