The next day Hosea Stout, who in 1843 had been given all the minutes and proceedings of the legion and been ordered to compile them into a book, was summoned by Rich to a meeting of the committee. Stout and the committee produced a draft that was sent to Richards for approval. On 25 March, Rich informed Stout that Richards had accepted this draft and that the committee was to continue working until the history was completed; the next day the committee appointed Stout to take charge of the project. He worked on the history sporadically until May 1845 and again in August 1845, delivering the final pages to Richards on 27 August. The history, which describes the legion from its organization in February 1841 to September 1844, was written on about twenty loose leaves that reflect its haphazard creation. It appears to have been written on whatever scraps of paper Stout was able to procure. Richards extensively used Stout’s record in the manuscript history of the church. (Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 21 Oct. 1843, 67; Stout, Journal, 23 and 25–28 Mar. 1845; 19 Apr. 1845; 8 May 1845; Hosea Stout, Reminiscences and Journal, 14 May and [24]–27 Aug. 1845; Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion”; Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, 4 Feb. 1841.)

Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 1843–1844. Nauvoo Legion, Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430, fd. 1.

Stout, Hosea. Journal, Oct. 1844–May 1845. CHL. MS 1910.

Stout, Hosea. Reminiscences and Journals, 1845–1869. Microfilm. CHL. Originals at Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City. Also available as On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844–1861, edited by Juanita Brooks, 2 vols. (1964. Reprint, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press; Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1982).

Stout, Hosea. “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” May–Aug. 1845. Draft. Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL.