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Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844

23 June 1844 • Sunday Page 19 24 June 1844 • Monday Page 20 25 June 1844 • Tuesday Page 21 26 June 1844 • Wednesday Page 28 27 June 1844 • Thursday Page 35

Source Note

, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; handwriting of ; nineteen pages; in Willard Richards, Journal, CHL. Portions of some entries were written in pencil before they were overwritten in ink.

Historical Introduction

JS’s journal, kept by , ended with the entry of 22 June 1844, just before JS left , Illinois, in company with Richards, , and . Richards, who remained with JS until the moment of JS’s death on 27 June, evidently left JS’s journal in Nauvoo when the four men departed for , Illinois. Richards, however, recorded in his own journal many of the events of the last five days of JS’s life. These events include JS’s arrival on the bank in on the morning of 23 June and his trip to Carthage, during which JS and Hyrum gave themselves up to authorities on the charge of treason. Richards’s journal also recounts JS’s activities in Carthage during the days preceding his and Hyrum’s deaths. The material Richards recorded in his own journal during this time is in the same format and style as the record he had been keeping for JS. Richards’s hasty, terse notations and precise attention to details—illustrated by his practice of recording the specific times events occurred—indicate that he continuously carried his journal with him and recorded many of the events as he witnessed them, possibly with the intention of using the record to fill in JS’s journal at a later date. Richards’s journal entries for 23–27 June 1844 provide a contemporaneous firsthand account of JS’s activities during the last five days of his life, and they are reproduced here in full. Richards first inscribed portions of these entries in pencil and then rewrote them in ink. In a few cases, while overwriting, he skipped or altered the original penciled text. The transcription here reproduces the final ink version and does not capture the slight variations in the penciled text.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.

    Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.

Page [22]

Robinson P. M [postmaster] said on repo[r]t of martial Law he had stoppd the mail.— & notified th[e] Post officce gen of th[e] state of thi[n]gs. <​from the gen[eral’s]— quarters. went​> in front of the lines under a hollow square of a co[mpany] of Greys— 7 befor 10 arrivd in front of the lines. and passed before the whole line— Joseph on the right of — & on his left.— & behi[n]d— & and J & was introd[uc]ed by about 20 times along the line the walking in fr[o]nt on the left & retu[rne]d to lodgings 5 past 12.—
10.30. [a.m.] news arrivd <​by woods​> that the grays had revolted— & were put under guard by— — and Gen Smith told all the brethrn to stay in doors in the two rooms
10 mi[nutes] 11 o clock. Quietness was restord am[on]g Greys.—
11.15 mi[nutes] new[s] arrivd that the troops were near by.— of their own accord.—— and Mr Prentise called to see Joseph.— [p. [22]]
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Source Note

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Page [22]

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Appendix 3: Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844
ID #
7059
Total Pages
19
Print Volume Location
JSP, J3:303–330
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [16]

    Probably Chauncey Robison, postmaster at Carthage. Alternatively, this name may refer to George W. Robinson, son-in-law of the current acting Nauvoo postmaster, Sidney Rigdon. Robinson officially became postmaster for Nauvoo on 2 September 1844. (U.S. Post Office Department, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, reel 28, vol. 12B, p. 514.)

    U.S. Post Office Department. Records of Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. 1789–1832. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M1131, reel 4. Washington DC: National Archives, 1980.

  2. [17]

    The Carthage Greys were serving as a guard. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, 372–373; Ford, History of Illinois, 343.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

  3. [18]

    Because most of this entry appears in chronological order, Richards likely intended to write “10” instead of “12.” JS later wrote to Emma Smith that “Gov. Ford introduced myself & Hyrum to The Malatia, in a very appropriate manner as Gen. Joseph Smith and General Hyrum Smith.” (JS, Carthage, IL, to Emma Smith, [Nauvoo, IL], 25 June 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL, underlining in original.)

  4. [19]

    Probably James Woods, JS’s legal counsel.

  5. [20]

    These two rooms were probably in Artois Hamilton’s hotel in which members of JS’s party were staying. (Stephen C. Perry, Las Vegas, NV, to George A. Smith, 28 Aug. 1855, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  6. [21]

    The Carthage Greys, who had served as an escort or guard when JS and Hyrum passed before the McDonough troops, reportedly objected to the introduction of JS and Hyrum as generals. “Not satisfied to be made an escort to such a display,” Thomas Gregg later explained, the Greys “finally gave vent to their feelings by hisses and groans.” According to Thomas Ford, the Greys thought they were being used as a “triumphal escort” for the prisoners rather than as a guard and also “entertained a very bad feeling” toward General Deming. Once the Greys understood “the true motive in showing the prisoners to the troops,” Ford reported, “they cheerfully returned to their duty.” Ford, Deming, and Franklin Worrell vigorously denied reports that Deming had ordered the Greys to be arrested before peace was restored. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, 372–373; Ford, History of Illinois, 343; “Awful Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:560; Miner Deming, Carthage, IL, 30 June 1844, Letter to the Editor, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 24 July 1844, [1]; “For the Warsaw Signal,” Warsaw Signal, 24 July 1844, [1].)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

  7. [22]

    Probably either William Prentiss or Lyman Prentis. William Prentiss was the United States marshal for the district of Illinois from 1841 to 1844 and had met JS in Springfield in December 1842 and January 1843. Lyman Prentis of Warsaw was reportedly in Carthage at this time. (JS, Journal, 31 Dec. 1842; 2–4 Jan. 1843; Writ of Habeas Corpus, 31 Dec. 1842; “Prentiss, William,” in the biographical registry; Jacob B. Backenstos, “Names of Carthage Greys & Mobbers,” 1846, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

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