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Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844–A

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Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844–A

Source Note

JS as lieutenant general, Military Order, , Hancock Co., IL, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 17 June 1844; handwriting of ; signature of JS in the handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address, dockets, and notations.
Single leaf, now measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The leaf was irregularly cut, which suggests that it was removed from a book or larger sheet. The right side of the leaf was later trimmed, resulting in a loss of text. The leaf was trifolded twice in letter style and addressed. It was later refolded for filing.
The order was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. It was also docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844 and as clerk to the church historian and recorder from 1845 to 1865. The order was possibly listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) circa 1904. The graphite notation “A.J” was added to the document by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 the letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early dockets, its possible listing in the circa 1904 inventory, its notation, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456, 458; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Jan. 1865.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [4], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL. This inventory lists two undated letters from JS to Jonathan Dunham under the year 1844. One of these could be referring to the order featured here. JS, however, wrote to Dunham on more than two occasions in 1844.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  5. See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 17 June 1844 in , Illinois, JS, as lieutenant general of the , issued an order instructing acting major general to muster the legion. Fearing that a mob was preparing to attack Nauvoo, JS sent out several orders that evening. The first instructed city marshal to keep the peace in Nauvoo using the city’s police and the Nauvoo Legion.
JS then issued the featured order to , which was inscribed by . This order directed Dunham to muster the legion to assist in keeping the peace. JS later issued a second order to Dunham, further instructing him to complete all tasks the city marshal gave him in a quiet and orderly manner, to prevent people from gathering near the , and to “allay every cause & pretext of excitement as well as suspi[ci]on.”
Sometime that night or early the next morning, received JS’s first order and subsequently directed his subordinates to have their commands meet at the city’s on 18 June at 9:00 a.m. “armed and equip[p]ed” to defend the . For example, , the colonel of the Fifth Regiment of the Second Cohort, received Dunham’s order by 4:00 a.m. on 18 June. In obedience to JS’s and Dunham’s orders, the mustered on 18 June. The original version of the first order issued by JS to Dunham is featured here as an example of the two orders JS gave Dunham on 17 June.

Footnotes

  1. See Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; and Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 17 June 1844.

  2. Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844.

  3. Richards, Journal, 17 June 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  4. JS to Jonathan Dunham, Military Order with Instructions to Execute Marshal’s Orders, [Nauvoo, IL], 17 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL. JS also issued an order to Albert P. Rockwood. (Military Order to Albert P. Rockwood, 17 June 1844.)

  5. Order Book, 1843–1844, 22–23, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; Jonathan Dunham to John Scott, Military Order, [Nauvoo, IL], 17 June 1844, in Nauvoo Legion, Second Cohort, First Regiment Papers, 1844–1845, CHL; Jonathan Dunham to Nelson Higgins, Military Order, [Nauvoo, IL], 17 June 1844, in Second Cohort Activities, 17–23 June 1844, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.

    Nauvoo Legion, Second Cohort, First Regiment Papers, 1844–1845. CHL. MS 21305.

  6. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; see also Historical Introduction to Discourse, 18 June 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844–A
Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844–A, Willard Richards Copy History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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Head Quarters,
. June 17th 1844.
To Major Gen. in command,
Complaint having been made on oath that a mob is preparing to make an attack upon this , and citizens of , and having directed the to keep the peace, you are hereby commanded to order the to be in readiness to assist said in keeping the peace, and doing whatever may be ne[c]essary to preserve the dignity of the and .
Joseph Smith
Liut Gen [1/2 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844–A
ID #
1409
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. This refers to the affidavit made by Stephen Markham the day JS issued this order. Markham’s affidavit stated that “from the public papers, especially the Warsaw papers, and from reports from the various precincts, a mob may be expected to make an immediate attack of [on] the citizens and city of Nauvoo. on account of the gather[in]gs at the various precincts, and threats to exterminate the Latter day Saints.” (Stephen Markham, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 17 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

  2. Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844.

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