In addition to the fourteen men mentioned here, Jesse Harmon, Joseph W. Coolidge, and Orrin Porter Rockwell were named in the writ that Morrison issued; according to his return, Bettisworth arrested everyone named on the writ except Harmon. (Warrant for JS et al., 11 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot [J.P. Ct. 1844], copy, JS Collection, CHL; JS, Journal, 12 June 1844.)

The sixteen men arrested by Bettisworth petitioned the Nauvoo Municipal Court for a writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that the prosecution against them was “instituted through malice, private pique and corruption . . . to gratify feelings of revenge, produce Excitement and . . . bring strife, discord & confusion in our beautiful an[d] peaceful city.” (Hyrum Smith et al., Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844; Writ of Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. Hyrum Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

On Higbee’s testimony, these men were charged with committing a “riot . . . wherein they with force & violence broke into the printing office of the Nauvoo Expositor and unlawfully & with force burned & destroyed the printing press, type & fixtures of the same.” (Warrant for JS et al., 11 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot [J.P. Ct. 1844], copy, JS Collection, CHL.)

Addison Everett, who was present when the press of the Nauvoo Expositor was destroyed, testified at the hearing that marshal John P. Greene told those who destroyed the press “to keep quiet and make no noise” and that “all was done quietly.” James Jackson confirmed Everett’s statement. After hearing the testimony, the court ordered the defendants to be “honorably discharged from the accusations and arrest.” The court also determined that the suit was “instituted . . . through malice, private Pique & corruption” and ordered Higbee to pay the costs. Unable to collect from Higbee, the clerk “drew on the Treasurer” for the fees—amounting to over thirteen dollars—in February 1845. (Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 111–112.)

Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book / Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court. “Docket of the Municipal Court of the City of Nauvoo,” ca. 1843–1845. In Historian's Office, Historical Record Book, 1843–1874, pp. 51–150 and pp. 1–19 (second numbering). CHL. MS 3434.

In a reminiscent account, Miles Romney noted that JS appointed Adams to preach because he, JS, was “very much oppressed in Spirit.” According to Romney, Adams centered his remarks on “what his truth”—probably a mistake for “what is truth.” (Miles Romney Report, ca. 1854–1856, [1]–[2], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

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

Miles Romney later reported that JS related two dreams he had the night before. In the first, JS saw two snakes “so fast Locked together that either of them had no power.” In his dream, JS learned that the snakes represented Robert D. Foster and Chauncey L. Higbee, who wanted to “destroy” JS but had no power to do so. In the second, JS dreamed that William and Wilson Law placed him in a deep pit and then later called for his help. JS was able to pull himself up enough to see a snake strangling Wilson Law and a bear tearing William Law to pieces. At that moment, JS’s guardian angel appeared, pulled him out of the pit and led him away from the Laws. (Miles Romney Report, ca. 1854–1856, [1]–[2], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; see also Jones, Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 6–7.)

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

Jones, Dan. The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 1855. CHL. MS 153.

This report from Carthage was probably connected to the “mass meeting of the citizens of Hancock County” that met in Carthage on 13 June and adopted a set of resolutions passed at a similar meeting held earlier in Warsaw. Citing the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press and reported threats against the Warsaw Signal and its editor, Thomas Sharp, the assembly in Warsaw resolved that JS’s followers, “as a Body, should be driven from the surrounding settlements, into Nauvoo” and that “a war of extermination should be waged” against them if they refused to deliver JS and others into their hands. The gathering then identified several “places of encampment”—two of which were Carthage and Warsaw—where citizens could meet and “be ready when called upon for efficient action.” One of the messengers from Carthage referred to here may have been Gilbert Belnap, who had attended the mass meeting at JS’s request and returned to Nauvoo after a “close persuit.” (“Preamble and Resolutions,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844; Belnap, Autobiography, chap. 8.)

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Belnap, Gilbert. Autobiography, 1856. CHL. MS 1633.

According to the compilers of JS’s history, Hamilton was assuming the costs of feeding the animals of those who had gathered at Carthage.a The price for a bushel of corn in the Nauvoo area during the summers of 1843 and 1845 ranged from $0.12 to $0.20.b Hamilton later submitted bills amounting to fifty, seventy-four, and two hundred dollars for reimbursement to the Illinois General Assembly for “Board of Officers &c” in June 1844.c

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Lee County Democrat. Fort Madison, Iowa Territory. 1841–1847.

Wycoff, Caye. “Markets and the Mormon Conflict in Nauvoo, Illinois, 1839–1846.” Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 2009.

Illinois Volunteers in the Mormon War: The Disturbances in Hancock County, 1844–1846. Compiled by Genie-Logic Enterprises. Palmer, IL: Genie-Logic Enterprises, 1997.

The report that Backenstos had turned against JS and the church was probably an error. Backenstos had previously been on good terms with JS and the Mormons, and later statements by Backenstos, the Saints’ expectation that he would be driven out of Carthage a few days later, and Mormon support for Backenstos in the August 1844 election all suggest that he remained in good standing with JS and the church. (JS, Journal, 19 Sept. 1843 and 16 June 1844; Jacob B. Backenstos, “Names of Carthage Greys & Mobbers,” 1846, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; Gregg, History of Hancock County, 336.)

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

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.