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General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 4 May 1841

Source Note

JS, General Orders, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 4 May 1841. Featured version published in “Nauvoo Legion,” Times and Seasons, 15 May 1841, vol. 2, no. 14, 417–418. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

In anticipation of the upcoming Independence Day celebration, JS, as lieutenant general of the , prepared general orders for the legion on 4 May 1841. Three months earlier, on 4 February 1841, the legion was officially organized during its first official meeting, or court-martial, in accordance with provisions in the city charter of , Illinois. At subsequent courts-martial, the legion specified penalties for failing to participate in parades and made plans for involvement in the upcoming Independence Day festivities. These general orders outlined the legion’s drilling, inspection, and decorum for the celebration and clarified the legion’s composition and its status as a militia unit.
Included with the orders was a 3 May letter from , a supreme court judge, affirming the legitimacy of the Nauvoo Legion as a state-recognized militia unit. Apparently some had objected to the formation of the Nauvoo Legion or questioned its legitimacy, and the arrival of Douglas in on 2 May 1841 provided an opportunity for the legion officers to confirm their right to serve in the legion as opposed to serving in the Fifty-Ninth Illinois regiment, the other militia unit in the area. Douglas’s 3 May letter was addressed to the legion’s major general, , and suggests Bennett asked Douglas about the matter during Douglas’s visit to Nauvoo. Douglas’s affirmative response on 3 May was a welcome endorsement from the state.
In addition to including ’s letter, the general orders further defended the legion’s status by citing a section in the militia law that allowed for independent companies. Citing the law supported Douglas’s assertion that the Nauvoo Legion was a valid way to fulfill the legal requirement of state-mandated military service for all males between the ages of 18 and 45. This meant the legion’s members were not only complying with the law, but they also had no obligation to obey officers or instructions from other regiments in the Illinois militia.
JS likely disseminated these general orders to the Nauvoo Legion by sending them to , the major general, as was standard practice. Copies would have then been sent by Bennett or his personal staff to other officers of the legion, who would share them with the men under their command. The orders were published in the 15 May issue of the newspaper the Times and Seasons; that is the only extant version of the orders.
JS’s orders and the statement from also clarified that the legion wanted all eligible male citizens—of any religious denomination—to enlist. Publishing orders in a newspaper was somewhat unusual, but doing so allowed the orders and the clarifying information found therein to reach a wider audience, including outsiders who were increasingly apprehensive about the Nauvoo Legion.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Historical Introduction to Minutes, 4 Feb. 1841.

  2. [2]

    “Record of the ‘Nauvoo Legion,’” 3–4, 5, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.

    Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430.

  3. [3]

    Letter to Editors, 6 May 1841.

  4. [4]

    Douglas had previously executed the governor’s commission of the office of lieutenant general to JS. He eventually became a trusted advocate for JS and the Nauvoo citizens, and in December 1841, JS declared that Douglas was a “Master Spirit” to the Saints. (Commission from Thomas Carlin, 10 Mar. 1841; “State Gubernatorial Convention,” Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1842, 3:651, italics in original.)

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

  5. [5]

    Some subsequent general orders for the legion were also published in the Times and Seasons. (See Times and Seasons, 1 June 1841, 2:435; 16 Aug. 1841, 2:517; 1 Jan. 1842, 3:654.)

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

  6. [6]

    The editors of the Times and Seasons prefaced the general orders with the statement, “It has been rumored by our enemies, that, the Legion was got up for sinister and illegal purposes. This we deny. It is not confined to us as a people, but all citizens of the county have the privelege of, and are respectfully invited to unite with the same.” (Editorial, Times and Seasons, 15 May 1841, 2:416.)

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

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 4 May 1841 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 418

violence—no other views are entertained or tolerated.
The general parades of the will be in the city of , but all other musters will be within the bounds of the respective Companies, Battalions, Regiments, and Cohorts.
The 8th Sec. of “An Act for the organization and government of the Militia of this State” in force July 2nd, 1833, provides that “when any person shall enroll himself in a volunteer company, he shall forthwith give notice in writing to the commanding officer of the company in which he was enrolled,” &c., and that the commanding officer of a regiment, or battalion, may in a certain contingency, ‘dissolve such company;’ and some of the petty, ignorant and impudent militia officers maintain that such is still the law: but those blind leaders of the blind are informed that the 11th Sec., of ‘An act encouraging volunteer companies,’ approved March 2nd, 1837, reads as follows: ‘So much of the 8th Section of an act entitled an act for the organization and government of the militia of this , in force July 2nd, 1833, as requires a volunteer to give notice in writing to the commanding officer of the company in which he was enrolled, and authorizes commandants of Regiments to disband Independent Companies, be, and the same is hereby repealed.’ If officers act upon the obsolete laws of the ‘little book,’ which have been repealed years since, it will be sweet to the taste, but ‘make the belly bitter;’ and should any civil or military officer attempt to enforce the collection of any military fines upon the members of the Legion, excepting when such fines are assessed by the Court Martial of the Legion, such persons are directed to apply to the Master in , for , for an injunction to stay the illegal proceedings.
The militia companies of , and citizens generally, are respectfully invited to unite with the Legion, and partake of its privileges.
All officers are required to enforce the most rigid discipline on all days of public parade.
Persons holding enrolling orders are directed to act with energy, consummate their trust, and make prompt returns to the office of the . The Lieutenant General desires that all his friends should attach themselves to some company either in the 1st or 2nd Cohort. This will enable them to receive correct military instruction under the teachings of experienced officers, according to the drill and discipline of the Army—and qualify them for efficient service in the cause of their beloved , and , in the hour of peril.
The eleven companies of minute men will at all times hold themselves in readiness to execute the laws, as originally instructed by the general officers.
The officers and troops of the Legion are directed to treat with proper respect and decorum, all other officers and troops in the service of this , or of the .
Officers are ordered to treat their troops with marked respect—and while they discharge their duties with promptitude and boldness as officers, they must not forget or neglect to observe the requisites of gentlemen.
The 2nd Company, (Light Infantry,) 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 2nd Cohort; and the 1st Company, (Lancers,) 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd Cohort, of the Legion, will act as an escort for the reception of such visiting companies from , and , as may be present. Should the be present, it will be announced by a fire of artillery by the 1st and 2nd Companies, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Cohort; and the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 2nd Cohort, when he will be received by the entire Legion with the honors due so conspicuous a personage as the Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the .
Officers receiving copies of these orders, will promulgate the same without delay throughout the bounds of their respective commands.
JOSEPH SMITH,
Lieutenant General.
,
Major General. [p. 418]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 4 May 1841
ID #
643
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D8:138–143
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [9]

    An Act for the Organization and Government of the Militia of This State [2 Mar. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 472.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  2. [10]

    An Act Encouraging Volunteer Companies [2 Mar. 1837], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 501.

    The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

  3. [11]

    See Revelation 10:9–10.

  4. [12]

    John C. Bennett was appointed master in chancery for Hancock County on 6 May 1841. (Bennett, History of the Saints, 25.)

    Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland and Whiting, 1842.

  5. [13]

    Military instruction was based on the methods of Alexander Macomb, commanding general in the United States Army from 1828 to 1841, as represented in Samuel Cooper’s book, A Concise System of Instructions and Regulations for the Militia and Volunteers of the United States, published in 1836. The book was intended for state militias and distilled the current principles and practices of military decorum into concise and understandable terms. The Nauvoo Legion decided to adopt Macomb’s system in February 1841. (“Record of the ‘Nauvoo Legion,’” 4, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.)

    Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430.

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