Illinois law required all white men from the ages of eighteen to forty-five to serve in the state militia, though it also provided exemptions for conscientious objectors, the infirm or disabled, some state officers, and “licensed ministers of the gospel.” On 14 March 1845 a group of officers and members of the Nauvoo Legion cited this provision when they “agreed not to do any more military duty” because “the Legislature had taken away our charter and deprived us of our Republican rights.” In his 31 March letter to Ford, Young similarly stated that “much military duty we have performed in Illinois” had been voluntary, as many members of the Nauvoo Legion had been exempt from militia service either because of age or because they were “ordained & Licensed Ministers of the Gospel.” Young expressed fear that by repealing the Nauvoo charter, the state had disbanded the Nauvoo Legion and left the Saints defenseless against possible mobs. He also dismissed the idea that the Mormons could be integrated into other units of the state militia, arguing “that Mormons and Mobocrats can not do military duty on the same field, at the same time, or under the same officers.” (Militia [3 Mar. 1845], Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois [1844–1845], pp. 356, 364, 371, 372, secs. 1, 34, 51, 54; Stout, Journal, 14 Mar. 1845; Brigham Young, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, Springfield, IL, 31 Mar. 1845, draft, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL.)

Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois, Adopted by the General Assembly of Said State, at Its Regular Session, Held in the Years, A. D., 1844–’5. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1845.

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

Brigham Young Office Files, 1832–1878. CHL. CR 1234 1.