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Military Order to Wilson Law, 8 December 1843

Source Note

JS as lieutenant general, Military Order, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Hancock Co., IL], 8 Dec. 1843; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes docket and notation.
Single leaf measuring 9¾ × 7¾ inches (25 × 20 cm). The order was inscribed on the recto; the verso is blank except for a later docket. The document was trifolded for storage and docketed.
The order was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from 1843 to 1844. The notation “A. J | Printed” was added by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. The Church Historical Department (now CHL) published a register of the JS Collection in 1973. Between 1974 and 1984, staff continued to locate documents authored by or directed to JS in uncataloged church financial records and in name and subject files. The department also acquired additional JS documents from donors, collectors, and dealers. These newly located and acquired documents were kept together in a supplement to the JS Collection. A preliminary inventory of the supplement was created in 1992. This group of records was named the JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, and its cataloging was finalized in 2017. The order’s early docket and notation, as well as its inclusion in the JS Collection (Supplement), suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 456. In December 1843, Bullock docketed and copied many of JS’s letters as well as municipal and legal documents so that copies could be forwarded to Illinois governor Thomas Ford. (See, for example, Affidavit from Daniel Avery, 28 Dec. 1843.)

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

  2. [2]

    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.

  3. [3]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 8 December 1843, JS, as lieutenant general of the , issued an order to Major General to call out a portion of the legion to protect the rights of , Illinois, citizens in the aftermath of the kidnappings of and . Sometime between eleven o’clock that morning and four o’clock in the afternoon, JS issued an order to , Nauvoo’s city marshal, instructing him to defend Nauvoo residents from being kidnapped. The order advised Sherwood to call out a portion of the Nauvoo Legion if necessary. Sherwood responded with a requisition to JS asking him, as mayor, to order Law to mobilize a portion of the legion.
, clerk of the mayor’s court and one of JS’s scribes, drafted JS’s orders to and as well as Sherwood’s requisition to JS, which suggests that Phelps drafted the three documents in JS’s at roughly the same time. Sherwood’s request presumably drew on the legislative act incorporating the city of , which stated that the legion was “at the disposal of the Mayor.” However, JS framed the order as commander of the legion, instructing Law, his subordinate, to hold a portion of the legion “in readiness” to “compel obedience” to city ordinances and “secure the peace of the citizens.”
The next day, issued orders to Colonel and Brigadier General , directing each man to “order out the most efficient Regiment” under his command and to direct those troops to assemble at JS’s home at three o’clock in the afternoon “completely armed and equiped for duty.” Law also wrote to JS asking him to issue pay orders to Markham and Rich so that they could supply their cohorts with ammunition.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For more information on the Avery kidnappings, see “Part 5: December 1843.”

  2. [2]

    Mayor’s Order to Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843; see also JS, Journal, 8 Dec. 1843.

  3. [3]

    Mayor’s Order to Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843; Requisition from Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843.

  4. [4]

    Requisition from Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843; Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  5. [5]

    Wilson Law to Charles C. Rich, Order, Nauvoo, IL, 9 Dec. 1843, Charles C. Rich, Collection, CHL, underlining in original; Charles C. Rich to Hosea Stout, Order, Nauvoo, IL, 9 Dec. 1843, in Order Book, 1843–1844, 13, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL. Only Law’s order to Rich is extant, but other documents indicate that Law issued a similar order to Markham. (See Letter from Wilson Law, 9 Dec. 1843; and Pay Order to William Clayton for Stephen Markham and Charles C. Rich, 9 Dec. 1843.)

    Nauvoo Legion Arsenal Account Book, 1844–1849. Charles C. Rich, Collection, 1832–1908. CHL.

    Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430.

  6. [6]

    Letter from Wilson Law, 9 Dec. 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Military Order to Wilson Law, 8 December 1843
Military Order to Wilson Law, 8 December 1843, Copy History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

Head Quarters ,)
City of Dec. 8, 1843)
Sir: The having made <​of this ​> of this having m[a]de a demand of me, for a suitable portion of the Nauvoo Legion to protect the rights of the citizens, and carry the ordinances of said into full effect, your are hereby directed and required, to hold in readiness, such portions of the <​said​> Nauvoo Legion, which you have the honor to command, as may be necessary to compel obedience to the ordinances of said , and secure the peace of the citizens, and call them out, if occasion require, without further notice.
With due regard I have the honor to be your obt sevt.
Joseph Smith
Liut Gen
Maj Gn )
Commanding)
) [1/4 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Military Order to Wilson Law, 8 December 1843
ID #
1217
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:336–338
Handwriting on This Page
  • William W. Phelps

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS’s order to Henry G. Sherwood and Sherwood’s requisition to JS included similar language regarding the legion’s readiness to “compel obedience” to city ordinances. (Mayor’s Order to Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843; Requisition from Henry G. Sherwood, 8 Dec. 1843.)

  2. [2]

    Although the legion mobilized on 9 December 1843, it apparently received no specific orders until 18 December 1843. (Wilson Law to Charles C. Rich, Order, Nauvoo, IL, 9 Dec. 1843, Charles C. Rich, Collection, CHL; Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–A; Military Order to Wilson Law, 18 Dec. 1843–B.)

    Nauvoo Legion Arsenal Account Book, 1844–1849. Charles C. Rich, Collection, 1832–1908. CHL.

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