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This case introduction is adapted from Introduction to Part 4: June–July 1843, in JSP, D12:355.
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
The first attempt was based on an 1839 indictment for treason. After his arrest in June 1841, JS appeared before Illinois judge Stephen A. Douglas, who discharged JS, citing problems with Illinois governor Thomas Carlin’s warrant. The next year, Missouri officials again sought JS’s extradition for his alleged role in the May 1842 attempted assassination of former Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs. After spending much of summer and fall 1842 in hiding in and around Nauvoo, JS submitted to arrest in order to appear before Nathaniel Pope, judge of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, in Springfield, Illinois. On 5 January 1843, Pope discharged JS on the grounds that the evidence provided by Missouri officials to support the extradition was insufficient. (Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes; Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault.)
Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault. Bennett was excommunicated in May 1842 due to allegations of sexual misconduct. He spent much of 1842 writing letters to newspapers, delivering public lectures, and eventually publishing a book in an effort to enact revenge on JS. One of his allegations was that JS had sent Latter-day Saint Orrin Porter Rockwell to Missouri to assassinate former Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs. (“Joseph Smith Documents from May through August 1842,” in JSP, D10:xxxi–xxxiv; Smith, Saintly Scoundrel, 98–141.)
JSP, D10 / Kuehn, Elizabeth A., Jordan T. Watkins, Matthew C. Godfrey, and Mason K. Allred, eds. Documents, Volume 10: May–August 1842. Vol. 10 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2020.
Smith, Andrew F. The Saintly Scoundrel: The Life and Times of Dr. John Cook Bennett. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.
John C. Bennett, Springfield, IL, to Sidney Rigdon and Orson Pratt, Nauvoo, IL, 10 Jan. [1843], Sidney Rigdon, Collection, CHL. In August 1840, Missouri court officials, assuming that JS was not going to appear for trial, dismissed the 1839 treason indictment. This dismissal did not function as an acquittal, meaning he could be charged again with the same offense. (Docket Entry, Nolle Prosequi, 5 Aug. 1840 [State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason]; Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason.)
Rigdon, Sidney. Collection, 1831–1858. CHL. MS 713.
History of Jackson County, Missouri, 170, 256; “To His Excellency, Daniel Dunklin,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 114; “We the Undersigned Citizens of Jackson County,” [July 1833], Edward Partridge, Papers, CHL.
Hickman, W. Z. History of Jackson County, Missouri. Topeka, KS: Historical Publishing Co., 1920.
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.
Letter, Samuel Owens to Thomas Ford, 10 June 1843; see also “The Federal Whig Conspiracy to Obtain the Mormon Votes for Browning and Walker—Unexampled Villainy,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2].
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Indictment, ca. 5 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Docket Entry, Indictment, 6 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Missouri Constitution of 1820, art. 13, sec. 15; An Act Concerning Crimes and Their Punishments [20 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri [1834–1835], p. 166, sec. 1; see also Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason. The grand jury was composed of foreman John W. Thornton, Nimrod Dunkin, John A. Tuggle, John Edwards, William Roper, Solomon Frazier, Moses Netherton, Joseph Smith (no relation to JS), Levi Peacock, William Mitchell, John McClung, James Stone, Thomas Drain, Benedick Weldon, and Joseph Nelson. Witnesses included Adam Black, John Rogers, Jacob Rogers, and “others.” (Daviess Co., MO, Cir. Ct. Record Book A, 359–360, Daviess Co. Courthouse, Gallatin, MO.)
Missouri Constitution, 1820. Record Group 5, Office of the Secretary of State. MSA.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly during the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. . . . St. Louis: Argus Office, 1835.
Daviess County, Missouri. Circuit Court Record, vol. A, July 1837–Oct. 1843. Daviess County Courthouse, Gallatin, MO.
Letter, Joseph H. Reynolds to Editor, 10 July 1843; Power of Attorney, 13 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]. The requisition is apparently not extant. The United States Constitution states that “a Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.” In 1793, Congress passed a statute that enacted this provision and specified that the requisition—the document requesting the extradition—should be accompanied by either an affidavit or an indictment specifying the charge. (U.S. Constitution, art. 4, sec. 2; An Act Respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons Escaping from the Service of Their Masters [12 Feb. 1793], Public Statutes at Large, 2nd Cong., 2nd Sess., chap. 7, p. 302, sec. 1.)
Constitution of the United States of America . . . to Which Are Added, Standing Rules and Orders for Conducting Business in the House of Representatives of the United States. Washington DC: Gales and Seaton, 1843.
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.
JS, Journal, 13 June 1843; Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County, 57–58.
Recollections of the Pioneers of Lee County. Dixon, IL: Inez A. Kennedy, 1893.
“Minutes of a Special Conference,” Times and Seasons, 15 Sept. 1843, 4:329–330; see also Letter, Dixon, IL, to James Gordon Bennett, 23 June 1843, Nauvoo Neighbor, 26 July 1843, [3]. Previous attempts to arrest JS in Nauvoo during the earlier extraditions had been unsuccessful due to the extensive network of Latter-day Saints who were willing to harbor him in their homes. In addition, when officers did arrest JS in Nauvoo in August 1842, the Nauvoo Municipal Court issued a writ of habeas corpus that resulted indirectly in his release. (Editorial, Times and Seasons, Sept. 1840, 1:170; JS, Journal, 10–11 Aug. and 7 Oct. 1842; Introduction to Documents, Volume 11: Joseph Smith Documents from September 1842 through February 1843, in JSP, D11:xix–xx; Letter to John M. Bernhisel, 7 Sept. 1842.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
JSP, D11 / McBride, Spencer W., Jeffrey D. Mahas, Brett D. Dowdle, and Tyson Reeder, eds. Documents, Volume 11: September 1842–February 1843. Vol. 11 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2020.
JS, Journal, 18 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 18 and 21 June 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Letter, Edward Southwick to Editor, 12 July 1843; William Clayton, Journal Excerpt, 23 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; see also Discourse, 30 June 1843. Walker had previously represented JS in the June 1841 hearing before Stephen A. Douglas. (Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes.)
In answer to a petition from JS, Joseph Chamberlin, the Lee County master in chancery, ordered circuit court clerk Charles Chase to issue the writ of habeas corpus, in accordance with Illinois law. (William Clayton, Journal Excerpt, 23 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584; An Act to Provide for Issuing Writs of Ne Exeat and Habeas Corpus, and for Other Purposes [11 Feb. 1835], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 145, sec. 2; People v. Town, 4 Ill. [3 Scammon] 19 [Ill. Sup. Ct. 1841]; see also JS, Journal, 27 Dec. 1842.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
Scammon / Scammon, J. Young. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. 4 vols. St. Louis: W. J. Gilbert, 1869–1870.
The documents for the cases stemming from these charges are apparently not extant. However, both William Clayton and Reynolds summarized the charges. Wilson and Reynolds were charged with committing assault and battery against JS and Latter-day Saint Stephen Markham, who was with JS at the time of the arrest. Wilson was also charged with denying JS the right to a writ of habeas corpus. (William Clayton, Journal Excerpt, 23 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Letter, Joseph H. Reynolds to Editor, 10 July 1843; see also JS History, vol. D-1, 1583–1584.)
Affidavit from Shepherd Patrick and Others, 2 July 1843. The writ of habeas corpus is apparently not extant, but JS’s attorneys alluded to its language in their 2 July 1843 affidavit. Under Illinois law, judges of the state’s supreme and circuit courts were authorized on habeas corpus to review the legality of detentions. In 1841, the Illinois legislature divided the state into nine judicial circuits, each of which covered several counties. Each circuit was presided over by one judge, who held court in county circuit courts in biannual sessions, with times determined by the legislature. In March 1843, the fifth judicial circuit included ten counties—Adams, Brown, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Marquette, McDonough, Schuyler, and Warren—clustered along the western border of Illinois. (An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 322, sec. 1; An Act to Establish Circuit Courts [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], pp. 103–105, 108, secs. 1, 4, 9, 18; An Act to Change the Time of Holding Courts in the Fifth Judicial Circuit [4 Mar. 1843], Laws of the State of Illinois [1842–1843], p. 136, secs. 1, 4; Map of Illinois, 31 July 1843, in JSP, D12:548.)
The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois, Enacted at the Fifth General Assembly, at Their Session Held at Vandalia, Commencing on the Fourth Day of December, 1826, and Ending the Nineteenth of February, 1827. Vandalia, IL: Robert Blackwell, 1827.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Thirteenth General Assembly, at Their Regular Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Fifth of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty-Two. Springfield, IL: Walters and Weber, 1843.
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
“Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; Historical Introduction to Memorial to the United States Senate and House of Representatives, ca. 30 Oct. 1839–27 Jan. 1840. Stephen A. Douglas was previously judge of the fifth judicial circuit, but he resigned on 28 June 1843 to run as Illinois’s Democratic candidate for Congress. Although Young was judge of the seventh judicial circuit, he maintained residency in Quincy, which was within the fifth circuit. (An Act to Establish Circuit Courts [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois [1840–1841], p. 105, sec. 9; “Stephen A. Douglas,” Illinois State Register [Springfield], 23 June 1843, [2]; Gross and Gross, Index to All the Laws of the State of Illinois, ix; Snyder, “Forgotten Statesmen of Illinois,” 318, 320.)
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
Illinois State Register. Springfield, IL. 1839–1861.
Gross, Eugene L., and William L. Gross. An Index to All the Laws of the State of Illinois, Both Public and Private, Which Are Not Printed at Large in Gross’ Statutes of 1869. Springfield, IL: E. L. and W. L. Gross, 1869.
Snyder, John F. “Forgotten Statemen of Illinois. Hon. Conrad Will.” In Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1905, 350–377. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Library, 1906.
Reynolds and Wilson obtained their writ of habeas corpus from Lee County court officials, as JS did. (Letter, Joseph H. Reynolds to Editor, 10 July 1843; Edward Southwick, Statement, 5 July 1843.)
Letter, Edward Southwick to Editor, 12 July 1843; “Arrest of Joseph Smith,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 July 1843, [2]; JS History, vol. D-1, 1586–1589.
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Edward Southwick, Statement, 5 July 1843. In JS’s 30 June 1843 discourse, he also implied that the decision to go to Nauvoo rather than Quincy was made before leaving Dixon. (Discourse, 30 June 1843.)
See “The Nauvoo Municipal Court and the Writ of Habeas Corpus”; and Smith, “Joseph Smith’s Use of the Law as Catalyst for Assassination,” 8–42.
Smith, Alex D. “Untouchable: Joseph Smith’s Use of the Law as Catalyst for Assassination.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 112, no. 1 (Spring 2019): 8–42.
JS History, vol. D-1, 1587; Woodruff, Journal, 25 June 1843. Willard Richards wrote in JS’s journal that “about 40” legion troops were part of the traveling party when it entered Nauvoo on 30 June 1843. However, Peter Cownover, one of the soldiers who intercepted the party on 27 June, reported in 1854 that “about 100” troops joined the party “in several little squads” prior to reaching Nauvoo. (JS, Journal, 30 June 1843; Peter W. Cownover, Statement, [26 Sept. 1854], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; see also Clayton, Journal, 25 June 1843; and William P. McIntire, Statement, 3 Oct. 1854, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
JS, Journal, 30 June 1843; Clayton, Journal 30 June 1843; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason].
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Habeas Corpus, 30 June 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Docket Entry, 1–ca. 6 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; see also Historical Introduction to Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 30 June 1843, in JSP, D12:406.
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
Hyrum Smith, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Parley P. Pratt, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; George Pitkin, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Brigham Young, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Lyman Wight, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]; Sidney Rigdon, Testimony, 1 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason].
Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843; see also JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; and Letter, Joseph H. Reynolds to Editor, 10 July 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
JS, Journal, 2 July 1843; Clayton, Journal, 2 July 1843.
Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.
Historical Introduction to Discourse, 4 July 1843, in JSP, D12:430–433; Historical Introduction to Letter from Edward Southwick, 29 July 1843, in JSP, D12:508–510.
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
JS, Journal, 7 July 1843; Historical Introduction to Affidavit, 7 July 1843, in JSP, D12:441.
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
Historical Introduction to Letter from Mason Brayman, 29 July 1843, in JSP, D12:502; see also “Illinois and Missouri,” 15 Aug. 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason].
JSP, D12 / Grua, David W., Brent M. Rogers, Matthew C. Godfrey, Robin Scott Jensen, Christopher James Blythe, and Jessica M. Nelson, eds. Documents, Volume 12: March–July 1843. Vol. 12 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, Matthew J. Grow, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2021.
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