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Letter from Hugh Legaré, 31 March 1843 [Forgery]

Source Note

Hugh Legaré, Letter, , to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 31 Mar. 1843; forgery in unidentified handwriting; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes address and docket.
Bifolium measuring 9½ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). Each page is ruled with twenty-seven horizontal gray lines. The upper left corner of the recto is embossed with the partially legible oval insignia of a paper manufacturer that reads “”. The letter was trifolded twice in letter style, addressed, and sealed with a red adhesive wafer. The letter was later refolded for filing.
Jonathan Grimshaw, who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) from 1853 to 1856, docketed the letter. Around the same time, , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office from 1853 to 1859, copied the missive into the multivolume manuscript history of the church. The document was listed in an inventory that was produced by the Church Historian’s Office circa 1904. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The letter’s early dockets, its inclusion in the manuscript history, its listing in a circa 1904 inventory, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Historian’s Office, Journal, 7 June 1853; Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to George A. Smith, 30 Aug. 1856, in Historian’s Office, Letterpress Copybooks, vol. 1, p. 364.

    Historian’s Office. Journal, 1844–1997. CHL. CR 100 1.

    Historian’s Office. Letterpress Copybooks, 1854–1879, 1885–1886. CHL. CR 100 38.

  2. [2]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497; JS History, vol. D-1, 1535; Jessee, “Writing of Joseph Smith’s History,” 441.

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

    Jessee, Dean C. “The Writing of Joseph Smith’s History.” BYU Studies 11 (Summer 1971): 439–473.

  3. [3]

    “Letters to and from the Prophet,” ca. 1904, [3], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 16 April 1843 in , Illinois, JS received a forged letter that was produced to appear as though it had been written by attorney general Hugh Legaré in . The letter asserted that JS had been charged with high treason and ordered him to surrender himself to governor in , Illinois, so that JS could be tried by the United States Supreme Court. The missive also stated that if JS did not turn himself in, President would issue a proclamation for JS’s arrest on 1 May 1843. JS’s scribe wrote on 23 April that “we all considered [the letter] to be a hoax, but designed to alarm us by some of our enemies who would undoubtedly be glad to see the prophet run to springfield like a fool, at such a dictum.”
Several factors confirm ’s assessment of the letter’s inauthenticity. First, the letter is not in the handwriting of Hugh Legaré. Second, the letter demonstrates a lack of familiarity with legal procedure and the jurisdiction of the federal courts, information that Legaré, as attorney general, would have known. Third, the document lacks a postmark, indicating that it was hand delivered rather than mailed from the nation’s capital. Furthermore, , the postmaster, received a similarly suspect letter claiming to be from postmaster general Charles A. Wickliffe that informed Rigdon that the Nauvoo post office was closed immediately and that he was relieved of his duties. Upon investigation, Rigdon determined that the missive was a hoax, and the mail continued to arrive in Nauvoo without interruption. Finally, did not issue a proclamation for JS’s arrest on the appointed date. Although it remains unknown who produced the hoax letters or for what purpose, they were most likely created by one or more individuals who knew that JS had been charged with treason in and that Rigdon’s position as Nauvoo postmaster was shrouded in controversy. Unlike twentieth-century forgeries, this letter is included in the print edition because it was produced during JS’s lifetime, and he received and owned it.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Clayton, Journal, 23 Apr. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  2. [2]

    Compare, for example, Hugh Legaré, New York City, NY, to “My Dear Mary,” 10 Oct. 1839, Hugh Swinton Legaré, Papers, 1814–1890, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia.

    Legaré, Hugh Swinton. Papers, 1814–1890. South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia.

  3. [3]

    If JS was charged with committing treason against the United States, he would have been arrested by a federal marshal, not the governor of Illinois. In addition, his trial would have been held before a United States circuit court with jurisdiction where the treason was allegedly committed rather than the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Act of 1789 gave circuit courts “exclusive cognizance of all crimes and offences cognizable under the authority of the United States,” whereas the Supreme Court possessed only appellate jurisdiction over federal crimes. (An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States [24 Sept. 1789], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 1, pp. 78–81, 87, secs. 11, 13, 27; U.S. Constitution, art. 3, sec. 2.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

  4. [4]

    JS, Journal, 17 Apr. 1843; Clayton, Journal, 23 Apr. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  5. [5]

    See Historical Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason; and Historical Introduction to Letter to Sidney Rigdon, 27 Mar. 1843.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Letter from Hugh Legaré, 31 March 1843 [Forgery]
History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [1]

March 31. 1843.
Sir
You stand accused of high treason. You will deliver yourself up to the at Ill. in order to be tried before the Supreme Court of the next term. The of will be directed to take you in custody if you will not deliver yourself up.— The will issue a Proclamation against you if you obey not this order by May 1. 1843,
Respectfully yours
Hugh S. Legare
Attorney General.
Joseph Smith, Esq. [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Hugh Legaré, 31 March 1843 [Forgery]
ID #
1627
Total Pages
4
Print Volume Location
JSP, D12:129–132
Handwriting on This Page
  • Unidentified

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The United States Constitution states that “treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.” Treason is a capital offense. (U.S. Constitution, art. 3, sec. 3; An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States [30 Apr. 1790], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 1, p. 118, sec. 29.)

    The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.

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