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 TRUE AND DESCRIPTIVE 
 
 ^©©©QJIIMT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 assassination 
 
 or 
 
 JOSEPH & HIRAM SMITH, 
 
 V 
 
 THE MORMON PROPHET AND PATRIARCH* 
 
 At CARIHAGE, Illinois 
 
 v#. 
 
 June 37th, 1844, 
 
 BT AN ETE WITNESS, 
 
 T. A. LYNE, 
 
 L«t« tf Om 6ug#> 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED THE 
 
 SPEECH OF H. L. REID, 
 
 i L 80 . 
 
 SPEECH OF JAMES W. WOODS. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 A. BRIEF OUTLINE 
 
 or’FIIK 
 
 FAITH AND DOCTRINE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LATTER DAST SAINTS. 
 
 s py. 
 
 * / 
 
 
 NEVY-YORK i 
 
 PRINTED BY C, A. CALHOUN; 
 
 No. 1 Division.Street! . 
 
 • 1844. \ f'<v 
 
 *< ., ' . i i 
 
 
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 I certify that this Phamplet is a true statement of the leate melan- 
 cholly facts that transpired at Nauvoo and its vicinity. 
 
 ELDER G. J. ADAMS. 
 
 
 V 
 
PM 
 
 t c nt 
 
 A TRUE AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT 
 
 I 
 
 OF THE LATE AND EVER TO BE 
 
 LAMENTED TROUBLES AT NAUVQO. 
 
 The urdersigned offers this tc his friends and a liberal public as a 
 true statement, deeming this truly necessary, to correct the many 
 exaggerations that the penny-a-liners are ever ready to snatch at to 
 feed the unhallowed maws of the mad religious fanatics, who, had 
 they power, would strew your limbs on the vast prairies of our once 
 happy republic, where every man once had the liberty of worshipping 
 his G</d,: as his reason dictated, “and there was none to make 
 him afraid.” Alas ! those happy days are gone, gone I fear never 
 to return under the bright escutcheon of our nation’s banner. 
 But away with such gloomy forebodings, for they war with that 
 nature that has one spark of patriotism to lcindlo the fire of liberty’s 
 altar. Under emotions trying and painful wo proceed to give a fair 
 and impartial account of acts for hellishness of character, I will give 
 you the annals of sacred and profane history for latitude to find me 
 an equal in enormity ; cowardice, treachery, the fa ; th of men, the 
 honor of a sovereign slate, coupled with the fidelity of the executive 
 of its government, you cannot find a parallel to this most savage-like 
 tragedy, enacted in the meridian of the nineteenth century, when 
 every hamlet rears its church spire as an insignia that there is tho 
 sanctuary of the Most High God. O ! foul blot upon the page of a 
 \ nation’s history, what mineral of virtue will extract thy infamy, that 
 we may hail at home and abroad without a blush, that we are tho sons 
 of righteous America. 
 
 First, then, let tho liberal and civilized world bo instructed that 
 Nauvoo is a city with a charter liberal; with all the privileges that a 
 legislature could grant has been lavished no doubt by tho ascendant 
 power to secure the “ Mormon” influence as a strong card in the 
 game of politics. Among other indulgences for our most “ sweet 
 voices,” was the act of habeas corpus, granted, when it has been 
 called into action, to defend the “ Mormons” from religious and poli¬ 
 tical persecutions. The defeated cormorants, that would at once 
 slay soul and body to obtain the consummation of their hellish plans, 
 have started all the little dogs, and disaffected of our land, to swell 
 the loud yell of usurpation of power by the Mormons, and rumour 
 with her thousaud tongues, vomiting forth her poisonous lies till truth 
 itself dare scarce raise its head to contradict the Yile calumny. Among 
 
4 
 
 the city laws stands this conspicuous, that the Mayor and Common 
 Council have the power to remove and abolish all unlicensed estab-* 
 lishmenis, which shall he declared, in their wisdom, as a nuisance— 
 their authority Blackstcnc, Under this head, after mature delibera¬ 
 tion, fell the filthy and disgusting sheet, yclept, the “Nauyoo Exposi¬ 
 tor, n having no purpose to work righteousness, but all evil, destitute 
 of the common* but to them uncommon, quality which may be had 
 without cost, common honesty and c nnmon truth, having for its chief 
 aim revenge on those who had cherished them as brothers, shared 
 largely in their confidence, and as such might have remained ; but, 
 salan-like, their ambition to be greater than the Master-builder, has 
 hurled them from their once high estate ; their minds darkened, they 
 stumbled from sin to sin, until patience ceased to be a virtue, and 
 the church excommunicated them. Of all enemies save us from the 
 apostates of any creed ; match them alone, with those who will be¬ 
 tray the confidence of others after having sacredly embraced it; that 
 once gone, no circumference is wide enough for their bounding wick¬ 
 edness ; the smell and $tain of blood is fuel to their Cain-like souls. 
 Well, in view of evil which might be wrought by these half-a-dozen 
 demons in man’s image, disgracing God’s fair outline, their engine 
 that circulated the foul spfcwings of their dark and foul engenderings, 
 viz : their presswsia destroyed. This destruction would, and I suppose 
 will, be paid in full for the overtact, if it could be made out so. Under 
 such trying circumstance the lives& property of thousands w'us threat¬ 
 ened by those whose evil deeds they have scarcely frowned on, or if 
 at all, more in sorrow than in anger, threatened with earthly annihi¬ 
 lation. These men had a desperato stake at issue, they had on a 
 small capital, with the credit they had gained while members of tho 
 Mormon Church, built largoly. Now we’ll incite the spirit of mobo- 
 cracy, which has become an epidemic in our land, drive out the inno¬ 
 cent community ofNauvoo ; it clears us of our liabilities, a compro¬ 
 mise with the sackers ; we shall then become the masters of the 
 beautiful city ofNauvoo. O ! the limits of a folio would not explain 
 the deep moves of this wily party. Now for revenge, not pay, for 
 damages done, spouters of all vocations, from the blackleg to the 
 minister of the gospel, were engaged ; all sorts of inflammatory 
 speeches trumpeted forth to work upon the sincerity of the honest, 
 by gross libels,— u trampling tlu sacred laws of the Constitution under 
 Jool” —“ the liberty oj the press” —“ a law breaking people —“ arouse 
 citizens oj Illinois !t — 41 buckle on your annour”— 44 the Mormons ”— 
 44 the crisis has arriped that calls Jor all your energies to punish home 
 t his high-handed act —“ indiscriminate extermination to ?/ian, woman , 
 and child”— u be the word of our onset ”— 44 vtugeance” —with such 
 cheering epithets, to encourago the wicked to acts of blood upon the 
 Mormons. Citizens of the United States, do you know this comrnu- 
 
Aity, they ave your brethren, diffeiing only, hi* true, on most impor¬ 
 tant points as to the Gospel of Christ, but in that, and in all else, if 
 our Constitution is worth any thin*;, your free and equal citizens, 
 whose fathers purchased by the dear sacrifice of their blood, the rights 
 that many are now ready to destroy. Who is there so traitorous to 
 the love of country as would try to alienate one true heart from the 
 stars and stripes of our hitherto justly boasted republic, I hope the 
 number is few ; remember when you make war upon men for their 
 religious feelings you touch the chords that will produce the most 
 dreadful discord ; all ties sink into nothingness when their God and 
 their faith is a consideration, to which all temporal things unhesitating¬ 
 ly give place. I need not refer you tothe cause that drove the pilgrims 
 to our land, back to the manifold persecution since the days of Christ 
 and hi? followers. As to the liberty of the press being made a pre- 
 tert for this ungodly move to drive the Mormons, I think in the pre¬ 
 sent case, the word “abusers’’ of the press would be most appropri¬ 
 ate if inserted. What arc the knights of the type afraid of that they 
 .so readily join their power with the wicked I do they think this wdl 
 become a precedent, and they will have to limit their gall for the fu¬ 
 ture, and every honest man’s character* shall not be at the merciful 
 option of every unprincipled editor? we are protected, say they by 
 our glorious Constitution, and under its protecting wings cvciy scoun¬ 
 drel that can beg or filch a few hundred dollars, may purchase this 
 foimidublo engine, and with the brood charter of liberty of the press, 
 may a-t once elevate himself to the dignity of editorship, the guardian 
 of the people’s morals, without a requisite of’ a moral religious char¬ 
 acter ; but, abundantly rife in every essential of wickedness, we wish 
 for no censorship over the press, hut let the men that stand at the 
 head of our public journals be patronised for the wholesome truths 
 that shall grace their columns, rather than the digusting ribaldry that 
 is now disseminating ‘its poisonous intluence over our once justly 
 governed land. O ! for an acting discriminating power, that we 
 . might shear some of theke unrighteous would-be editors of their large 
 liberty, the freedom of the press. Such was the filthy and depraved 
 character of the “ Nauvoo Expositor,” not as a useful press, but as 
 a most offensive nuisance; destroyed in the wisdom of the Mayor nnd 
 Council, with the honest intention of paying for the same; no mob was 
 required to carry this into execution ; the marshal, Mr. Green, going 
 with a ffw individuals takes this most pernicious abuser of the liberty 
 of tht j/resSf and with the aid of a siege-hammer breaks it to pieces, 
 and burns the fixtures. Now, let me add, by way of trespassing 
 upon the rights of the press, as a palliation, here was the character 
 .of an entire city defamed beyond all limits, the characters of inno¬ 
 cent and timid females exposed to the world as lost and abandoned to 
 Cvery principle of virtue, by suffering this vehicle to issue more of its 
 
I 
 
 obscene numbers where, in a cily of u poj ula ion of 15,000, they had 
 not for its patrons, a tythe of tho twentieth part of that respectable 
 number, conveying the notion to the world that half thb population 
 wa^ infected, or we, tacitly acknowledging the same to exist ; was it 
 safe under such desperate circumstances to allow it to vomit lorth 
 another number to excite tho surrounding counties, that were already 
 strongly prejudiced against the Mormon body, in consequence of the 
 vile misrepresentations as to their religious observances. But, to 
 leave this part of the subject, they can only feel, and then judge, who 
 have known th it despeiale diseases require like remedies ; while 
 they waited th 3 laws’ delay, the Mormons would have been driven 
 from their homo-;, and I add, without a lie, the shedding of much in¬ 
 nocent blood. YVhat control a inob of the 19th century, under a 
 religious enthusiasm that they w'ould render their God an important 
 service by destroying this people from the land where the narrow 
 chambers of death hold the bones of their fathers. 
 
 The world is ignorant of this fact, that a conspiracy was formed 
 some months prior to this, having for its object the entire destruc¬ 
 tion of the Smith family, but God for bis own wise purposes permit¬ 
 ted it not; time I believe will devclope his design ; giadually the evil 
 one was approximating his machinations to a bloody climax ; now to 
 act under the ambush of the law, we will send a writ for the Mayor 
 and Common Council of Nauvoo to como to Carthage, and be tried 
 tor the offence of destroying the press under the support of tho Laws, 
 Fosters and Iligbees the constable, was no! what an ofheer should 
 he, viz., a gentleman. I was standing near Joseph Smith when this 
 high authority was served; after some altercation ns to the right of 
 dragging a mayor and Corporation to a country squire for trial. I 
 gave my advice under the threatening aspect of things; right or wrong 
 I would not go, his life w'as all they wanted, pot justice, knowing this 
 would be tha result. They had a right to try the case before the 
 Municipal Court at Nauvoo, or at tie nearest justice, which was at 
 Apaneaus; my man with a little brief authority, with imprecations, 
 insisted on their going to Carthage ; the act of habeas corpus rescued 
 them from this arbitrary course, and let me add, a fair and imparti.il 
 trial was held as to the Cartlnge writ, and they were honourably ac¬ 
 quitted. Now large masses of people were gathering, in the interim, 
 at Carthage and Warsaw; the militia from several counties, as if some 
 dreadful invasion was threatened by the allied powers of Kurope, were 
 coming in all directions. I wonder if these bra/e spirits that are so 
 ready to exterminate their neighbors, I might say brothers by the ties 
 of consanguinity, would grasp the war knife and (he rifle with tho 
 same alacrity in defence of their country and their flag ? I doubt it ; • 
 I would only trust them in the body of a formidable “ van and rear.” 
 Now know, 0! people of the world! Joseph Smith’s position! 
 
 
7 
 
 Lieutenant General of the forces of Illinois, subject to the order of 
 the Governor, and the United States of America, Major of the city 
 of Navuoo; in possession of all tho authority that those high stations, 
 military and civil, could confer on him ; add to this the founder of a 
 clvirch, who, in the short space of fourteen years, in defiance of all 
 religious persecutions, can tell the astounded world his followers at 
 an honest estimate, are 150,000 to 200,000. Letters were address¬ 
 ed to the 'executive of the state, asking advice and his interference. 
 
 In the interim, JVauvoo and its inhabitants threatened with destruction 
 and total extermination, prompt were the measures proposed and as 
 promptly obeyed ; the Legion were ordered to protect the city, the 
 wives and children ot those absent and present ; for learn, O ! brave 
 spirits, there are from seven hundred to a thousand men absent, g od 
 and true, who would di& cheerfully in the cause of God, in defence of 
 their country, their wives and little ones ; and these are J\1onnons, 
 preaching the everlasting gospel, which is the gospei of Jesus Christ 
 rc-egtablished in the last days. A few hours after orders were given, 
 four thousand men were seen in Nauvoo, with a courage not to be 
 disputed ; one half of this number were men who had been goaded, 
 whipped, and their'brethren slaughtered in the state of Missouri, hunt¬ 
 ed from the soil where they had reared their comfortable dwellings, 
 and planted their vineyards ; their old wrongs half forgotten, in their 
 charity, and forgiven ; obeying the divine commandment of their Lord 
 and Master, Jesus Christ, came back again with the persecuted man ; 
 but still those brave spirits were quieted by the kind voice of him who 
 now sleeps the peaceful rest of a just man made perfect ; and the 
 head of a great and a mighty people has gone to the world of spirits, 
 brethren we will put our trust in Israel’s God to protect our church 
 and homes. On the 21st of June the Legion were reviewed by 
 Joseph Smith and his staff; strange were my feelings when riding by 
 his side, scanning features of men of every clime and every creed : 
 there were honest infidels there, thank God not against our country or 
 its blessed laws, but against the wicked and hellish spirit of mobo- 
 ciacy ; arrayed in battle order to try by deadly confiict, whether we, 
 the sons of America, have a right to worship our God in our way.— 
 We will not be the aggressors, but contend unto the death. The 
 privileges which God and our constitution has guarantied to us, to 
 wit, the honest enjoyment of all blessings that tho free denizens of 
 tho United States are entitled to, of a temporal character, and tho 
 unquestionable right to beTieve in the Old and New Testament, which 
 wc believe means what it says, and says what it means. We are 
 commanded to seach the Scriptures* Do so; and compare them 
 with the Mormon creed, and you must become proselytes to the re¬ 
 ligion of the “ Latter-day Saints.” The city was now well guarded, 
 and prepared for the contest. All was excitement without the city, 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
8 
 
 and in the towns on the river; farmers forsaking their homesteads, 
 the steamboats well freighted with timid women and their frightened 
 protectors ; while at Nauvoo, in the prattle of children to the auxious 
 parent was asked the fearful question, Will the mob drive us away 
 and burn our homes, and kill our paronts? Is this America? And, 
 has priestcraft spread its unhallowed leaven throughout our land, that 
 for opinion sake, as to the mode to climb to heaven, man will butcher 
 his fellow man, and lay his fair country a waste, which has been hail¬ 
 ed and sung in earth’s remotest ends, as the 1 land of the free anu (he 
 home of the brave” : let us close the book of our imagination, und 
 call it a dream, it is too frightful to be reality. Messengers were 
 passing back and forth with instructions from Nauvoo and Carthage; 
 the mob burning to revenge themselves on a people who had never 
 injured them ; but their feelings had been played upon by the ene¬ 
 mies of Mormonism, who in their holy zeal to destroy them, had 
 caution enough to screen themselves, and to let you stai.d as the as¬ 
 sassinators ; they were the planners, and you the tools to work with ; 
 they aloof from the law and safe, while you would stand branded by 
 the world as murderers, and your souls lost to heaven—for no shed- 
 der of innocent blood shall enter there. The Governor of Illinois 
 arrives at Carthage,—is familiar with the abettors of this work,—de¬ 
 mands the mayor and common council of Nauvoo on the original 
 writ issued at Carthage—it is not now a question of law,—but obey 
 the mandate sent, or take the consequences. And what are they ? 
 Why, consider every bouse in Nauvoo with a keg of powder under 
 it, and a spark ready to ignite ; and, I cannot answer for the violence 
 of a mob upon the inhabitants ; disband the Nauvoo legion—they 
 are not required—I will send a company to defend you. Captain 
 Singleton, with about sixty men to defend Nauvoo, arrived. Sur¬ 
 render the Stalo arms ;—come without a guard to Carthage— my 
 honor and the Jaith oj a sovereign state is pledged for your personal 
 safety. Every request of ihe Governor had been, as good citizens, 
 complied with ; a patient, suffering, and law abiding people, and as 
 such stand recorded in the ledger of heaven. Show me a commu¬ 
 nity threatened as they were by a desperate mob, with their wounds 
 hardly healed from their sufferings in Missouri,aheir substance wast¬ 
 ed, their forms of religion scoffed at, rated as fanatics, denounced as 
 men of the basest characters, and then hear their leader mildly soy ; 
 Brethren to your several homes ; trust once more to the powers that 
 be, and your prayers to Israel’^ God for our deliverance : and, like 
 dutiful children they obeyed that kind voice—to my astonishment, I 
 confess. I defy the world to produce a sect or party who would have 
 been passive under like circumstances. Think you one fear urged 
 submission ? let my simple No, be word enough for the refutation of 
 the base slander. They came there ready and w illing to die, if the 
 sacrifice was necessary, for their church and God. 
 
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 On Monday, J. and H, Smith, Dr. Richards, J. Taylor, with a few 
 friends, went to Carthage, too late that day to transact business.— 
 Joseph and Hirum lodged that night in or near the chamber of the 
 Governor. The following day he wrote a letter to his wife, which 
 quieted the fears of the people ; its tenor was encouraging; he had 
 passed a good night; but the very atmosphere of Carthage was foul 
 with imprecations that burst from hearts of murderers, already so, save 
 in opportunity to complete the act that has forever damned them, learn 
 j fiends in human shape, you have gone a step beyond repentance ; 
 
 . to your graves you’ll crawl, dreading exposure as you move through 
 the mazes of life'; but the eye of God is on you, and should you 
 j escape unwhipt of justice, through the lenity of your executive, the 
 curses of 'the honest will cross you at every turn, while the prayers 
 of the Saints will fill all space in Jehovah’s mansion, till their wrongs 
 are well avenged. Be sure, you ore fully damned here, and in the 
 world to come. 0 ! murderers of your own souls, your country’s 
 honour, and its sacred laws! hide your painted carcasses from the 
 bright god of day; seek the dark caves of earth, or speed to the 
 dark chambers of hell, to your kindred spirits, where without doubt 
 you have pre-existed. Have you mothers, wives, children, may they 
 f quickly fly your presence, lest some portion of the fiend, that is now 
 allyour own, be transmitted to them, that & there still remain enough 
 ot hell to mar the fair work of heaven. 
 
 The following day they gave bonds for their appearance at the 
 Circuit Court of Hancock co. state of Illinois. A w rit for high trea. 
 son was then sued by Messrs. Augustin Spencer and Norton ; for 
 some fancied offence they had received at the hands of Joseph 
 Smith. The officer was then commanded in the name of the people, 
 to receive the said Joseph Smith and Hirum Smith into his custo¬ 
 dy, in the jail of the county aforesaid, there to remain until discharg¬ 
 ed by law. Given under my hand and seal, this 25th day ot June 9 
 k A. D. 1844. Signed R. F. Smith, J. P. 
 
 Now this was a false commital, to imprison without an examina- 
 ! tion as to their guilt; but as it is not our purpose in these few pages 
 to question the legality of their proceedings at Carthage, we will 
 \ refer you to the annexed remarks of Messrs. Wood & Reid, attor¬ 
 neys at law. Much might be said in condemnation of the militia 
 ' encamped at Carthage : we will pass it over slightly, for we are sick 
 of painting horrors, only where it would be a crime to be silent; let 
 . us remark, that good breeding, which holds the half-civilized world 
 in subjection, had forgot to take up its quarters with the Carthage 
 Greys and the Militia of Warsaw ; but continued its march, asham- 
 \ cd to stand a witness of the disgraceful scenes that were about to 
 \ follow* The Governor, to please the troops, sent to uphold the supre- 
 . snacy of the laws, brought General Joseph and Genet al Hirum Smith 
 
10 
 
 and presented them to the soldiery, and for the hot\or intended them 
 they received groans and hisses. We don’t say the Governor was 
 aware of this hostile feeling toward them, or that in his heart he com¬ 
 mends them for it; but to keep up appearances, for this unmiiitary 
 conduct, they were ordered under an arrest. How much they may have 
 enjoyed the unmanly joke in secret, ’tis not our purpose to say here: 
 we believe the Macdonough gentlemen were highly displeased. But 
 order was soon restored, the Greys restored to favor, as tho sequel 
 will show. The Governor feeling that the excitement as he thought 
 had subsided, ordered tho unnecessary troops, and the mob, to dis¬ 
 perse to their several homes. 
 
 June 27th l *the pernicious day should stand aye accursed in the calen¬ 
 dar’ the Governor left Carthage with the McDonough troops, friendly 
 to the Mormons, 01 at least to good order, as a guard to accompany 
 him to Nauvoo, and left some 60 or 70 of the Carthage disaffected 
 as a guard to the jail that contained Joseph Smith, Hirum Smith, 
 Elder Taylor, and Doctor Richards. Now, while the Governor was 
 at Nauvoo, kindly received by its citizens, and admonishing them to 
 forbear from all acts of violence, with remarks of a pastor-like char¬ 
 acter, that they should be praying saints, not military saints,—under 
 the virtue of his high authority informing them that if any thing of a 
 serious character should bcfal the lives or property of the prime mov. 
 cis of this outbreak, the Mormons must be hold responsible, with 
 many more conciliating remarks, he then turned his back upon Nau- 
 voo, fully impressed no doubt with his own superiority, when con- 
 • trasted with the despised “ Mormons.” But what was going on at 
 Carthage at this hour. The lilinoian honor gone, as well as credit! 
 
 In a paltry jail in the close neighborhood of a wood, the Lord of 
 heaven with his all-seeing eye was noting every demon that was 
 stealthily issuing therefrom, and signing to the recording angel to 
 register them in the book that seals forever the children of the damn¬ 
 ed. Here stood some eight men, entrusted with the honor ant} faith 
 of the State, and the pledge for the personal safety of four defence¬ 
 less men—the remaining guard of some 50 or 60, a quarter mile 
 away: does not this seem like management,—the god of day seems 
 hurrying down the west lest he should be a witness to this most un- 
 national and bloody deed. No country must own these men ; they 
 are mendicants that dwell in the purlieus cf the damned. On they 
 crouch their way ; they have lost the upright posture ; two hundred 
 of them, their fiendish lineaments daubed black, red and yellow; they 
 have reached the jail; the guard of eight offer some resistance ; their 
 pieces discharged without effect, they are secured ; up they rush a 
 small flight of stairs ; a slight door opposes them ; volley after vol¬ 
 ley passes through the door; it is slightly on the jar, and the only 
 weapon, a six barrelled pistol, left by some visitor, pointed through 
 
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 the door; three barrels discharged, in the desperate hope the guard 
 | would come to their relief; but all in vain—in an instant more and 
 j they are welcomed to the presence of their God ; Joseph has four 
 wounds, the “ least a death to nature’’; as if not enough, after fall- 
 I ing from the jail window to earth, a hundred to receive him, and 
 . one butcher misated, pierced his body through with a knife or bayo- 
 ! net. Hirum Smith also received four balls, two passed into his head) 
 j one entering the left side and passing through tho right, the last thro’ 
 the left leg: Elder Taylor, five balls ; they are flesh wounds, princi- 
 | pally about the legs—one ball through his hand. He has the prayers 
 of tho Saints to Drae^s God for his recovery. Doctor Richards’ 
 j escape is miraculous, a very large man, and in the midst of a shower 
 of balls, he stood unscathed, with the excepl'on of a hall leaving a 
 slight mark such as the head of a pin might make, close under the 
 | left car, grazing the jugular. 
 
 Now the fiends, without doubt, had their horses close at hand.— 
 Now back to Warsaw, or some such place, to boast of this heroic 
 
 act !—that 200 painted devils had killed two innocent men and 
 t wounded one, while in the prisoners sanctuary. The glory of the 
 I achievement be ever with you, and the curse of every honest heart 
 to keep it company. Now all was on the move to get clear of the 
 I excited Mormons. Carthage that night was emptied. The mur¬ 
 dered men, with a few exceptions, was all that remained of mortality, 
 j All was consternation ; a messenger, hastening with the sad news 
 to Nauvoo, is met about three miles from Carthage; tho Governor 
 ! orders him back to Carthage; passes through with his guard some 
 18 miles beyond Carthage, to a place of safety; he is heard of next 
 at Quincy, collecting troops. The news so sad to wives, to mothers 
 and tho Church, ere the dawn of another day has reached Nauvoo# 
 Did you ever experience one of those awful pauses that precede tho 
 loud bursting thunder of the gulf. Such was the silence that reign¬ 
 ed at Nauvoo ; the dread calm was broken by the wail of women 
 and the loud sighs of men. in that hour of affliction you could hear 
 the voice of prudence checking the blood now coursing wildly thro’ 
 i runny a giant frame, with hearts swelling with indignation, and arms 
 ready <o strike. Patience, brethren, our country’s laws will redress 
 us ; and if not, then will our God. Such is the fuith and toachings 
 of that creed that in an hour like the one we have dwelt on, subdued 
 their hot blood, and made'them men again. The neighboring coun¬ 
 ties and towns were all astir ; the Mormon Prophet and his brother 
 Hirum, Patriarch of the Church, had fallen martyrs to their faith ;— 
 they had sealed with their blood its divinity. The priests’ smile was 
 turned to a frown as he heard the infidel utter his prediction-— 1 Mor- 
 y 1 monism would soon number a host as sand upon the sea-shore ; tho 
 ^ n patriot sighed for the deep stain cast upon his country, questioning 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
12 
 
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 with himself the stability of his government; and the man without a 
 creed asked, why is this persecution T It caught the ear of the priest, 
 and he scowled with a short answer;—They are deluded, and say 
 they are the true church of Christ! This looks half like it, said the 
 sceptic—I will examine it! So will thousands, said we alGud, and 
 passed on. 
 
 The bodies were sent for, half doubting whether they would be 
 permitted to gaze again on those dead features that had in life dwelt 
 kindly on them—that had freed them from the chains of a false creed 
 
 — smiled in their hours of joy, comforted them in the hour of their 
 distress. To the Carthage road all eyes were turned. Near the 
 half-built temple I stood, running over each event of the last few 
 days, to see if I could realize this unnatural deed; when the free 
 grief of women wailed on the silence of the spot, told me of its 
 truth. I hastened to the road—there came the clay of men beloved 
 in life and honored in their death. 1 placed myself in this throng of 
 men, and then thought life a dream* The Prophet and a friend to 
 me who but a few short days ago gave his counsel with a smile that 
 bespoke the goodness of his heart, and the kind “good day” of Hi- 
 rum, as he passed me in the hall,—one thought of doubt came ; but 
 it passed away, and left me stronger in the faith. This unostenta¬ 
 tious cortege now reached the mansion where an aged mother lin¬ 
 gers, and the wife and children of Joseph Smith. We bore the 
 bodies to the dining-hall. I will not describe that genuine grief! 
 O ! the sobs of that pour old mother! Imagine you the rest ! Dr. 
 Richards, a piece of manliness from head to foot, now told the strong 
 points of the tale of blood, that for cowardice stands unmatched.— 
 Mildly then ho spake, admonishing them to keep the peace : he had 
 pledged his honor and his life for their good conduct; it was enough 
 
 — they were as passive as obedient children to a kind parent. Oth¬ 
 ers spoke; night came; and that vast multitude passed to their 
 homes (save the guard) to meditate on scenes of persecutions gone, 
 and with them Prophet and Chief, The morrow came, and in coffins 
 black and plain rested the manes, on which thousands wept and pass¬ 
 ed. Guess you what passed within their hearts. Mr. Phelps gave 
 us an excellent discourse, and at the same hour, of five, was borne 
 without a mark of show to the sepulchre, for a short rest, Joseph and 
 Hirum, and when the loud trump sounds o’er earth and air, they’ll 
 spring to life immortal, rejoicing with the just. Where then will 
 stand their murderers ?—howling with the damned ! 
 
 Tiios. A. Lyne. 
 
 V 
 
 P. S.—The writer requests that all who were concerned in this 
 nameless butchery will purchase a copy of this pamphlet, preserve it 
 under their pillow, and in their hour of exit, before death has glazed 
 their eyes, read it, and then ask mercy if they dare. T. A .L. 
 
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 STATEMENT .OF FACTS! 
 
 At tho request of many persons who wish that the truth may go 
 forth to the world in relation to tho late murder of Joseph and Hirum 
 Smith, by a band of lawless assassins, I have consented to make a 
 statement of the facts so far as they have come to my knowledge, in 
 an authentic shape, as one of the attorneys employed to defend the 
 said Smiths against the charges brought against them, and other per* 
 sons at Carthage, in the State of Illoinois. 
 
 On Monday the 24lh inst., at the request of Gen. Joseph Smith, 
 1 left Fort Madison in the Territory of Iowa and arrived at Carthago 
 where I expected to meet the General, his brother Hyrum and the 
 other persons implicated with them : they arrived at Carthage late at 
 night, and next morning voluntarily surrendred themselves to the con¬ 
 stable, Mr. Botterswortb, who held the writ against them on a charge 
 of riot for destroying the press, type and fixtures of the Nauvoo Ex¬ 
 positor, the property of William and Wilson Law, and other dissenters 
 charged to have been destroyed onthe 10th inst 
 
 Great excitement prevailed in the county of Hancock, and had 
 extended to many of the surrounding counties. A large numbor of 
 tho militia of several counties were under arms at Carthage the Head 
 Quarters of the commanding Gen. Deming ; and many other troops 
 were under arms at Warsaw and other places in the neighborhood. 
 The Governor was at Head Quarters in person, for the purpose of 
 seeing that the laws of the land were executed, and had pledged bis 
 own faith and the faith of the State of Illinois that the Smiths and tho 
 other persons concerned with them should be protected from personal 
 violence, if theywould surrender themselves to be dealt with according 
 to law. During the two succeeding days his Excellency repeatodly 
 expressed to the legal counsellors of the Smiths his determination to 
 protect the prisoners and to see that they should have a fair and impar¬ 
 tial examination so far as depended on the Executive of the State. 
 On Tuesday morning soon after the surrender of the prisoners on the 
 charge of riot, Gen. Joseph Smith and his- brother Hyrum were 
 both arrested on a charge of treason against the State of Illinois.—- 
 The affidavits upon which the writs issued were made by Henry 
 Norton and Augustine Spencer. 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon the two Smiths and others persons on 
 the samo charge of riot appeared before R. F. Smith, a justice of the 
 peace residing at Carthage, and by advice of counsel, in order to 
 prevent if possible any increase of excitement, voluntarily entered into 
 recognizance in the 3um of five hundred dollars each with unexcep¬ 
 tionable security, for their appearance at tho next term of the Circuit 
 
14 
 
 Court for said county. The whole number of persons recognized is 
 fifteen, most if not all of the leading men in tho Mormon church. 
 
 Making out the bonds and justifying bail necessarily consumed con- 
 siderable time, and when this was done it was near night and tho 
 Justice adjourned his court ovei without calling on the Smiths to an¬ 
 swer to the charge of treason or ever intimating to their counsel or 
 the prisoners that they were expected to enter into the examination 
 that night. In less than an hour after the adjournment of the court, 
 constable Betterswonh who had arrested the prisoners in the morning 
 appeared at Hamilton’s Hotel, at the lodgings of the prisoners and 
 their counsel and insisted that the Smiths should go to jail, Mr. Woods 
 of Burligton, Iowa, and myself, a3 .counsel for the prisoners, insisted 
 that they were entitled to be brought before the justice for examina¬ 
 tion before they could be sent to jail. The constable to our surprise 
 thereupon exhibited a mittemus from said justice as follows : 
 
 STATE OF ILLINOIS, 1 
 Hancock County J 
 
 The people of the State of Illinois to the keeper of the Jail of the 
 said county greeting : 
 
 Whereas Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith of the county aforesaid 
 have been arrested upon the oath of Augustine Spencer and Henry 
 O. Norton for the crime ot treason and has been brought before me 
 as a Justice of the Peace in and for said county, for trial at the seat 
 of justice thereof; which trial has been necessarily postponed by rea¬ 
 son of the absence of material witnesses to wit: Francis M. Higbee 
 and others ; therefore I command you in the name of the people to 
 receive the said Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith into your custody 
 in the jail of the county aforsaid, there to remain until discharged by 
 due course of law. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal this 25th day of June, A. D. 1844. 
 (Signed,) R. F. SMITH, J. P. [L.S.] 
 
 His Excellency did not think it within the sphere of his duty to 
 interfere, and the prisoners were removed from their lodgings to jail. 
 The recitals ol the mittimus so far as they relate to the prisoners hav¬ 
 ing beenbrought be fore the justice for trial, and it there appearing that 
 the necessary witness of the prosecution were absent, is wholly untrue, 
 unless the prisoner could have appeared before the justice without be¬ 
 ing present in person or by counsel ; nor is there any law of Illinois 
 within my knowledge which permits a justice to commit persons 
 charged with crimes, to jail without examination as to the probability of 
 their guilt. 
 
 On Wednesday forenoon the Governor in company with one of his 
 liiends visited the prisoners at the jail, and again assured them that 
 they should be protected from violence, and told them that if the 
 troops marched the noxt morning to Nauvoo as his Excellence then 
 
. I 
 
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 expected they should be taken along in order to insure their personal 
 safety. 
 
 On the same morning some ono or more of tho counsel for the 
 prosecution expressed their wish to me, that the prisoners should bo 
 brought out of jail for examination ; they were answered that tho 
 prisoner had already been commuted, and that the justice and con¬ 
 stable had no further control of the prisoners ; and that if the prosecu¬ 
 tors wished the prisoners brought out of jail, they should bring them 
 out on a writ of Habeas Corpus or some other due course of law.— 
 The constable after this conversation went to the jail with the follow¬ 
 ing order to the jailor: 
 
 STATIC OF ILLINOIS, ) 
 
 Hancock county. j * 
 
 To David Bettersworth, constable of said county : 
 
 You are commanded to bring the bodies of Joseph Smith and Ily- 
 rum Smith ftom the jail of said county, forthwith before me at my 
 office for an examination on the charge of treason, they having been 
 committed for safe keeping until trial could be had on such examina¬ 
 tion, and the state now being ready for such examination. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal this 26 day of June 1S44. 
 
 (Signed,) R. F. SMITH, J. P. [L.S.] 
 
 And demanded the prisoners, but as the jailor could find no law 
 authorizing a justice of the peace, to demand prisoners committed to 
 his charge, he refused to give them up, until discharged from his cus¬ 
 tody by due course of law. Upon the refusal to give up the prison¬ 
 ers, the commpany of Carthage Greys marched to the jail, by whose* 
 orders I know not, and compelled the jailor against his will and con¬ 
 viction of duty, to deliver the prisoners to the constable, who forth¬ 
 with, took them before Justice Smith, the Captain of the Carthage 
 Greys. The counsel for the prisoners then appeared, and asked 
 for subpoenas for witness on the part of the prisoners, and expressed 
 their wish to go into their examination, as the tfiinessess could be 
 brought from Nauvoo to Carthago; the justice thereupon fixed the 
 examination for 12 o’clock, on Thursday the 27th inst; whereupon,, 
 the prisoners were remanded to prison. Soon after a council ot the 
 military officers was called by the Governor, and it was determined to 
 march on the next morning, the 27 inst. to Nauvoo, w’ith all the troops 
 except one company which was to be selected by the Governor from 
 tho troops whose fidelity was more to be relied on, to guard the pri¬ 
 soners whom it was determined should be left at Carthage. On 
 Thursday morning another consultation of officers took place, and the 
 . former orders for marching to Nauvoo with the whole army, were 
 countermanded. One company were ordered to accompany the 
 Governor to Nauvoo; the Carthage Grays, who had but two days 
 before, been under arrest for insulting the commanding General, and 
 whose conduct had been more hostile to the prisoners, than that of 
 
1C 
 
 any other company, were selected to guard the prisoners, and the 
 other troops including those rendezvoused at Golden’s Point, from 
 Warsaw, and who had been promised that they should be marched to 
 Nanvoo, were disbanded. A guard of only eight men was stationed 
 at the jail, whilst the rest of the Grayes was in camp at a quarter of 
 a mile’s distance, and whilst his excellency was harranguing the peaec-* 
 able citizens of Nauvoo, and asking them to give up all their oxon 
 arms, the assassins were murdering the prisoners in jail, whom the 
 Governor had pledged himself and the faith of the State to protect. 
 
 H. T. REID. 
 
 At the request of the friends of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, I have 
 consented to give a statement of such matters as I had a knowledge 
 of in relation to their murder at Carthage, and what occured under 
 my observation. I arrived in Nauvoo from Burlington, Iowa,- on 
 Friday Juno 21st, inst., about 0 o’clock, P. M., fonnd all things 
 quiet, had an interview on Saturday morning the 22nd, with Joseph 
 and Hyrum Smith, who was in consultation with some of their friends 
 in relation to a communication from Gov. Ford, during the interview 
 heard Gen. Joseph Smith give orders to disband the Legion, and 
 withdraw the guards and sentinels, who were co-operating with the 
 police to preserve the peace of the city, as he said by order of Gov. 
 Ford ; that I went from Nauvoo to Carthage, on the evening of the 
 22d, when I had an interview with Gov. Ford, assuring him as to 
 the quiet of Nauvoo, and that Smith and his friends were ready to 
 obey the laws. I was told that the Constable with a posse had that 
 evening gone to Nauvoo with a writ for Smith and others, and that 
 nothing short of an unconditional surrender to the laws could allay 
 the excitement. I was then imformed by Gov. Ford he wag pledged 
 to protect all such porsons as might be arrested and that they should 
 have an impartial examination, and that if Smith and the rest against 
 whom warrants had been irsued, would come to Carthage by Monday 
 the 24th inst., it would be a compliance on their part, and on Sunday 
 morning tho 23d, Gov. Ford pledged his word that if Gen. Smith 
 would come to Carthage, he should by him be protected, with such of 
 his friends as might accompany him, and that I as his counsel should 
 have protection in defending Smith ; that I returned to Nauvoo, on 
 Sunday evening the 23d, and I found Gen. J. Smith and Hiiam 
 Smith, making preparation to go to Carthage on Monday, and on 
 Monday morning the 24 I left the city of Nauvoo in company with 
 Joseph and Hiram Smith, and some fifteen other persons, parties 
 and witnesses for Carthage; that about four miles west from Carthage, 
 we were met by a company of about 60 men under Capt. Dunn ; that 
 at the request of Gen. Joseph Smith, I advanced and communicated 
 w ith the Commander of the company, and was informed he was on 
 
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 i 
 
 his way to Nauvoo, with an order from Gov. Ford, for the State 
 Arms at that place; that itwas agreed by myself on behalf of Gen. 
 Smith, that the order for the arms should be endorsed by Gen. Smith, 
 and that ho should place himself under the piotcction of Captain 
 Dunnj to return to Nauvoo and see the Governor’s order promptly 
 obyced) and return with Cap. Dunn to Carthage ; Capt. Dunn, pledg¬ 
 ing his word as a military man, that Smith and his friends should be 
 protected ; that the order was endorsed by Gen. Smith, which was 
 communicated by Captain Dunn to Gov. Ford, with a letter from Gen. 
 Smith imforming the Gov., that he would accompany Captain Dunn 
 to Carthage. I left the company and proceeded to Carthage, that 
 about 12 at night of the 24th Capt. Dunn returned with the State 
 Arms from Nauvoo accompaned by Joseph and Hyram, with some 
 13 others, who where charged with a riot in destroying the Printing 
 Press of the Nauvoo Expositor, that on the morning of the 25th, 
 Joseph and Hyrum Smith with others charged, surrendered themselves 
 to the Constable, and at the same time Joseph and Hiram Smith were 
 arrested on a charge of Treason against the State of Illinois, that about 
 3 o’clock P. M. on the 25th the Justice, proceeded to the examination in 
 relation to the riot and after a good deal of resistance on tho part of the 
 prosecution, we were permitted to enter into a recognizance to 
 answer at the next term of the CircuitjCourt ; that we were engaged 
 until dark, in making out and giving our recognizances ; that in 
 consequence of the rumors as to the excitoment at Warsaw and other 
 points, and to allay the fears of the citizens of Nauvoo, I requested 
 Governor Ford to detail a company to Nauvoo, to protect the city, 
 which request was promptly complied with, and that night Captain 
 Singleton, with a company of men from McDonough county march¬ 
 ed to Nauvoo and took possession of the city and remained until tho 
 evening of tho 27th, when they took up their line of march for Car- * 
 thage. 
 
 After the matter of the riot was disposled of, the Justice left, 
 without saying anything in relation to the examination for treason, and 
 in about one hour the constable returned with a mittimus, a copy of 
 which accompanies the statement of my colleague, H. T. Read, a 
 copy of which was demanded and refused; that I requested tho offi¬ 
 cer to wait until I could see Gov. Ford, and was told he would wait five 
 minutes, and as I went to the door I met Cap. Dunn, with some 
 twenty men to guard the prisoners to jail; that I accompaned Gov. 
 Ford to the justice R. F. Smith, who gave as a cause [for issuing 
 the warrant of committal; that the prisoners were not personally safe 
 at the hotel. 
 
 I then requested the Governor to have a company detailed to guard 
 the jail, which was done, and they arrived at the jail about the same 
 time as the prisoners. On the morning of the 26th, the Governor 
 visited the jail in company with a friend, at which interview the Gov* 
 
81 
 
 ernor again pledged himself for their personal safety, and said if the 
 troops went to Nauvoo, as was then contemplated, that they should 
 go along to ensure their protection ; that after the interview at the jail, 
 the counsel for the prosecution wanted the prisoners brought beforo 
 the justice for examination, to which the counsel for the prisoners 
 replied, that they were committed until discharged by due course of 
 law, and that we could do nothing until the prisoners were legally be¬ 
 fore the court, where we would appear and defend ; that the justice, 
 R. F. Smith gavo the constable an order (a copy of which accom¬ 
 panies the statement of H. T. Reid, Esq.,) for the jailor to deliver up 
 the prisoners, which the jailor refused to do ;—that the constable then 
 repaired to the jail with a company called M Carthage Greys,” of whom 
 the justice, R. F. Smith, was the captain, but not then in command ; 
 and by intimidation and threats, forced the jailor to give up the pri¬ 
 soners to the constable, who took them before the justice, R. F. 
 Smith, at the Court House ; that on the motion of the counsel for tho 
 prisoners, the examination was posponed until the 27tl», 12 o’clock, 
 and subpoenas issued for witnesses on the defence. The two Smiths 
 were then remanded to jail and orders were issued for a consnltation 
 of the officers, with the commander-in-chief, and it was determined 
 that the troops should take up a line of march at 8 o’clock, on tho 
 morning of the 27th, for Nauvoo, and after the consu’tition, the jus¬ 
 tice, who was one of the officers in command, altered the return of tho 
 subpoenas until the 29th, and continued the hearing until that time, 
 without consulting either their prisoners or the counsel ; th it on tho 
 morning of the 27th, the order for marching to Nauvoo, wa9 counter¬ 
 manded, and all the troops disbanded but the company under Capt. 
 Siugleton at Nauvoo, Capt. Dunn’s company of horse, and the Car¬ 
 thage Greys ; that the Governor determined to visit Nauvoo, escorted 
 by Capt. Dunn’s company ; and the Carthage Greys were left as a 
 guard for the prisoners at the jail; that after the troops were disbanded, 
 I requested Gov. Ford to detail some men to guard the rout to War¬ 
 saw, as I apprehended much danger from that place, but 1 do not 
 know whether it was* done or not, as I left Carthage about 11 o’clock, 
 A. M., and came to Nauvoo ; that Gov. Ford and his aid, Col. Buck- 
 master, escorted by Capt. Dunn’s company, arrived in Nauvoo about 
 5 o’clock, P. M., where he addressed the citizens, and promised 
 them protection, and a just execution of the laws, and immediately 
 left the city for Carthage. 
 
 JAMES W. WOODS, 
 Attorney at Law, of Burlington, Iowa. 
 
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 A BRIEF OUTLINE, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FAITH & DOCTRINE OF THE LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 Tho fi^st principle of theology as held by this Church,Faith in God 
 the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, who verily was cru¬ 
 cified for the sins of tho world, and who rose from the dead on the third 
 day, and is now seated at the right hand of God as a mediator, and in 
 the Iloly Ghost who bears record of them, the same to day as yester¬ 
 day, and forever. The second principle is Repentance towards God ; 
 that is all men who believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are 
 required to turn away from their sins, to cease from their evil deeds, 
 and to come humble before the throne of grace with a broken heart 
 and a contrite spirit. The third principle is Baptism, by immersion 
 in water, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, for remis- 
 sin of sins, with the promise of the Holy Ghost to all who believe 
 and obey the gospel. The fourth principle is the laying on of hands 
 in the namo of Jesus Christ, for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This 
 ordinance is to be administered by the apostle or elders of tho 
 Church, upon all those who are baptized in the Church. Through 
 those several stops of faith and obedience, man is made partaker of 
 the Holy Ghost, and lumbered with the children of God. Through 
 this process man is adopted into tho Church and kingdom of God, 
 as one of his Saints : his name is then emolcd in the book of the names 
 of the righteous and it then becoms his duty to watch, to pray, to deal 
 justly ; and to meet together with the saints as oft as circumstances 
 will admit of; and with them to partake of bread and wine in remem¬ 
 brance of the broken body, and shed blood of Jesus Christ; and in 
 short, to continue faithful unto the end, in all the duties which are 
 enjoined by the Law of Christ. Fifth, it is tho duty and privilege of 
 the saints thus organized upon the everlasting gospel, to believe in and 
 enjoy all the gifts, powers and blessings which flow from the Holy 
 Spirit. Such for instance as the gifts of revelation, prophecy, visions 
 t i 0 mystery of angels, healing the sick by laying on of hands in the 
 name of Jesus, and in short all the gifts as mentioned in scripture, or 
 as enjoyed by the ancient saints. 
 
 This is a brief outline of the doctrine of this Church, and wo believe 
 that it is the only system of Doctrine which God ever revealed to man 
 in a gospel dispensation, and the only system which can be maintained 
 by the New Testament. 
 
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UNIVER9ITY OF ILLINOI9-URBANA