Possibly Wall Southwick. On 31 July 1844, the Warsaw Signal published a letter reportedly found “in the bar-room of one of the Quincy Taverns” from Wall Southwick to JS. The letter, dated 1 June 1844, identified Southwick as a physician who had practiced in Louisiana before going to the Republic of Texas, where he had been involved with financial and political “operations.” (Wall Southwick, Centerville, KY, to JS, Nauvoo, IL, 1 June 1844, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 31 July 1844, [1].)

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

This cannon was probably the “six pounder” that Thomas Sharp was anticipating on 19 June and the cannon that Carlos Lyon saw landed at Warsaw from the steamer Mermaid. (“The Preparation,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, 19 June 1844, [2]; Carlos W. Lyon, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 20 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Hosea Stout’s regiment of the Nauvoo Legion, and presumably the entire legion, met again at eight o’clock in the morning and were dismissed at six o’clock in the evening. According to Jonathan H. Hale, the legion “met according to orders on the arsnall ground and then marched down by the river a little above the lower stone house and formed a line of battle &c, and then dismissed to meet on the ground near Spencers NE of the Temple drilld in the PM. and adjourned till Friday at 8 O Clock AM.” (Order Book, 1843–1844, 23, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; Hale, “Account Kept of the Nauvoo Legion,” 1.)

Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430.

Hale, Jonathan. “An Account Kept of the Nauvoo Legion.” Jonathan Hale, Papers, 1835–1845. CHL. MS 3214, fd. 1.

Willard Richards.

Lyon testified that while he was in St. Louis on 17 June, “it was a common topic that they were furnishing arms and ammunition to be sent by steam boat to Warsaw Illinois,” and that if the “people of Warsaw need 500 men, to give notice by the steamer Boreas and the men should be sent from St. Louis.” (Carlos W. Lyon, Affidavit, Nauvoo, IL, 20 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL.)

Ballantyne and Slater had evidently asked JS through “J. McIllrick” (probably John McIllwrick, who knew Slater) if they should move their families, given the recent threats against Mormons. JS advised them to remain where they were—at Doyle’s Mills, near Plymouth, Illinois—and “be quiet” but suggested that they transport “any amount of wheat or provisions” they may have to Nauvoo rather than “leave it for the mob to consume, & destroy.” (JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Richard Ballantyne and Peter Slater, Doyle’s Mills, IL, 20 June 1844, copy, JS Collection, CHL; see also Ballantyne, “Brief Biography,” 3; “Public Meeting,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 17 June 1844; “Public Meeting,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 19 June 1844, [3].)

Ballantyne, Richard. “Brief Biography.” Ballantyne Autobiographies and Reminiscences. Typescript. CHL. MS 22477, fd. 1.

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

In his letter, written in his capacity as mayor of Nauvoo, JS told Tyler that the “State of Missouri” had joined the mob of Illinois “for the purpose of the ‘utter extermination’ of the Mormons” and asked Tyler if he, as president, would “render that protection which the constitution guarantees in case of ‘Insurrection and rebellion,’ and Save the innocent and oppressed from such horrid persecution.” Enclosed in the letter to Tyler were copies of affidavits and an “extra”—probably the 14 June issue of the Warsaw Signal—expressing the readiness of citizens in Warsaw and Carthage to “utterly exterminate” Mormon leaders and calling for “a war of extermination” against church members generally. (JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844; JS, Nauvoo, IL, to John Tyler, Washington DC, 20 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL, underlining in original.)

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

Richards’s letter to Bennet was, in part, a reply to a 14 April 1844 letter in which Bennet expressed his doubts that JS would win the upcoming presidential election but also suggested that JS’s candidacy might help promote the Mormons’ cause. In his letter, Richards agreed that the church would “gain popularity and extend influence” through JS’s candidacy but also assured Bennet that the effort to get JS elected was sincere. Richards then informed Bennet of preparations reportedly underway to exterminate the Mormons and ascribed the animosity against the Saints to their destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press. Richards also explained the steps JS and others had taken to answer the charges against them. “I write you at this time at the request of the prophet,” Richards then wrote, “& I invite you to come to our assistance with as many volunteers as you can bring.” (James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, to Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, 14 Apr. 1844; Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to James Arlington Bennet, Arlington House, Long Island, NY, 20 June 1844, Willard Richards, Papers, CHL.)

Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490.

Greene and Bernhisel appeared before Aaron Johnson, a Hancock County justice of the peace, and swore “that a body of citizens in a mass meeting” held in Carthage on 13 June “resolved to exterminate the latter day saints of the . . . city of Nauvoo” and that according to the 14 June issue of the Warsaw Signal, men and weapons were being transported from Missouri to Illinois. Greene and Bernhisel testified, “These bodies of armed men, Cannon, arms and munition of war are transported in Steam boats navigating the waters of the united states,” including the Die Vernon. (Greene and Bernhisel, Affidavit, Hancock Co., IL, 20 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; see also Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844.)

Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

This sentence probably refers to the note JS appended to the letter Hyrum Smith wrote on 17 June 1844 to Brigham Young but did not send. No letter dated 20 June from JS or his close associates to any member of the Twelve has been located. Hyrum’s letter and JS’s appended note are in different ink, and JS’s note, informing Young that “large bodies of armed men, cannon and munitions of war are comeing on from Missouri in steamboats,” reflects the contents of Greene’s and Bernhisel’s affidavit recorded this day. JS also told Young that this information was being “communicated to the Governor, and president of the United States.” According to Vilate Murray Kimball, wife of apostle Heber C. Kimball, JS ultimately decided against sending the letter. (Hyrum Smith and JS, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, Boston, MA, 17 June 1844, JS Collection, CHL; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; JS History, vol. F-1, 130; Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 98; Vilate Murray Kimball, Nauvoo, IL, to Heber C. Kimball, Baltimore, MD, 9 and 24 June 1844, Kimball Family Correspondence, CHL.)

Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

Kimball Family Correspondence, 1838–1871. CHL. MS 6241.

JS appointed Turley armorer general of the Nauvoo Legion on 18 June 1844. Turley later reported that JS and Hyrum Smith ordained him to the position and blessed him “with wisdom to perform the duties of the same.” (History of the Nauvoo Legion, 17 June–6 July 1844, Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL; Theodore Turley, San Bernardino, CA, to Hosea Stout, 28 Oct. 1855, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

Stout, Hosea. History of the Nauvoo Legion, Draft 1, ca. 1844–1845. Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430, fd. 10. One of three drafts of the history; includes material dated 4 February 1841 through 22 June 1844. Pages are out of order; in the current order, this draft includes pp. [5]–[8], [15]–[22].

Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.