Nauvoo Legion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nauvoo Legion
General Joseph Smith commanding the Nauvoo Legion infantrymen in formation between 1841 and 1844 in Nauvoo, Illinois, with the Nauvoo Temple on a hill in the background
Active1841-1845
Country United States
Allegiance United States Mayor of Nauvoo
BranchIllinois State Militia (1841–1845)
TypeMilitia
RoleProtect Mormon settlers from domestic and foreign enemies
SizeIllinois State Militia (2,500)
EngagementsIllinois Mormon War (1844–1846)
  • Battle of Nauvoo (1846)
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Lieutenant General Joseph Smith

General John C. Bennett

Brigham Young

Daniel H. Wells

Hosea Stout
The alleged Nauvoo Legion Flag. It is not known if it was used in Nauvoo, Illinois, or in the later Nauvoo Legion Utah period. It may have also been used by the Mormon Battalion in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1847).[1]

The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States from February 4, 1841 until January 29, 1845. It was first led by John C. Bennett, and then by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement and mayor of Nauvoo. Its main function was the defense of Nauvoo and surrounding Latter Day Saint areas of settlement.

In 1845 the Nauvoo Legion lost its official sanction as an arm of the Illinois militia, following a controversy in which the Nauvoo Expositor newspaper was destroyed by the Legion on Joseph Smith's orders.[2][3] Joseph Smith was ordered to the Carthage Jail under charges of treason, where Smith was then killed by a mob.

Formation in Nauvoo[edit]

In 1839, Joseph Smith relocated his followers from a hostile environment in Missouri to Commerce, Illinois, which he renamed Nauvoo. Aiming to win the Mormon voting bloc, Illinois Democrats and Whigs (including Abraham Lincoln) passed a bipartisan city-state charter for Nauvoo in 1840.[4][5] On December 16, 1840 Governor Thomas Carlin approved the charter, which was certified by then Secretary of State Stephen A. Douglas.[4] In February 1841 the law went into effect, granting Smith and the city of Nauvoo broad powers including the authority to create a militia.[5] This military force was a militia similar to the Illinois State Militia, and it became known as the "Nauvoo Legion". The Legion was organized into two regiments (called cohorts) of infantry and one regiment of cavalry. A few light cannons were also attached.[5]

By April 1841, over 600 men had enrolled in the Legion.[6] By the end of 1841 that number had grown to around 1,500.[6] At its peak, the militia had, by conservative estimates, at least 2,500 troops, in comparison to the approximately 8,500 troops within the entire United States Army as of 1845.[7]

The Legion was unique among American militia organizations for its disproportionate number of high-ranking officers to regular soldiers.[5] At one point there were 13 major-generals and an even higher number of brigadier-generals.[5] Other ranks commissioned for the Nauvoo Legion included Judge Advocate, Assistant Chaplain, and Herald and Armour-Bearer.[5] Although the United States army and other contemporary militias held no office higher than a major-general, Joseph Smith held the rank of lieutenant-general, an honor that had not been bestowed on any American since George Washington.[6]

Joseph Mustering the Nauvoo Legion by C.C.A. Christensen


Organizational chain of command[edit]

Nauvoo forming a city militia was uncommon, as typical militias of the time were formed within the county or state.[8][6] The Nauvoo Legion was a regular unit of the Illinois state militia.[6] The state, rather than the county militia, provided arms to the legion, and service in the legion exempted members from mandatory service in the state or county militia.[8][6] Officers in the legion were elected by the legion itself, but officers received their commission from the governor of the state.[5]

The state governor or the President of the United States had the power to call on the Nauvoo Legion for public defense of the state and country.[5] Uncommon for the time, the power to call upon the Legion extended to the mayor of Nauvoo for municipal defense, creating a measure of independence from the county militia and state government.[5] Joseph Smith himself was Nauvoo's second mayor, and the Nauvoo court martial also appointed him as highest-ranking officer of the Legion, a Lieutenant General. Gardner et al. argue that Joseph Smith's use of this power was one of the direct causes for the later suppression of the Legion.[5]

Role of the court martial[edit]

The Nauvoo Legion court martial differed in several ways from contemporary militias. Typical American court martials are judicial entities, created to try military personnel in accordance with military law. The state legislature granted the Nauvoo Legion additional legislative and executive powers: 1) the Nauvoo Legion court martial was granted the power to make, ordain, establish, and execute laws and ordinances and 2) The Nauvoo Legion was placed at the disposal of the city mayor to enforce city laws.[5]

On February 8, 1841, in accordance with the city charter, the Nauvoo City Council further expanded the executive power of the court martial to internally nominate officers for original commissions and promotions at a municipal level.[5] This was also a departure from typical procedure in contemporary state militias. At the same time, it granted the court martial the legislative duty to mirror the United States army “so far as applicable” in terms of discipline, drill, uniform, rules, and regulations.[5]

Activities in Nauvoo[edit]

Laying of the Cornerstone of the Nauvoo Temple[edit]

Joseph Smith addressing the Nauvoo Legion.This was a preliminary sketch done in 1845 for a panorama painting for the Nauvoo Temple that was never completed.[9]

On April 6, 1841 the Nauvoo Legion paraded in a full military display as part of the temple's cornerstone ceremony.[8] Nauvoo's fourteen companies and two volunteer Mormon cohorts marched from assigned points to the temple grounds, led by Brigadier Generals William Law and Don Carlos Smith.[8] Their entrances were marked by artillery fire.[8] At 9:30 am, Lieutenant General Joseph Smith reviewed the Legion, surrounded by guard, staff, and field officers. His entrance was marked by distant cannon fire.[8] He appeared on horseback in full military suit—a black cap with a red plume, a black coat, a red sash, and white pants, edged down the sides with red stripes.[8] Emma Smith rode sidesaddle next to him, followed by a number of women on horseback; during the ceremonies Emma presented Joseph with a silk American flag.[8] They were joined on stage by Major General John C. Bennett.[8] The ceremonies included religious services, public singing, dedicatory prayers, speeches by Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, after which temple architects lowered the southeast corner stone into place.[8] A hollow space in the cornerstone was filled with items such as a Bible, a Book of Mormon, a hymn book and silver money that had been coined that year.[8] The ceremonies concluded with music from the military band and choir.[8]

Local newspaper owner Thomas C. Sharp attended the ceremonies as a visiting dignitary.[8] This event, combined with John C. Bennett's appointment by Stephen Douglas to Master in Chancery in Hancock County, led Sharp to become a leading opponent of Joseph Smith.[10] Sharp reflected a growing sentiment in Illinois that the combined military and religious Latter Day Saint community posed a threat to the democratic values of individual freedom and separation of church and state, writing, "Every thing they say or do seems to breathe the spirit of military tactics. Their prophet appears, on all great occasions in his splendid regimental dress.... Truly fighting must, be a part of the creed of these Saints!"[8]

Junior legion[edit]

Up to 600 boys from Nauvoo decided to form a military unit in imitation of their fathers, and would parade and drill whenever their fathers did so.[8] Their mothers made uniforms for them; white pants, colorful blouse and a palm hat.[11] Joseph Smith III as a boy carried a wooden sword and a banner that read, "Our fathers we respect; our mothers we'll protect."[8] Other boys also had wooden guns.[11] At one point, they decided to conduct a raid on Nauvoo, mustering outside of town and then rushing into the city. They used pots and pans to make noise as they marched in, causing the horses to panic. According to Joseph Smith III, Joseph Smith rode forward on his horse and the boys scattered.[8]

Military Demonstrations[edit]

The Nauvoo Legion would sometimes perform theatrical military displays to garner local support.[8] On May 7, 1842 the Nauvoo Legion mustered as part of a “Programme Militaire.”[8] They performed a sham battle and Joseph Smith gave an address.[8] Special guests, including Judge Stephen A. Douglas, attended and were invited to Smith’s home for dinner.[8] This event marked a breaking point in the strained relationship between Joseph Smith and John C. Bennett.[8][10] During the sham battle, Bennett had asked Joseph to move to the rear of the cavalry without his usual guards; Albert Rockwood, commander of the prophet’s bodyguards, objected and Smith chose a different spot.[10] Rumors spread that Bennett had attempted to assassinate Smith during the demonstration.[8][10] Although not the only factor in the dissolution of their collaboration, by the end of the month Bennett resigned from office of mayor, was removed from leadership in the Nauvoo Legion, was expelled from the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge, and was excommunicated from the church.[8][10]

Thwarted Extradition of Joseph Smith[edit]

On June 17, 1843, a warrant for Joseph Smith’s arrest was jointly issued by Illinois Governor Thomas Ford and Missouri Governor Thomas Reynolds on grounds of treason.[8] On June 23 Joseph Smith was arrested in the town of Dixon and preparations made to extradite him to Missouri.[8] [10] In response, the Nauvoo City council enacted what amounted to martial law and Nauvoo Legion troops organized and waited for instruction. [8]

On June 25, Joseph Smith sent a letter to Wilson Law, general in the Nauvoo Legion, asking him to bring a force to prevent his “being kidnapped into Missouri.”[8] In all, between 100-300 men left Nauvoo to rescue Joseph Smith. [8][10] On June 27, Nauvoo Legion scouts intercepted the arresting party and Joseph Smith told his captors, “I am not going to Missouri this time. These are my boys!”[8]

On June 29, Generals Wilson and William Law, 60 of the Nauvoo cavalry, and 100 additional men escorted the party to Nauvoo, where Joseph Smith was released by the municipal court.[8] Smith spent the next few days greeting volunteer units of the Nauvoo Legion as they returned home, blessing them for their loyalty and efforts, and recounting the story of his kidnapping and triumphant return.[8]

Nauvoo under Mormon martial law[edit]

Last Public Address of Lieutenant General Joseph Smith by John Hafen, 1888

Tensions between Nauvoo and surrounding non-Mormon settlements peaked by the summer of 1844, in part because the Nauvoo Legion came to be regarded as Smith's private army.[4] Governor Thomas Ford called the militia "a military force at their own command."[4][5] Tensions were further exacerbated by defectors from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including brothers William Law and Wilson Law, who was the Legion's ranking major General.[5] The Laws were key in starting the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper critical of Joseph Smith and his doctrines of plural marriage.

On June 10, 1844, the Nauvoo City council declared the Nauvoo Expositor to be a public nuisance.[5] Joseph Smith ordered acting major general Jonathan Dunham to use the Nauvoo Legion in assisting the city marshal to destroy the Expositor press and equipment.[5] Non-Mormons claimed the Legion was instrumental in destroying the press and called for the arrest of Joseph Smith and other members of the city council for riot.[5] They were arrested but released by the Nauvoo city court on a writ of habeas corpus.[5]

In response to the rising tensions, the Nauvoo Legion was called out and the city placed under martial law.[5] An opposing force mobilized of armed Illinois Militia, numbered between 1600-1800 men.[5] Offering his protection if they surrendered, Governor Ford disbanded the militia and Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith agreed to submit to arrest on charges of inciting a riot.[5] On June 27, 1844 the Carthage Jail where they were held was attacked and they were killed.

Legion survival after death of Joseph Smith[edit]

The death of Joseph Smith caused a succession crisis over who would lead the Church going forward.[12] Brigham Young began to take on roles the Joseph Smith previously had, and on August 31, 1844 he was elected as the legion's "Lieutenant General".[12][13] Previously, Young had been an assistant chaplain in the Legion.[11] In September, Young reviewed the Legion with Illinois Governor Thomas Ford in the audience. Ford had come to Nauvoo to intimidate anti-Mormon vigilantes after hearing rumors of impending attacks on Nauvoo.[12]

On December 19th, the Illinois Senate voted to repeal the Nauvoo Charter, and on January 24th the Illinois House passed its own version of legislation.[6] On January 29th 1845, the Illinois council of revision signed the repeal, and the Nauvoo Legion was no longer recognized as state militia.[6][14][15] Depleted of its official status, remnants assumed roles such as guardians of the wagon companies heading west after being reorganized by Hosea Stout on September 22, 1846, as they amassed on the other side of the Mississippi River in the territory of Iowa where the citizens of Nauvoo were safe from attack by mobs and Illinois and Missouri militia, and waited for winter to end so they could migrate.[citation needed] An area memorialized by the somber Far West cemetery and LDS Temple.

There are however some reported incidents in diaries of Saints concerning gunfire exchange between legion members and mobs during the Nauvoo era.[citation needed] And also legion members participated in the rescue of Joseph from the state Militia who had unlawfully arrested him after luring him to what was supposed to be a peaceful political debate and were going to hang him.[citation needed]

Whistling and Whittling Brigade[edit]

With the repeal of the Nauvoo Charter, the city was left without an official militia or police force.[16][17] In response, in March 1845 Brigham Young organized the Bishops and Deacons to 1) “take care of the poor” and 2) guard the city at night, to keep everything straight.”[16] Out of these efforts came an organization known as the Whistling and Whittling Brigade who used legal, nonviolent means to monitor apostates, strangers, "Gentiles," or enemies and encourage them to leave town.[16][17] Members would surround and follow suspicious individuals without engaging in conversation; They whittled pieces of wood, casting shavings in the person’s direction, all while whistling, gathering more members of the group.[16][17] The organization lasted for less than two months and was phased out as Nauvoo regained law enforcement.[17] Initially composed of adult men, the group attracted more and more youth until by April, boys as young as twelve took on active roles as Whittlers.[17] This shift in demographic corresponded with increased criticism from within and without Nauvoo.[16][17]

Battle of Nauvoo[edit]

Depiction of the Battle of Nauvoo by C.C.A. Christensen

On September 10, 1846, 1,000 members of the anti-Mormon party marched on Nauvoo to expel the remaining several hundred Mormon citizens. [18] In response, 150 men of Nauvoo gathered to defend themselves while women and children sheltered near the Temple.[18][19] They were divided into the Spartan Band--remnant members of the Nauvoo Legion--and the Kill Devil Company--a group of non-Mormon New Citizens who were weary of anti-Mormon antagonism and hoped to defend their newly purchased property. [18][19] Over the next five days the band of 150 withstood the siege of 1,000 men through methods such as guerrilla warfare, placing mines called a “hell’s half acre”, and building up bulwarks.[18] A steamboat shaft was turned into a makeshift cannon.[18][19] Some women “gleaned” fields by collecting the anti-Mormon’s discharged cannon balls to be reused in Mormon cannons.[18] Three Mormons were killed and several injured on both sides.[19]

On September 16, 1846, the Mormons surrendered, knowing that they could not withstand the siege indefinitely.[18][19] They agreed to leave Nauvoo within five days.[18][19] Even with the treaty terms, anti-Mormon militia members harassed the Mormons by ordering some out of the city at the point of a bayonet, entering the temple and shouting obscenities from the belltower, interfering with the burials, and searching departing wagons to remove weapons and goods.[18][19]

Legacy[edit]

Not long after the arrival of the Mormons in Iowa in 1846, Mormon legionnaires, many of whom were former members of the Nauvoo Legion, volunteered to serve in the 500 man Mormon Battalion for the U.S. government military expedition to Mexican California during the Mexican–American War.

Upon arrival to Utah in 1847, Brigham Young formed a territorial militia. In 1852 the militia was named the "Nauvoo Legion" in homage to the previous Illinois militia.

Uniforms, weapons, and equipment[edit]

12 Pound Carronade located at the Church History Museum. Used by the Nauvoo Legion in Nauvoo.

The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois was able to draw on Federal stands of arms. The most common musket issued to these militiamen was the Model 1816 Musket. This flintlock musket was an American built copy of the French 1777 Musket Model. Also, the Harper's Ferry Model 1803 Rifle was issued in smaller quantities. Personal arms were also used. A carronade, a ship cannon, was purchased by the legion in Nauvoo. It was carried to Salt Lake by the early party that occasionally used it as a speakers podium. It was nicknamed the "Old Sow" and is on display at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Groote, M. D. (2010, January 7). Secrets of the patriarch’s bear flag. Deseret News.
  2. ^ Wicks, Robert S., and Fred R. Foister. “Retributive Justice.” Junius And Joseph: Presidential Politics and the Assassination of the First Mormon Prophet, University Press of Colorado, 2005, pp. 132–44. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt4cgn0s.16. Accessed September 17, 2022.
  3. ^ Allaman (1990, p. 10).
  4. ^ a b c d Nelson R. Burr (February 1949). "The Charter of the Mormon City Of Nauvoo". Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions. 6 (2). Library of Congress: 3–5. JSTOR 29780530. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Hamilton Gardner; John C. Bennett; James Sloan; M. K. Anderson; James Shepherd (Summer 1961). "The Nauvoo Legion, 1840-1845: A Unique Military Organization". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 54 (2). University of Illinois Press: 181–97. JSTOR 40189784. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Park, Benjamin E. Kingdom of Nauvoo the Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021. Page 49
  7. ^ Allaman (1990, p. 11).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Bradley-Evans, M. (2016). Glorious in persecution: Joseph Smith, American prophet, 1839-1844. Smith-Pettit Foundation.
  9. ^ Major, Jill C. “Artworks in the Celestial Room of the First Nauvoo Temple.” Brigham Young University Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, Brigham Young University, 2002, pp. 47–69, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43044321.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Bushman, Richard Lyman (2005). Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-4270-4.
  11. ^ a b c Leonard, Glen M. (1995) "Picturing the Nauvoo Legion," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 35 : Iss. 2 , Article 8
  12. ^ a b c Turner, J. G. (2014). Brigham young: Pioneer prophet. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. page 119-120
  13. ^ Young, B., Smith, G. D., & Turner, J. G. (2021). Brigham Young, colonizer of the American west: Diaries and office journals, 1832-1871. Signature Books. location 3789 of 17847
  14. ^ "Nauvoo Charter" Joseph Smith Papers project. Updated 2021-04-13
  15. ^ Bennett, R. E., Black, S. E., & Cannon, D. Q. (2010). The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois: A history of the Mormon Militia, 1841-1846. Arthur H. Clark Co./University of Oklahoma Press.
  16. ^ a b c d e Moody, Thurmon Dean (1975) "Nauvoo's Whistling and Whittling Brigade," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 15: Iss. 4, Article 8. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1738&context=byusq. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e f Jeffrey David Mahas. “‘I Intend to Get Up a Whistling School’: The Nauvoo Whistling and Whittling Movement, American Vigilante Tradition, and Mormon Theocratic Thought.” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 43, no. 4, 2017, pp. 37–67. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5406/jmormhist.43.4.0037. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i Godfrey, Kenneth W. “The Battle of Nauvoo Revisited.” The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, 2002, pp. 133–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43200410. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Ryan K. “Battle of Nauvoo.” L. Tom Perry Special Collections: Special Collections Blog, 2014 Harold B. Lee Library, BYU https://scblog.lib.byu.edu/2014/09/14/battle-of-nauvoo/

References[edit]