Nauvoo Legion Senior Officers, September 1842–February 1843
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 Illinois state
militia elected the general officers of the legion. Additional positions were created and
staffed in the ten months following the legion’s formation.
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 they were terminated by
resignation, death, or cashiering out of the Nauvoo Legion.
Extant records suggest that only two changes in the
organization of the Nauvoo Legion occurred between 1 September 1842 and
28 February 1843. On 1 September 1842, both and resigned
their commissions as aides-de-camp for . Records do not indicate if or by whom
they were replaced.
The following chart identifies the staffs of the lieutenant
general, major general, and brigadier generals of the Nauvoo Legion
during the period covered by this volume; it does not note the colonels,
majors, and captains who commanded the legion’s regiments, battalions,
and companies. In cases where offices went unfilled or for which there
is no extant record of who filled the position for the dates shown, the
offices are marked “vacant.”

1 September 1842–28 February 1843 | |
Lieutenant General | Joseph Smith |
Lieutenant General’s Staff | |
Inspector General (Major General) | |
Assistant Inspector General (Colonel) | George Schindle |
Drill Officer (Colonel) | |
Judge Advocate (Colonel) | |
Aides-de-Camp (Colonels) | |
Chief Chaplain (Colonel) | [vacant] |
Guards of Aides-de-Camp (Captains) | |
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain) | |
Major General | |
Major General’s Staff | |
Adjutant General (Colonel) | |
Assistant Adjutant General, First Cohort (Colonel) | |
Assistant Adjutant General, Second Cohort (Colonel) | |
Surgeons General (Colonels) | |
George Cooke | |
Assistant Surgeon General (Colonel) | Abel Underhill |
Cornet (Colonel) | |
Quartermaster General (Colonel) | |
Commissary General (Colonel) | |
Paymaster General (Colonel) | |
Chaplain (Colonel) | |
Assistant Chaplain (Colonel) | |
Assistant Inspector General, First Cohort (Colonel) | |
Assistant Inspector General, Second Cohort (Colonel) | John Bills |
Aides-de-Camp (Colonels) | Carlos Gove |
George Schindle | |
Amos Dean | |
J. M. Binelo | |
War Secretary (Colonel) | |
Quartermaster Sergeant (Major) | |
Sergeant Major (Major) | |
Chief Musician (Major) | |
Musicians (Captains) | |
William Pitt | |
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain) | Samuel Hicks |
First Cohort | Second Cohort | |
Brigadier General | [vacant] | |
Brigadier General’s Staff | ||
Aides-de-Camp (Lieutenant Colonels) | [vacant] | |
[vacant] | ||
Adjutant (Lieutenant General) | George W. Thatcher | |
Sergeant Major (Lieutenant General) | ||
Quartermaster Sergeant (Colonel) | [vacant] | |
Assistant Quartermaster General (Lieutenant Colonel) | ||
Assistant Commissary General (Lieutenant Colonel) | Robert Ivins | |
Surgeon (Lieutenant Colonel) | ||
Assistant Chaplains (Majors) | ||
Brigade Inspector (Major) | John Bills | |
Herald and Armor Bearer (Captain) | William Whitmarsh |