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General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, 21 November–circa 3 December 1843

Source Note

JS [and ], General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, 21 Nov.–ca. 3 Dec. 1843. Featured version published as General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, December 1843; Nauvoo, IL: Taylor and Woodruff, 1843; pp. [1]–7. The featured version is held at CHL; includes docket, archival stamp, and redactions in ink and graphite.
Two bifolia measuring 8¾ × 5¾ inches (22 × 15 cm) and consisting of four leaves stitched together. The presence of corresponding holes in both bifolia indicates that they were later bound together. At some point, the bifolia became disbound and were folded in half twice horizontally for storage. The fold of the outer bifolium contains separations.
The pamphlet was docketed by , who served as a clerk in the Church Historian’s Office (now CHL) from 1853 to 1859. It also contains an archival stamp that dates to the mid-twentieth century. The document’s docket and archival stamp suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Obituary of Leo Hawkins,” Millennial Star, 30 July 1859, 21:496–497.

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

Historical Introduction

In December 1843, and published JS’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, which called on the citizens of to help the Latter-day Saints gain redress for losses sustained from mobs in the 1830s. JS apparently commenced this appeal after “2 gentleme[n] from virmont” visited , Illinois, and lodged with him at the on 20 November 1843. The next day, JS gave “instructi[o]ns to write an appeal to the citizens of Vermo[n]t.” While it is unknown what ideas or language JS contributed to this document, he consulted with Phelps about its contents. Appealing to the citizens of Vermont was one component of church leaders’ broader strategy to gain redress. During a meeting of Nauvoo citizens on 29 November, JS “motioned that every man in the meting who could w[i]eld a pen write an address to his mother count[r]y.” Because JS was born in Vermont and spent much of his childhood there, the appeal repeatedly referred to Vermont as his “native State.” Church members , Benjamin Andrews, , , and Alfonso Young wrote later appeals to the citizens of , , , , and Tennessee, respectively.
JS called for assistance from the states because the Latter-day Saints had not been awarded redress by the courts and legislature or received remuneration from the federal government for their lost property. In the appeal featured here, expressed the Latter-day Saints’ frustration with perceived government ineptitude and impotence by paraphrasing what President told JS in November 1839: “your cause is just, but government has no power to redress you!” The pamphlet broadly requested help “in obtaining justice from Missouri,” but it never specified how ’s citizens were to assist JS and the Saints. The appeal referred to the biblical account of Abraham and his armed servants rescuing Lot as well as to the support and Holland showed the American colonies during the Revolutionary War.
JS and likely addressed the pamphlet to the Green Mountain Boys to remind the citizens of of their legacy as patriots who championed property rights and liberty. The Green Mountain Boys were members of a grassroots militia led by Ethan Allen in the 1770s to protect settlers’ rights to land that was claimed by both and New Hampshire. The militia also fought in the Revolutionary War. Allen, however, was not given command of the Green Mountain Boys when they became official members of the Continental Army in 1775 and were renamed the Green Mountain Regiment.
To make the Latter-day Saints’ plight relevant to ’s citizens, cast JS not only as a religious leader but also as a patriot and general who inherited his love of freedom from his forefathers who “fought and bled” for American independence. Phelps asserted that the church members had been stripped of their rights to life, liberty, and property and questioned his countrymen’s commitment to fighting for justice as they had in 1776. He declared that if the Saints’ wrongs were not redressed and if their right to worship was trampled, American freedom would cease to be, and God would “purify the nation.”
Although wrote the document, JS was identified as the author and adopted it as his own, calling it “my appeal.” JS also attended several gatherings where he heard the appeal read and offered no corrections, demonstrating his tacit endorsement of the document’s contents. The document was apparently completed by 30 November 1843, when a portion was sent to the press. The printing was likely finished around 3 December, since the letter was “consecrated & dedicated unto God” on that day. and published the appeal as a Times and Seasons extra, the version featured here. The original manuscript has not been located.
While the Nauvoo Neighbor was optimistic that the appeal would be well received, extant responses proved critical and sarcastic. On 17 January 1844, the Warsaw Message published the appeal along with a brief response mocking JS’s request for assistance and ridiculing the pamphlet’s use of foreign phrases. In an unsigned letter to the editor of the Warsaw Signal allegedly written from on 15 February 1844, the author claimed to be a part of the Green Mountain Boys, but it is impossible to know if the author represented anyone but himself. The letter excoriated JS, comparing him to a pirate and declaring that he should be hanged because he promised his followers a “new government” and called the American government “rotten.”

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    For an overview of the Saints’ experiences in Missouri, see Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; and JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 20 Nov. 1843; see also Clayton, Journal, 20 Nov. 1843. The Nauvoo Mansion was the Smith family residence from 31 August 1843; it was also used as a hotel. (JS, Journal, 31 Aug. 1843; 15 Sept. 1843; 3 Oct. 1843; Berrett, Sacred Places, 3:135–136.)

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

    Berrett, LaMar C., ed. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999–2007.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 21 Nov. 1843.

  4. [4]

    In addition to consulting with Phelps on the appeal, JS worked with Phelps, John Frierson, and others on the memorial to Congress later that week. (JS, Journal, 21 and 26 Nov. 1843.)

  5. [5]

    Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843.

  6. [6]

    Parley P. Pratt, An Appeal to the Inhabitants of the State of New York, Letter to Queen Victoria, (Reprinted from the Tenth European Edition,): The Fountain of Knowledge, Immortality of the Body, and Intelligence and Affection (Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, [1844]); Benjamin Andrews, “An Appeal to the People of the State of Maine,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 17 Jan. 1844, [1]; Sidney Rigdon, “To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, in Legislative Capacity Assembled,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 31 Jan. 1844, [1]; Richards, “An Appeal to the Inhabitants of Massachusetts,” 1 Feb. 1844, CHL; Phineas Richards, “An Appeal, to the Inhabitants of Massachusetts,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 7 Feb. 1844, [2]; Noah Packard, House....No. 64. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Memorial. To the Honorable the Governor, Senate and House of Representatives of Massachusetts, in Legislative Capacity Assembled (Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1844); Noah Packard, “House—No. 64. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Memorial,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 24 Apr. 1844, [2]; Alphonso Young, “An Appeal to the State of Tennessee,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 28 Feb. 1844, [1].

    Pratt, Parley P. An Appeal to the Inhabitants of the State of New York, Letter to Queen Victoria: (Reprinted from the Tenth European Edition,): The Fountain of Knowledge, Immortality of the Body, and Intelligence and Affection. Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1844.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Richards, Phineas. “An Appeal to the Inhabitants of Massachusetts,” 1 Feb. 1844. CHL.

    Packard, Noah. House....No. 64. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Memorial. To the Honorable the Governor, Senate and House of Representatives of Massachusetts, in Legislative Capacity Assembled. [Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1844].

  7. [7]

    According to JS’s 1839 account of his and Elias Higbee’s meeting with Van Buren, the president said, “what can I do? I can do nothing for you,— if I do any thing, I shall come in contact with the whole State of Missouri.” While the phrasing in the appeal differed from the earlier account, Phelps nevertheless captured the essence of Van Buren’s response. (Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839; McBride, “When Joseph Smith Met Martin Van Buren,” 153–154.)

    McBride, Spencer W. Pulpit and Nation: Clergymen and the Politics of Revolutionary America. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017.

  8. [8]

    Randall, Ethan Allen: His Life and Times, 9–10, 254–255, chaps. 10–11.

    Randall, Willard Sterne. Ethan Allen: His Life and Times. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011.

  9. [9]

    In July 1843, JS delivered a discourse in which he stated, “It is a love of libe[r]ty which inspires my soul. civil and religious liberty— were diffused into my soul by my grandfathers. while they dandld me on their knees.” The state of Illinois commissioned JS as lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion in March 1841. (JS, Journal, 9 July 1843; see also Commission from Thomas Carlin, 10 Mar. 1841.)

  10. [10]

    JS, Journal, 29 Dec. 1843; see also Minutes, 29 Nov. 1843; JS, Journal, 3 Dec. 1843; and Minutes, 4 Dec. 1843.

  11. [11]

    JS, Journal, 30 Nov. 1843.

  12. [12]

    Woodruff, Journal, 3 Dec. 1843; see also JS, Journal, 3 Dec. 1843.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  13. [13]

    John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff were the publishers of the Times and Seasons. (Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:92, 94.)

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

  14. [14]

    See News Item, Nauvoo Neighbor, 6 Dec. 1843, [2].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  15. [15]

    “The Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys,” and JS, “General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys,” Warsaw (IL) Message, Extra, 17 Jan. 1844, [1]–[2].

    Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

  16. [16]

    Green Mountain Boys, Strafford, VT, to the Editor of the Warsaw Signal, Warsaw, IL, 15 Feb. 1844, Thomas C. Sharp and Allied Anti-Mormon Papers, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Thomas C. Sharp and Allied Anti-Mormon Papers. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, 21 November–circa 3 December 1843 History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page [3]

AN APPEAL,
To the Freemen of the State of , “the brave Green Mountain Boys,” and honest men.
I was born in , Vermont, in 1805,—where the first quarter of my life, grew with the growth, and strengthened with the strength of that “first born” State of the “United Thirteen.” From the old “French War” to the final consummation of American Independence, my fathers, heart to heart, and shoulder to shoulder, with the noble fathers of our liberty, fought and bled; and, with the most of that venerable band of patriots, they have gone to rest,—bequeathing a glorious country with all her inherent rights to millions of posterity. Like other honest citizens, I not only, (when manhood came,) sought my own peace, prosperity, and happiness, but also the peace, prosperity, and happiness of my friends; and, with all the rights and realm before me, and the revelations of Jesus Christ, to guide me into all truth, I had good reason to enter into the blessings and privileges of an American citizen;—the rights of a Green Mountain Boy, unmolested, and enjoy life and religion according to the most virtuous and enlightened, customs, rules, and etiquet of the nineteenth century. But to the disgrace of the , it is not so. These rights and privileges, together with a large amount of property, have been wrested from me and thousands of my friends, by lawless mobs in , supported by executive authority; and the crime of plundering our property; and the unconstitutional and barbarous act of our expulsion; and even the inhumanity of murdering men, women, and children, have received the pass-word of “justifiable” by legislative enactments, and the horrid deeds, doleful and disgraceful as they are, have been paid for by government.
In vain have we sought for redress of grievances and a restoration to our rights in the Courts and Legislature of . In vain have we sought for our rights and the remuneration for our property in the halls of Congress, and at the hands of the President. The only consolation yet experienced from these highest tribunals, and mercy seats of our bleeding , is, that “our cause is just, but the government has no power to redress us.”
Our arms were forcibly taken from us by those marauders;—and in spite of every effort to have them returned, the State of still [p. [3]]
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Editorial Title
General Joseph Smith’s Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, 21 November–circa 3 December 1843
ID #
1209
Total Pages
8
Print Volume Location
JSP, D13:308–322
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Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The geographic area that became Vermont declared itself an independent, sovereign republic—called the The Republic of New Connecticut—in 1777 and achieved statehood in 1791. JS was born in Vermont and spent most of his first decade there, but he also lived for some time in New Hampshire. (Randall, Ethan Allen: His Life and Times, 437, 533; Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 18–19.)

    Randall, Willard Sterne. Ethan Allen: His Life and Times. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011.

    Bushman, Richard Lyman. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. With the assistance of Jed Woodworth. New York: Knopf, 2005.

  2. [2]

    The Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War, took place from 1754 to 1763 in North America between France and England. The American Revolutionary War ended in 1783. JS’s maternal grandfather, Solomon Mack, served in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. JS’s paternal grandfather, Asael Smith, served in the American Revolution. (Mack, Narraitve of the Life of Solomon Mack, 5–10, 12–14, 47; Anderson, Joseph Smith’s New England Heritage, 118; Hammond, Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775, to May, 1777, 342.)

    Mack, Solomon. A Narraitve [sic] of the Life of Solomon Mack, Containing an Account of the Many Severe Accidents He Met With During a Long Series of Years, Together With the Extraordinary Manner in Which He was Converted to the Christian Faith. To Which is Added, a Number of Hymns Composed on the Death of Several of His Relations. Windsor, VT: By the author, 1811.

    Anderson, Richard Lloyd. Joseph Smith’s New England Heritage: Influences of Grandfathers Solomon Mack and Asael Smith. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2003.

    Hammond, Isaac W., ed. and comp. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 1775, to May, 1777: With an Appendix, Embracing Diaries of Lieut. Jonathan Burton. Vol. 1 of War Rolls. Vol. 14 of Provincial and State Papers. Concord, NH: Parsons B. Cogswell, 1885.

  3. [3]

    The Latter-day Saints in Missouri lost several thousand acres of property, which according to an 1840 memorial was worth $2 million. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; see also JS, Nauvoo, IL, to John C. Calhoun, Fort Hill, SC, 2 Jan. 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL.)

  4. [4]

    In late October 1838, Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs instructed the state militia to move against the Latter-day Saints. On 27 October, Boggs issued an order to treat Latter-day Saints “as enemies, and [that they] must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace.” The Missouri mobs destroyed the church’s printing office, ransacked its storehouse, burned the Saints’ homes, and confiscated their livestock and land. (B. M. Lisle, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, [Fayette, MO], 26 Oct. 1838, copy; Lilburn W. Boggs, Jefferson City, MO, to John B. Clark, Fayette, MO, 27 Oct. 1838, copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC.)

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

  5. [5]

    In an 1843 sworn testimony, Sidney Rigdon reported that many Saints died as a direct result of mob activity. Sources indicate that approximately forty Latter-day Saints died in the Missouri conflict. This and other affidavits about the Saints’ experiences in Missouri were read on 26 November 1843, when JS, Hyrum Smith, William W. Phelps, and members of the Quorum of the Twelve met with John Frierson to discuss how to solicit redress from Congress. (Sidney Rigdon, Testimony, Nauvoo, IL, 1 July 1843, p. [3], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; “Part 3: 4 November 1838–16 April 1839”; JS, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 26 Nov. 1843.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  6. [6]

    This possibly referred to a decision by Missouri state lawmakers to table the Latter-day Saints’ 10 December 1838 petition for relief as well as a bill to investigate the “Mormon War.” Lawmakers also earmarked $200,000 in part for Missouri troops who “engaged in suppressing the Mormon disturbances.” (Edward Partridge et al. to the Missouri State Legislature, Petition, Far West, MO, 10 Dec. 1838, copy, Edward Partridge, Papers, CHL; Journal, of the House of Representatives, of the State of Missouri, 19 Dec. 1838, 128; 4 Feb. 1839, 367; “Letter from the Editor,” Missouri Republican [St. Louis], 8 Feb. 1839, [2]; “Senate,” Jeffersonian Republican [Jefferson City, MO], 9 Feb. 1839, [2]; see also Gentry and Compton, Fire and Sword, 496–497.)

    Partridge, Edward. Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892.

    Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Missouri, at the First Session of the Sixteenth General Assembly, Begun and Held at the City of Jefferson on Monday the Thirtieth Day of December, in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty. Jefferson City, MO: James Lusk, 1851.

    Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis. 1822–1869.

    Jeffersonian Republican. Jefferson City, MO. 1831–1844.

    Gentry, Leland Homer, and Todd M. Compton. Fire and Sword: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Northern Missouri, 1836–39. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2011.

  7. [7]

    The Saints made numerous attempts at the state level to gain redress for their treatment in Missouri, a point they made in the 28 November 1843 memorial to Congress. (For the many attempts to secure redress, see, for example, JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC; “To His Excellency, Daniel Dunklin, Governor of the State of Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 114–115; and Edward Partridge et al., Petition, Far West, MO, to the Missouri State Legislature, 10 Dec. 1838, copy, Edward Partridge, Papers, CHL; see also the records related to the suits of Phelps v. Lucas et al., Partridge v. Lucas et al., and Allen v. David et al., housed at Jackson County Records Center, Independence, MO; Petition to George Tompkins, between 9 and 15 Mar. 1839; and Letter from William W. Phelps, 27 Feb. 1834.)

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

    Partridge, Edward. Papers, 1818–1839. CHL. MS 892.

  8. [8]

    Such attempts included four memorials to Congress and Elias Higbee’s appearance before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1840 to testify that the Saints were the victims of religious persecution. (Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840; “Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons, House of Representatives doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1840]; Elias Higbee et al., Memorial to Congress, 10 Jan. 1842, photocopy, Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, CHL; JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC; Letter from Elias Higbee, 20 Feb. 1840–A.)

    “Latter-day Saints,” Alias Mormons: The Petition of the Latter-day Saints, Commonly Known as Mormons. House of Representatives doc. no. 22, 26th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1840).

    Material Relating to Mormon Expulsion from Missouri, 1839–1843. Photocopy. CHL. MS 2145.

  9. [9]

    While this likely referred to JS and Elias Higbee’s meeting with President Martin Van Buren on 29 November 1839, church leaders also petitioned President Andrew Jackson for assistance in 1834. (Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839; Edward Partridge et al., Liberty, MO, to Andrew Jackson, Petition, 10 Apr. 1834, William W. Phelps, Collection of Missouri Documents, CHL.)

    Phelps, William W. Collection of Missouri Documents, 1833–1837. CHL. MS 657.

  10. [10]

    Compare Letter to Hyrum Smith and Nauvoo High Council, 5 Dec. 1839.

  11. [11]

    When the Saints were expelled from Jackson County, Missouri, in 1833, they had to give up fifty-one guns to their enemies. According to the November 1843 memorial to Congress, those arms had “never been returned or paid for to this day.” Weapons were also forcibly taken from the Saints in 1838. One Latter-day Saint history noted that some church members lost all “of their arms, even to penknives.” In an 1838 letter to Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, Missouri militia general Samuel D. Lucas reported confiscating approximately six hundred arms from the Saints. (JS et al., Memorial to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 28 Nov. 1843, 2, Record Group 46, Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives, Washington DC; Josiah Butterfield, Quincy, IL, to John Elden, Buxton, ME, 17 June 1839, 5, typescript, CHL; “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” Times and Seasons, Jan. 1840, 1:35–36; Samuel D. Lucas, Independence, MO, to Lilburn W. Boggs, [Jefferson City, MO], 5 Nov. 1838, [1], copy, Mormon War Papers, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.)

    Butterfield, Josiah. Letter, Quincy, IL, to John Elden, Buxton, ME, 17 June 1839. Typescript. CHL. Original in private possession.

    Mormon War Papers, 1838–1841. MSA.

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