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General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 25 January 1842

Source Note

JS and , General Orders, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 25 Jan. 1842. Featured version published in “Nauvoo Legion,” Times and Seasons, 15 Feb. 1842, vol. 3, no. 8, 700–701. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.

Historical Introduction

On 25 January 1842 JS and , respectively the lieutenant general and major general of the , issued orders regarding an inspection and parade of the legion to be held on 7 May. An “independent military” body attached to the state militia, the legion derived from the same December 1840 act that officially organized the city of . Soldiers in the legion were required to perform the same duties as members of the regular state militia, which included periodically mustering for reviews such as the inspection and parade planned for the first Saturday in May. The general orders featured here instructed all of the city’s militia members to attend the review with their weapons and equipment in good order. They also formally invited Illinois governor , as well as local government officials and prominent officers in the Illinois state and territorial militias, to attend the event.
The orders were published in the 15 February 1842 issue of the ’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, although they are misdated as 1841 therein. If the published orders were based on a handwritten manuscript, that document is apparently not extant. The inspection and parade were held in May 1842 as ordered.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.

  2. [2]

    See An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], pp. 277–278, sec. 15.

    Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly, Their Session Began and Held at Vandalia, the Third Day of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Eight. Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839.

  3. [3]

    See JS, Journal, 7 May 1842.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 25 January 1842 Times and Seasons, 15 February 1842 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842] “History of Joseph Smith”

Page 701

Persons disregarding these general orders, whether officers or privates, will find themselves in the vocative.
The Invincibles, (’s company of light-infantry,) will be detailed for fatigue duty, on escorts and special service; and will take post by assignment, and receive their orders direct from the , through his Herald and Armor Bearer.
His Excellency, the of ; the of this judicial circuit, and the members of the Bar; the county officers of ; , and , with their respective field and staff officers,—of the Militia; and , and , with their respective field and staff officers, and Capt. Davis’, and Capt. Avery’s companies of cavalry,—of the Militia; are respectfully invited to attend, and participate in the General Parade on the 7th of May.
JOSEPH SMITH,
Lieutenant General;
Per ,
Drill-Officer, & Brev. Maj. Gen.
,
Major General;
Per , Adjutant General. [p. 701]
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Page 701

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
General Orders for Nauvoo Legion, 25 January 1842
ID #
600
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D9:115–116
Handwriting on This Page
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Footnotes

  1. [2]

    “Fatigue duty” is military labor that does not require the use of weapons. (See “Fatigue,” in American Dictionary [1841], 658.)

    An American Dictionary of the English Language; First Edition in Octavo, Containing the Whole Vocabulary of the Quarto, with Corrections, Improvements and Several Thousand Additional Words. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New Haven: By the author, 1841.

  2. [3]

    Stephen A. Douglas was judge of Illinois’s fifth judicial circuit, which included Hancock County at this time. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 239–240, 410.)

    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.

  3. [4]

    Williams was the commanding officer of the Fifty-Ninth Regiment of the Illinois state militia—the traditional unit for Hancock County.

  4. [5]

    Swazey was commissioned brigadier general of the First Brigade, First Division of the Iowa territorial militia twelve years earlier, on 9 January 1830. (History of Van Buren County, Iowa, 363.)

    The History of Van Buren County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, its Cities, Towns, Ec., a Biographical Directory of Citizens, War Record of its Volunteers in the Late Rebellions, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men. . . . Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1878.

  5. [6]

    Fuller was a colonel in the Iowa territorial militia by September 1841. (JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 18.)

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