Nauvoo Legion Senior Officers, December 1841–April 1842
The charter for the city of , Illinois, enacted
in December 1840 to take effect in February 1841, allowed for the
formation of a unit of the state militia in
Nauvoo. On 3
February 1841, the city council passed an ordinance officially organizing the .
On the following day, JS and other
commissioned officers of the state militia elected the
general officers of the legion. A document titled “Officers of the
Nauvoo Legion,” drafted by
sometime in 1841,
indicates that additional positions were created and staffed in the ten
months following the formation of the legion. A 12 March 1842 court-martial made
further changes to the staffs of the various generals and added a fourth
regiment to the legion.
The Nauvoo Legion comprised two brigades, or “cohorts,”
each headed by a brigadier general. The first cohort consisted of
cavalry and the second of infantry and artillery troops. Enlisted men
served in one of these two brigades, which were subdivided into
regiments (commanded by a colonel), then battalions (commanded by a
lieutenant colonel or a major), and then companies (commanded by a
captain). Officers retained their rank unless terminated by resignation,
death, or cashiering out of the Nauvoo Legion.
The following chart identifies the lieutenant general,
major general, and brigadier generals of the Nauvoo Legion, and their
staffs, on 12 March 1842; it does not note the colonels, majors, and
captains who commanded the legion’s regiments, battalions, and
companies. The order in which the ranks are presented reflects the order
in which they appeared in the minutes of the 12 March 1842
court-martial.

12 March 1842 | |
Lieutenant General | Joseph Smith |
Lieutenant General's Staff | |
Inspector General (Major General): | |
Drill Officer (Colonel): | |
Judge Advocate (Colonel): | |
Four Aides-de-Camp (Colonels): | |
Guard of Twelve Aides-de-Camp (Captains): | |
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain): | |
Adjutant General (Colonel) |
Major General | |
Major General's Staff | |
Surgeon General (Colonel): | |
Cornet (Colonel): | |
Quartermaster General (Colonel): | |
Commissary General (Colonel): | |
Paymaster General (Colonel): | |
Chaplain (Colonel): | |
Two Assistant Inspectors General (Colonels): | John Bills |
Four Aides-de-Camp (Colonels): | Carlos Gove |
George Schindle | |
War Secretary (Colonel): | |
Quartermaster Sergeant (Major): | |
Sergeant Major (Major): | |
Sergeant Major (Major): | |
Chief Musician (Major): | |
Four Musicians (Captains): | |
[filled 19 Mar. 1842] | |
William Pitt [filled 2 Apr. 1842] | |
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain): | Samuel Hicks |
First Cohort | Second Cohort | |
Brigadier General | ||
Brigadier General's Staff | ||
Two Aides-de-Camp (Lieutenant Colonels) | ||
Assistant Quartermaster General (Lieutenant Colonel): | ||
Assistant Commissary General (Lieutenant Colonel): | Robert Ivins | |
Surgeon (Lieutenant Colonel): | ||
Six Assistant Chaplains (Majors) | ||
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain): | William Whitmarsh |