Docket Entry, 1–circa 6 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]
Source Note
Docket Entry, [, Hancock Co., IL, 1–ca. 6 July 1843], Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court 1843); Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55–87, 116–150; handwriting of and ; CHL.
may be called out at any time, deemed necessary, by the county judges, independently of any other civil authority of the .
In case that the militia of the county is insufficient to quell the rioters, & secure the citizens against the invaders, then recourse can be had to the judge of the circuit court, who has the same power over the militia of his judicial district, as the county judges have over the militia of the county. And in case of insufficiency in the militia, of the judicial district of the circuit judge recourse can be had to the governor of the , & all the militia of the called out, & if this should fail, then the governor can call on the President of the & all the forces of the nation be put under arms.
I have given this expose of the internal regulations of the affairs of , in order that the court may <clearly> understand, what I have before said on this subject, & what I may hereafter say on it.
It was in view of this order of things, that , who is a lawyer of some celebrity in , gave the recommendation, he did at , when passing into with his troops, for the defence of the citizens of said . It was in consequence of this, that he said, that those of , which went into , should go in small parties, & unarmed, in which condition, they were not subject to any arrest, from any authority whatever.
In obedience to these recommendations, the militia of was called out; affidavit having been made to one of the judges of the setting forth the danger which it was believed the citizens were in, from a large marauding party, assembled under the command of one on a stream called Grindstone. When affidavit was made to this effect, the ordered issued his order to the of the , & the to the commanding officer, who was Colonel & thus were the militia of the county of put under military orders.
however, instead of going into soon after he left , returned back to , with all his troops, giving as his reason, the mutinous character of his troops; which he said would join the mob, he believed, instead of acting against them, & that he had not power to restrain them
In a day or two afterwards of , also came to , & said that he had sent on a number of troops to to act in concert with . He also made the same complaint concerning his troops, that had, doubting greatly whether they would render any service to those in , who were threatened with violence, by the Mobs assembling; but on hearing that instead [p. 139]