Skip to main content

General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 2 August 1842

  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 2 August 1842

Source Note

JS and , General Orders, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 2 Aug. 1842. Featured version published in Wasp, between 30 July and 4 August 1842, vol. 1, no. 16, [3]. For more complete source information, see the source note for Notice, 28 Apr. 1842.

Historical Introduction

As lieutenant general of the , JS issued orders on 2 August 1842 calling for the officers of the legion to convene in eleven days. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the officers to hear from the Committee of Revision and to deliberate over changes to the militia’s bylaws. The assembly would also give the officers the opportunity to elect a new major general to fill the vacancy left by , who had been cashiered from the legion in June 1842.
As was standard practice, a scribe likely prepared the orders for JS to sign, after which JS disseminated them to the officers of the Nauvoo Legion through Brevet Major General . The orders were dated 2 August 1842 and published in the next issue of the Wasp, which was apparently delayed. The version of the orders published in the Wasp is featured here. The officers met at the appointed time and place where, as planned, they approved new laws and elected a new major general.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The Committee of Revision, which had been appointed on 4 July 1842 to revise the legion’s bylaws, consisted of Wilson Law, Charles C. Rich, Albert P. Rockwood, Hugh McFall, and Erastus Derby. (Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 4 July 1842, 21.)

    Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 1843–1844. Nauvoo Legion, Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430, fd. 1.

  2. [2]

    Bennett’s cashiering likely occurred during a court-martial held 30 June 1842, in which JS gave “testimony concerning John C Bennett.” In June, the First Presidency composed a statement of “important facts relative to the conduct and character of Dr. John C. Bennett . . . that the honorable part of community may be aware of his proceedings . . . and regard him as he ought to be regarded, viz: as an impostor and base adulterer.” (JS, Journal, 30 June 1842; Letter to the Church and Others, 23 June 1842; see also Letter from Thomas Carlin, 27 July 1842.)

  3. [3]

    Although initial typesetting for the next weekly issue of the Wasp occurred on 30 July 1842, the typesetting of the entire issue was apparently not completed until 4 August. (See Nameplates, Wasp, between 30 July and 4 Aug. 1842, [1], [2].)

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  4. [4]

    Some previous general orders for the legion were also published in the Times and Seasons. (See General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 4 May 1841; and General Orders, Times and Seasons, 1 June 1841, 2:435; 16 Aug. 1841, 2:517; 1 Jan. 1842, 3:654.)

Page [3]

Head Quarters, ,)
City of , Aug. 2. 1842.)
The officers of the Nauvoo Legion are hereby ordered to assemble at the Office of Gen. , on Saturday the 13th inst., at 10 o’clock A. M., for the purpose of hearing and considering the report of the committee of revision of the laws of the Legion, and electing a Major General to fill the vacancy occasioned by the cashiering of . By order of
JOSEPH SMITH,
Lieut. General.
, Brevet Major General. [p. [3]]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page [3]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 2 August 1842
ID #
899
Total Pages
1
Print Volume Location
JSP, D10:354–355
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS’s office, located on the southwest corner of Water Street and Main Street, likely served as the headquarters of the Nauvoo Legion. (See “Nauvoo, Illinois, 30 April 1843.”)

  2. [2]

    Hyrum Smith’s office was located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Water Street and Bain Street. (See “Nauvoo, Illinois, 30 April 1843.”)

  3. [3]

    The officers met at ten o’clock in the morning on 13 August in the office of Hyrum Smith, and the committee presented for approval a bill that outlined militia conduct and discipline. After a half-hour recess, the officers reconvened at two o’clock and held an election for the office of major general. At this meeting, Brevet Major General Wilson Law was elected to the position, with fifty-five votes, over Lyman Wight, who received forty-three votes. JS might have initially intended to appoint James Arlington Bennet, the next ranking officer, as the next major general, but Bennet resided in New York and, though commissioned, may have felt his position was an honorary one. (Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, [13] Aug. 1842, 22–29; “Late and Important from the Mormon Country,” New York Herald, 30 Aug. 1842, [2].)

    Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 1843–1844. Nauvoo Legion, Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430, fd. 1.

    New York Herald. New York City. 1835–1924.