Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, circa 16 December 1843–12 February 1844, Thomas Bullock First Copy

We, the undersigned, members of the City Council of the City of , Citizens of , Illinois, and exiles from the State of , being in Council assembled, unanimously and respectfully, for ourselves, and in behalf of many thousands of other exiles, memorialize the Honorable Senators and Representatives of our nation upon the subject of the unparralleled persecutions and cruelties, inflicted upon us and upon our constituents by the constituted authorities of the State of , and likewise upon the subject of the present unfortunate circumstances in which we are placed in the land of our exile. As a history of the outrages, has been extensively published, both in this and in Europe, it is deemed unnecessary to particularize all of the wrongs and grievances, inflicted upon us, in this memorial. As there is an abundance of well attested documents to which your Honorable Body can at any time refer; hence we only embody the following important items for your consideration.

First your memorialists, as free born Citizens of this Great , relying with the utmost confidence upon the sacred “Articles of the Constitution” by which the several States are bound together, and considering ourselves entitled to all the privileges and immunities of free Citizens in what State soever we desired to locate ourselves, commenced a Settlement in the County of on the western frontiers of the State of in the summer of 1831. There we purchased lands from Government, erected several hundred houses, made extensive improvements and shortly the wild and lonely prairies and stately forests were converted into well cultivated and fruitful fields. There we expected to spend our days in the enjoyment of all the rights and liberties [p. [1]] bequeathed to us by the sufferings and blood of our noble ancestors. But alas! Our expectations were vain, Two years had scarcely elapsed before we were unlawfully and unconstitutionally assaulted by an organized mob consisting of the highest officers in the both civil and military who openly and boldly avowed their determinations in a written circular to drive us from said . As a specimen of their treasonable and cruel designs, your honorable body are referred to said Circular of which the following is but a short extract, namely

This Document was closed in the following words

To this unconstitutional document were attached the names of nearly every Officer in the together with the names of hundreds of others.

It was by this Band of Murderers that your Memorialists in the year 1833 were plundered of their property and robbed of their peaceable homes. It was by them that their fields were laid waste, their houses burned and their men, women and children to the amount of about twelve hundred persons banished as exiles from the while others were cruelly murdered by their hands. [p. [2]]

Second After our expulsion from we settled in on the opposite side of the where we purchased lands both from the old Settlers and from the Land Office but soon we were again violently threatened by mobs and obliged to leave our homes and seek out a new location.

Third Our next Settlement was in where we purchased the most of the land in said , besides a part of the Lands in and Carroll Counties. These Counties were almost entirely in a wild and uncultivated state but by the persevering industry of our Citizens large and extensive farms were opened in every direction well stocked with numerous flocks and herds. We also commenced settlements in several other counties of the and once more confidently hoped to enjoy the hard earned fruits of our labor unmolested. But our hopes were soon blasted. The cruel and murderous spirit which first began to manifest itself in the constituted authorities and inhabitants of and afterwards in and the surrounding Counties, receiving no check either from the Civil or Military power of the had in the mean time taken courage and boldly and fearlessly spread its contaminating and treasonable influence into every department of the Government of said a resident of who acted a conspicuous part in our expulsion from said instead of being tried for treason and rebellion against the Constitution and suffering the just penalty of his crimes was actually elected Governor and placed in the executive chair. Thus the inhabitants of the were greatly encouraged to renew with redoubled fury their unlawful attacks upon our defenceless settlements Men women and children were driven in every direction before their merciless persecutors, robbed of their possessions, their property, their provisions and their all cast forth upon the bleak snowy prairies houseless and unprotected, many sunk down and expired under their accumulated sufferings while others after enduring hunger and the severities of the Season suffering all but death arrived in to which place they were driven from all the surrounding Counties only to witness [p. [3]] a still more heart rending scene. In vain had we appealed to the Constituted authorities of for protection and redress of our former grievances. In vain we now stretched out our hands and appealed as the Citizens of this great to the sympathies, to the Justice and magnanimity of those in power. In vain we implored again and again at the feet of our former persecutor aid and protection against the ravages and murders now inflicted upon our defenceless and unoffending Citizens. The Cry of American Citizens already twice driven and deprived of Liberty could not penetrate their adamantine hearts. The instead of sending us aid issued a proclamation for our Extermination and banishment, ordered out the forces of the placed them under the command of , who, to execute these exterminating orders marched several thousand troops into our Settlements in , where, unrestrained by fear of law or justice and urged on by the highest authority of the , they laid waste our fields of corn, shot down our Cattle and Hogs for sport, burned our dwellings, inhumanly butchered some 18 or 20 defenceless Citizens, dragged from their hiding places little Children and placing the muzzles of their guns to their heads shot them with the most horrid oaths and imprecations. An aged hero and patriot of the Revolution, who served under General [George] Washington while in the act of pleading for quarters was cruelly murdered and hewed in pieces with an old Corn Cutter, and in addition to all these savage acts of barbarity they forcibly dragged virtuous and inoffensive females from their dwellings, bound them upon benches used for public worship where they in great numbers ravished them in the most brutal manner. Some fifty or sixty of the Citizens were thrust into prisons and dungeons, where, bound in chains, they were fed on human flesh while their families and some fifteen thousand others, were, at the point of the bayonet forcibly expelled from the . In the mean time to pay the expences of these horrid outrages they confiscated our property, and robbed us of all our possessions. Before our final expulsion with a faint and [p. [4]] lingering hope we petitioned the State Legislature then in Session. Unwilling to believe that the virtue and patriotism of the venerable fathers of the Revolution had fled from the bosoms of their illustrious descendants. Unwilling to believe that American Citizens could appeal in vain for a restoration of liberty cruelly wrested from them by cruel tyrants. But in the Language of our noble ancestors “Our repeated Petitions were only answered by repeated injuries.” The Legislature instead of hearing the cries of 15,000 suffering, bleeding, unoffending Citizens sanctioned and sealed the unconstitutional acts of the and his troops by appropriating 200,000 dollars to defray the expences of exterminating us from the . No friendly arm was stretched out to protect us. The last ray of hope for redress in that was now entirely extinguished. We saw no other alternative but to bow down our necks and wear the cruel yoke of oppression and quietly and submissively suffer ourselves to be banished as exiles from our possessions, our property and our sacred homes or otherwise see our wives and children coldly butchered and murdered by tyrants in power.

Fourth Our next permanent Settlement, was, in the land of our exile the State of in the spring of 1839, but even here we are not secure from our relentless persecutor the State of . Not satisfied in having drenched her soil in the blood of innocence and expelling us from her borders She pursues her unfortunate victims into banishment, seizing upon and kidnapping them in their defenceless moments, dragging them across the upon their inhospitable shores, where they are tortured, whipped, immured in dungeons and finally hung by the neck without any legal process whatever. We have memorialized the former executive of this State, upon these lawless outrages committed upon our Citizens but he rendered us no protection. receiving no check in her murderous career continues her depredations. Again and again kidnaping our Citizens and robbing us of our property. While others who fortunately survived the of her bloody edicts are again and again demanded by the of that [p. [5]] on pretence of some crime said to have been committed by them during the exterminating expedition against our people. As an instance, Gen. Joseph Smith one of your Memorialists has been three times demanded, tried and acquitted by the Courts of this upon investigation under writs of once by the Court for the district of , again by the Circuit Court of the State of , and lastly by the Municipal Court of the City of , when at the same time a has been entered by the Courts of . upon all the Cases of that against Joseph Smith and others. Thus the said Joseph Smith has been several times tried for the same alleged offence, put in jeopardy of life and limb contrary to the fifth article of the Amendments to the Constitution of these , and thus we have been continually harassed and robbed of our money to defray the expences of those vexatious prosecutions. And what at the present time seems to be still more alarming is the hostility manifested by some of the authorities and Citizens of this , Conventions have been called, Inflamatory speeches made and many unlawful and unconstitutional resolutions adopted to deprive us of our rights, our liberties and the peaceable enjoyment of our possessions. From the present hostile aspect and from bitter experience in the State of it is greatly feared lest the barbarous scenes acted in that will be re-acted in . If goes unpunished, others will be greatly encouraged to follow her murderous examples. The Afflictions of your Memorialists have already been overwhelming, too much for humanity, too much for American Citizens to endure without complaint— We have groaned under the Iron hand of tyranny and oppression these many years. We have been robbed of our property to the amount of two millions of dollars. We have been hunted as the Wild Beasts of the forest. We have seen our aged fathers who fought in the revolution and our innocent children alike slaughtered by our persecutors. We have seen the fair daughters of American Citizens insulted [p. [6]] and abused in the most inhuman manner, and finally we have seen fifteen thousand souls, men, women, and children driven by force of arms during the severities of winter from their sacred homes and firesides to a land of strangers, penniless and unprotected. Under all these afflicting circumstances we imploringly stretch forth our hands towards the highest Councils of our and humbly appeal to the Illustrious Senators and Representatives of a great and free people for redress and protection. Hear O hear the Petitioning voice of many thousands of American Citizens who now groan in exile on Columbia’s free soil. Hear O Hear the weeping and bitter lamentations of Widows and Orphans whose husbands and fathers have been cruelly martyred in the Land where the proud Eagle exultingly floats. Let it not be recorded in the Archives of the nations that Columbia’s exiles sought protection and redress at your hands but sought it in vain. It is in your power to save us, our wives, and our children from a repetition of the blood thirsty scenes of and greatly relieve the fears of a persecuted and injured people by ordaining for their protection the following ordinance, namely,

An ordinance for the Protection of the People styled the residing on the Western Borders of the State of :

Whereas the State of at sundry times has unconstitutionally deprived a certain portion of her Citizens (called Mormons) of their rights property, lands and even of their lives: And whereas in the years 1838 and 1839 the said State of did illegally and inhumanly exile and banish for ever from her limits and jurisdiction, all the said Ctizens (called Mormon’s) that remained alive, with impunity; And whereas after being hospitably received by the Citizens of , the said State of , did grant, enact, and charter for the benefit and convenience of the said exiled Mormons as follows. [p. [7]]

Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of represented in the General Assembly, That all that District of country embraced within the following boundaries, to wit; beginning at the north east corner of section thirty one, in township seven, north of range eight, west of the fourth principal meridian, in the County of , and running thence west to the northwest corner of said Section; thence north to the ; thence west to the middle of the Main Channel of the said ; thence down the middle of said Channel to a point due west of the south east corner of fractional section number twelve; in township six, north of range nine, west of the fourth principal meridian; thence east to the south east corner of said section twelve; thence north on the range line between township six north and range eight and nine west, to the southwest corner of section six, in township six, north of range eight west; thence east to the south east corner of said section; thence north to the place of beginning; including the town plats of and , shall hereafter be called, and known, by the name of the “City of ,” and the inhabitants thereof are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic by the name aforesaid, and shall have perpetual succession, and may have, and use, a common seal, which they may change and alter at pleasure.

Section 2. Whenever any tract of land, adjoining the “City of ”, shall have been laid out into town lots, and duly recorded, according to law, the same shall form a part of “the City of .”

Section 3. The inhabitants of said , by the name and style aforesaid, shall have power to sue, and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity, and in all actions whatsoever; to purchase, receive, and hold property, real and personal in said , to purchase, receive, and hold real property beyond the for burying grounds, or for other public purposes, for the use of the Inhabitants of said , to sell, lease, convey or dispose of property, real and [p. [8]] personal, for the benefit ot the , to improve and protect such property, and to do all other things in relation thereto as natural persons.

Section 4. There shall be a City Council to consist of a Mayor, four Aldermen, and nine Counsellors, who shall have the qualifications of electors of said , and shall be chosen by the qualified voters thereof, and shall hold their offices for two years, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. The City Council shall judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of their own members, and a majority of them shall form a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, under such penalties as may be prescribed by Ordinance.

Section 5. The Mayor, Aldermen, and Counsellors, before entering upon the duties of their offices, shall take and subscribe an Oath or Affirmation that they will support the Constitution of the , and of this , and that they will well and truly perform the duties of their offices to the best of their skill and abilities

Section 6. On the first Monday of February next, and every two years thereafter, an election shall be held for the election of One Mayor, four Aldermen and nine Counsellors, and at the first election under this act, three Judges shall be chosen viva voce by the electors present; the said Judges shall choose two Clerks, and the Judges and Clerks before entering upon their duties shall take and subscribe an Oath or affirmation, such as is now required by law to be taken by judges and clerks of other elections; and at all subsequent elections, the necessary number of judges and clerks shall be appointed by the City Council; At the first election so held the polls shall be opened at nine oclock A. M. and closed at six oclock P.M.; at the close of the polls the votes shall be counted and a statement thereof proclaimed at the front door of the house at which said election shall be held; and the clerks shall leave with each person elected, or at his usual place of residence, within five days after the election, a written notice of his election; and each person so notified shall, within ten days after the election, take the Oath or affirmation herein before mentioned, a certificate [p. [9]] of which oath shall be deposited with the Recorder, whose appointment is hereafter provided for, and be by him preserved; and all subsequent elections shall be held, conducted, and returns thereof made as may be provided for by ordinance of the City Council.

Section 7. All free white male inhabitants who are of the age of twenty one years, who are entitled to vote for state officers, and who shall have been actual residents of said sixty days next preceding said election, shall be entitled to vote for City officers.

Section 8. The City Council shall have authority to levy and collect taxes for city purposes upon all property, real and personal, within the limits of the , not exceeding one half per cent per annum, upon the assessed value thereof, and may enforce the payment of the same in any manner to be provided by ordinance, not repugnant to the Constitution of the , or of this .

Section 9. The City Council shall have power to appoint a Recorder, Treasurer, Assessor, Marshal, Supervisor of Streets, and all such other offices as may be necessary and to prescribe their duties, and remove them from Office at Pleasure.

Section 10. The City Council shall have power to require of all officers appointed in pursuance of this act, bonds with penalty and security, for the faithful performance of their respective duties, such as may be deemed expedient; and also, to require all officers appointed as aforesaid to take an Oath for the faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices.

Section 11. The City Council shall have power and authority to make, ordain, establish, and execute, all such ordinances, not repugnant to the Constitution of the or of this , as they may deem necessary for the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, convenience, and cleanliness, of said ; for the protection of property therein from destruction by fire or otherwise, and for the health, and happiness thereof; they shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen by death, resignation, or removal in any of the offices herein made elective; to fix and establish all the fees of the Officers of said Corporation not [p. [10]] herein established; to impose such fines, not exceeeding one hundred dollars for each offence, as they may deem just, for refusing to accept any office in or under the corporation, or for misconduct therein; to divide the into Wards; to add to the number of Aldermen and Counsellors; and apportion them among the several Wards, as may be most just and conducive to the interest of the .

Section 12. To license, tax, and regulate Auctions, Merchants, Retailers, Grocers, Hawkers, Pedlars, Brokers, Pawnbrokers, and Money changers.

Section 13. The City Council shall have exclusive power within the , by ordinance, to license, regulate, and restrain the keeping of ferries, to regulate the police of the ; to impose fines, forfeitures and penalties, for the breach of any Ordinance, and provide for the recovery of such fines and forfeitures, and the enforcement of such penalties, and to pass such ordinances as may be necessary and proper for carrying into the powers specified in this Act: Provided such ordinances are not repugnant to the Constitution of the , or of this : and, in fine, to exercise such other legislative powers as are conferred on the City Council of the City of , by an act entitled “An Act to incorporate the City of ,” approved February third, one thousand eight hundred and forty.

Section 14. All ordinances passed by the City Council shall, within one month after they shall have been passed, be published in some Newspaper printed in the , or certified copies thereof be posted up in three of the most public places in the .

Section 15. All ordinances of the may be proven by the seal of the Corporation, and when printed or published in book or pamphlet form, purporting to be printed or published by authority of the Corporation, the same shall be received in evidence in all courts or places without further proof.

Section 16. The Mayor and Aldermen shall be conservators of the peace within the limits of said , and shall have all the powers of Justices of the peace therein, both in civil and criminal cases arising under the laws of the : they shall, [p. [11]] as Justices of the Peace, within the limits of said , perform the same duties, be governed by the same Laws, give the same bonds and security, as other Justices of the Peace, and be commissioned as Justices of the Peace in and for said by the Governor.

Section 17. The Mayor shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases arising under the Ordinances of the Corporation, and shall issue such process as may be necessary to carry said ordinances into and effect; appeals may be had from any decision or Judgment of said Mayor or Alderman, arising under the City Ordinances, to the Municipal Court, under such regulations as may be presented by Ordinance; which Court shall be composed of the Mayor, as Chief Justice, and the Aldermen as Associate Justices, and from the final Judment of the Municipal Court, to the Circuit Court of , in the same manner as appeals are taken from judgments of Justices of the Peace; Provided that the Parties litigant shall have a right to a trial by a jury of twelve men, in all cases before the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court shall have power to grant writs of in all cases arising under the ordinances of the City Council.

Section 18. The Municipal Court shall sit on the first Monday of every month, and the City Council at such times and place as may be prescribed by City Ordinance; special meetings of which may at any time be called by the Mayor or any two Aldermen.

Section 19. All process issued by the Mayor, Aldermen or Municipal Court, shall be directed to the Marshal, and in the execution thereof he shall be governed by the same laws as are, or may be, prescribed for the direction and compensation of Constables in similar cases. The Marshall shall also perform such other duties as may be required of him under the ordinances of said , and shall be the principal ministerial officer. [p. [12]]

Section 20. It shall be the duty of the Recorder to make and keep accurate records of all ordinances made by the City Council, and of all their proceedings in their corporate capacity, which record shall at all times be open to the inspection of the Electors of said , and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the Ordinances of the City Council, and shall serve as Clerk of the Municipal Court.

Section 21. When it shall be necessary to take private property for opening, widening or altering any public street, lane, avenue, or alley, the corporation shall make a just compensation therefore to the person whose property is so taken; and if the amount of such compensation cannot be agreed upon, the Mayor shall cause the same to be ascertained by a jury of six disinterested freeholders of the .

Section 22 All jurors empanelled to enquire into the amount of benefits or damages that shall happen to the owners of property, so proposed to be taken, shall first be sworn to that effect, and shall return to the Mayor their inquest in writing, signed by each Juror.

Section 23. In case the Mayor shall at any time be guilty of a palpable omission of duty, or shall wilfully and corruptly be guilty of oppression mal conduct, or partiality in the discharge of the duties of his office, he shall be liable to be indicted in the Circuit Court of , and on conviction he shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars, and the Court shall have power, on the recommendation of the Jury <​to add to the judgment of the Court​> that he be removed from office.

Section 24. The City Council may establish and organize an Institution of learning within the limits of the , for [th]e teaching of the [Arts,] Sciences and learned professions, to be called the “University of the City of ,” which institution shall be under the control and management of a Board of Trustees, consisting of a Chancellor Registrar, and twenty three Regents; which Board shall thereafter be a [p. [13]] body corporate and politic with perpetual succession, by the name of the “Chancellor and Regents of the University of the City of ,” and shall have full power to pass, ordain, establish and execute all such laws and ordinances as they may consider necessary for the welfare and prosperity of said University, its officers, and students; Provided, that the said laws and ordinances shall not be repugnant to the constitution of the , or of this ; and Provided, also, that the Trustees shall at all times be appointed by the City Council, and shall have all the powers and privileges for the advancement of the cause of education which appertain to the Trustees of any other College or University of this .

Section 25. The City Council may organize the inhabitants of said , subject to Military duty, into a body of Independent Military Men to be called the “,” the Court Martial of which shall be composed of the Commissioned Officers of said Legion, and constitute the law making department, with full powers and authority to make, ordain, establish, and execute, all such laws and ordinances as may be considered necessary for the benefit, government and regulation of said Legion; Provided, said Court Martial shall pass no law or act repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the Constitution of the , or of this ; and, Provided, also, that the Officers of the Legion shall be commissioned by the Governor of the . The said Legion shall perform the same amount of Military duty as is now, or may be hereafter, required of the regular Militia of the , and shall be at the disposal of the Mayor in executing the laws and ordinances of the City Corporation and the laws of the and at the disposal of the Governor for the public defence, and the of the laws of the , or of the , and shall be entitled to their proportion of the public arms; and Provided also, that said Legion shall be exempt from all other Military Duty. [p. [14]]

Section 26. The Inhabitants of the “City of ,” are hereby exempted from working on any road beyond the limits of the , and for the purpose of keeping the Streets, lanes, avenues, and alleys in repair, to require of the male inhabitants of said , over the age of twenty one years, and under fifty years, to labor on said Streets, lanes, avenues, and alleys, not exceeding three days in each year; and any person failing to perform such labor, when duly notified by the supervisor, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one dollar per day for each day so neglected or refused.

Section 27. The City Council shall have power to provide for the punishment of offenders by imprisonment in the or Jail, in all cases when such offenders shall <​fail​> or refuse to pay the fines and forfeitures which may be recovered against them.

Section 28. This act is hereby declared to be a public act, and shall take effect on the first Monday of February next

Approved December 16. 1840.

I. , Secretary of State, do hereby certify that the [foregoing] is a true and perfect copy of the enrolled law now [on file] in my office.

L. S.

By the 2nd. Section of an Act passed January 27. 1841 it is thus enacted. “Section 2. Any Citizen of , may, by voluntary enrollment, attach himself to the , with all the privileges which appertain to that Independent Military Body.”

And whereas by the tenth article of the Constitution of the as amended “Art. 10. The powers not delegated to the by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” And whereas according to the Fourth Article and section second “The Citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of Citizens in the several States.” And whereas according to the second Paragraph of the third Section of said Constitution “The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make the needful rules and regulations respecting territory.” And whereas the said Congress has the power to protect each State against invasion, and insurrection: And whereas most of the Inhabitants of the City of are exiles from the State of : And whereas the most of the lands owned in the State of were purchased from the and patented by the to the amount of more than $200,000 worth; And whereas the are bound to clear the title and protect it; And whereas the said Exiles or expelled Mormons have cost in property and damage about two millions of dollars; And whereas the said State of continues her ravages, persecutions and plunderings by kidnapping said exiles from , and by other depredations.

Now therefore to shew the fatherly care of the : to ratify the said Charter: to protect the said exiles from Mob violence, and shield them in their rights: —

Sec[tion 1] Be it ordained by the Senate and House of Representatives of the in Congress assembled, that all the rights powers privileges and immunities belonging to Territories [a]nd not repugnant to the Constitution of the , are hereby granted and secured to the Inhabitants [p. [16]] of the City of in addition to the Spirit, letter, meaning and provisions of the afore mentioned charter, or a[c]t of Incorporation from the State of , until the State of restores to those exiled Citizens, the lands, rights, privileges, property and damage for all losses.

Section 2. And be it further ordained, in order to effect the object and further intention of this ordinance, and for the peace, security, happiness, convenience, benefit and prosperity of the said City of , and for the common weal, and honor of our ; that the Mayor of , be, and he is hereby empowered, by this consent of the President of the , whenever the actual necessity of the case, and the public safety shall require it, to call to his aid a sufficient number of forces, in connection with the , to repel the invasion of Mobs, keep the public peace, and protect the innocent from the unhallowed ravages of lawless banditti that escape Justice on the Western Frontier: and also to preserve the power and dignity of the .

Section 3. And be it further ordained that the officers of the Army are hereby required to obey the requisitions of this Ordinance.

Section 4. And be it further ordained, that, for all services rendered in quelling Mobs, and preserving the public peace, the said Nauvoo Legion shall be under the same regulations, rules, and laws of pay as the Troops of the .

<​exd.​>

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Memorial [to the honor]able Senators and Representa[tives of t]he in Congress —— assembled ——

Dec 21, 1843

<​to copy​>

<​three copies made for Joseph 10 to 16 Jany.​> [p. [20]]