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Discourse, 18 June 1844, as Reported by William Clayton

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Discourse, 18 June 1844, as Reported by William Clayton

Source Note

JS, Discourse, [, Hancock Co., IL, 18 June 1844]. Featured version inscribed [18 June 1844] in William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844, pp. [5]–[6]; handwriting of ; William Clayton, Journals, 1842–1846, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844

Historical Introduction

On 18 June 1844 in , Hancock County, Illinois, JS delivered a discourse to the , calling on them to prepare for war against mob forces plotting to exterminate the in Nauvoo. There had been recent reports of intensified mob activity in the , including an affidavit from given on 17 June 1844 indicating that a mob was “expected to make an immediate attack” on Nauvoo. Later that day, citing Markham’s affidavit, JS, as the mayor of Nauvoo and the legion’s lieutenant general, ordered , the city marshal, and , the legion’s acting major general, to prepare for mob violence. Responding to JS’s order, Dunham ordered members of the legion to assemble the next day, 18 June.
According to JS’s journal, at around two o’clock in the afternoon, the legion gathered “on the corner of the street by the ” and JS, dressed in military uniform, “stood on the top of the Grain[in]g frame and addressd the Legion.” He then declared martial law in the city of . He was followed by , who read from a recent issue of the Warsaw Signal. The broadside contained resolutions from antagonistic citizens seeking “to put an immediate stop” to JS and his “demoniac coadjutors” and calling for assistance “to rid the Earth of a pest such as has never before poluted its surface since it was redeemed from Chaos.”
After spoke, JS apparently addressed the legion again, likely delivering the discourse featured here. In this speech, he warned the Saints of the mob’s murderous intentions and called for volunteers to defend the city. He also cautioned that if ’s citizens had to fight, they were to act only defensively. JS apparently cursed the church’s enemies and then closed by asking God to bless the Saints. It is unclear how long JS’s speech lasted. His journal suggests that the militia was assembled for about an hour, while a later history reported that JS spoke for approximately an hour and a half. Sometime after his discourse, JS, in his capacity as mayor, issued a written proclamation declaring martial law in Nauvoo.
Three versions of JS’s discourse are extant. , JS’s private clerk, kept the most detailed account of the discourse, recording it on 18 June sometime after JS spoke. apparently provided another account; although his notes are undated, they appear to report on this 18 June discourse. McIntire used the phrase “from to the Rocky Mountains,” for example, a variation of which appears in both Clayton’s account and JS’s journal entry for 18 June. Another similarity to Clayton’s account is that McIntire recorded JS’s call for volunteers. It is unknown if McIntire was present for the discourse, because he had recently been assigned to electioneer in for JS’s presidential campaign. If he was present, then he could have created this account from notes taken during the sermon or, because his version is brief, he could have written it from memory. He identified this discourse as JS’s last address, which indicates that McIntire inscribed this version after JS’s death. The final volume of JS’s multivolume manuscript history contains a third version of this speech, apparently written in 1856 by . Because Smith, who was not present for this speech, reconstructed it years later from “verbal reports” of individuals who were supposedly present, his version is not included. The Clayton and McIntire accounts are featured here.

Footnotes

  1. Stephen Markham, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 17 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from 16 May through 28 June 1844”; and “Part 3: 12–20 June 1844.”

  2. JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844; Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844; Order Book, 1843–1844, 22–23, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; see also William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; Clayton, Journal, 18 June 1844; Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 17–18 June 1844; and JS, Journal, 18 June 1844.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  3. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844. Samuel W. Richards alternatively indicated that the legion was dismissed at two o’clock in the afternoon. No account of JS’s remarks when he declared martial law has been located. (Richards, Reminiscences and Journal, 18 June 1844; see also Hale, “Account Keept of the Nauvoo Legion,” 18 June 1844.)

    Richards, Samuel W. Reminiscences and Journal, ca. 1843–1845. Samuel W. Richards, Papers, 1839–1909. CHL. MS 1841.

    Hale, Jonathan. “An Account Kept of the Nauvoo Legion.” Jonathan Hale, Papers, 1835–1845. CHL. MS 3214, fd. 1.

  4. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Warsaw (IL) Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  5. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844. In JS’s journal entry for 18 June, Willard Richards indicated that after Phelps read from the Warsaw Signal, JS “called up[o]n all men from the rocky moutin [mountain] to the ocean to come to his asstn [assistance].” Because variations of this statement appear in the featured documents, it is likely that JS delivered the featured discourse not when he declared martial law but after Phelps spoke.

  6. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 18 June 1844.

  7. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Proclamation, 18 June 1844.

  8. See Clayton, History of the Nauvoo Temple, 31; Historical Introduction to William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; and William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844.

    Clayton, William. History of the Nauvoo Temple, ca. 1845. CHL. MS 3365.

  9. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844.

  10. “Special Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Apr. 1844, 5:504–506; see also JS, Journal, 9 Apr. 1844.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  11. In his autobiography, McIntire mentioned that he attended and took notes on JS ’s sermons during winter 1840–1841 . Thus, it is possible that, as was his custom for those sermons, McIntire was present for and took notes on JS’s 16 June discourse. ( McIntire, Autobiography, [62] .)

    McIntire, William Patterson. Autobiography. In William Patterson McIntire, Daybook, 1840–1856, pp. 57–67. BYU.

  12. JS History, vol. F-1, 118; Historical Introduction to History, 1838–1856, vol. F-1; George A. Smith, Journal, 16 and 19 June 1844; see also Historian’s Office, Journal, 15 Oct. 1855. JS’s manuscript history indicates that George A. Smith based his account on “the verbal reports of Joseph G. Hovey, William G. Sterrett, Robert [L.] Campbell, and many others, who heard the prophet.”

    Smith, George A. Journal, 22 Feb. 1841–10 Mar. 1845. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 2, fd. 4.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Discourse, 18 June 1844, as Reported by William Clayton
Appendix 4: William Clayton, Daily Account of Joseph Smith’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844 *Discourse, 18 June 1844, as Reported by William P. McIntire History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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Genl. J. Smith addressed the multitude. He briefly explained the object of the mob and showed that they waged a war of extermination upon us because of our religin He called upon all the volunteers who felt to support the constitution from the to the Atlantic Ocean to come with their arms, ammunition & provisions to defend us from the mob & defend the constitution. He called upon them as the Lieutenant General of the and Militia in the name of the Constitution of the the people of the State of and the citizens of He called upon the Citizens to defend the lives of their wives & children, fathers [p. [5]]
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Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Discourse, 18 June 1844, as Reported by William Clayton
ID #
1417
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
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  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. Members of the church were threatened with extermination while living in Missouri; in 1838 Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued an order for the Saints to be “exterminated or driven from the state.” The mob JS referenced here was a group of Hancock County, Illinois, citizens who were responding, in part, to the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press on the order of Nauvoo officials. On 14 June 1844, the Warsaw Signal published a series of resolutions these citizens adopted declaring themselves ready “to co-operate with our fellow citizens in this State, Missouri and Iowa, to exterminate, utterly exterminate, the wicked and abominable Mormon Leaders.” On 16 June, JS wrote to Illinois governor Thomas Ford to inform him that citizens of Hancock and “surrounding Counties” were planning to “exterminate ‘the Saints’ by force of arms.” On 18 June, JS wrote a letter to attorney Henry T. Hugins alerting him that “the Enemy or mob is prowling in the southern and eastern part, of the county, and threatning us with extermination.” (Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1]; Letter to Thomas Ford, 16 June 1844; Letter to Henry T. Hugins, 18 June 1844; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839.”)

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  2. JS’s journal entry for 18 June 1844 also recorded that “Gen J— Smith called up[o]n all men from the rocky moutin [mountain] to the ocean to come to his asstn [assistance].” (JS, Journal, 18 June 1844.)

  3. JS championed the Constitution but also viewed it as an incomplete document. In April 1844 he said, “In relation to the constitution of the United States, there is but one difficulty, and that is, the constitution provides the things which we want but lacks the power to carry the laws into effect.” He continued by stating that the Constitution needed to be changed “to make it imperative on the officers to enforce the protection of all men in their rights.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 18 Apr. 1844; see also Rogers, “Federalism, Interstate Affairs, and Joseph Smith’s Final Attempt to Secure Federal Intervention in Nauvoo,” 156.)

    Rogers, Brent M. “‘Armed Men Are Coming from the State of Missouri’: Federalism, Interstate Affairs, and Joseph Smith’s Final Attempt to Secure Federal Intervention in Nauvoo.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 109, no. 2 (Summer 2016): 148–179.

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