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Military Order to Albert P. Rockwood, 17 June 1844

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Military Order to Albert P. Rockwood, 17 June 1844

Source Note

JS as lieutenant general, Military Order, [, Hancock Co., IL], to , [, Hancock Co., IL], 17 June 1844. Featured version copied [ca. 17 June 1844]; handwriting of ; one page; JS Collection, CHL. Includes docket, use marks, and notations.
Single leaf measuring 9⅝ × 7¾ inches (24 × 20 cm). The document was later trifolded for filing.
The order was docketed by , who served as JS’s scribe from December 1841 until JS’s death in June 1844 and served as church historian from December 1842 until his own death in March 1854. The graphite notation “A.J” was added to the document by Andrew Jenson, who began working in the Church Historian’s Office in 1891 and served as assistant church historian from 1897 to 1941. By 1973 this letter had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). The document’s early docket, its notation, and its later inclusion in the JS Collection indicate continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. JS, Journal, 13 Dec. 1841 and 21 Dec. 1842; Orson Spencer, “Death of Our Beloved Brother Willard Richards,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 16 Mar. 1854, [2].

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  2. Jenson, Autobiography, 192, 389; Cannon, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891; Jenson, Journal, 9 Feb. 1891 and 19 Oct. 1897; Bitton and Arrington, Mormons and Their Historians, 47–52.

    Jenson, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Jenson: Assistant Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . . . Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938.

    Cannon, George Q. Journals, 1855–1864, 1872–1901. CHL. CR 850 1.

    Jenson, Andrew. Journals, 1864–1941. Andrew Jenson, Autobiography and Journals, 1864–1941. CHL.

    Bitton, David, and Leonard J. Arrington. Mormons and Their Historians. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988.

  3. See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 17 June 1844 in , Illinois, JS, as lieutenant general of the , issued an order to , the commander of JS’s guard, instructing him to have JS’s military staff report to the legion’s headquarters prepared for duty. Fearing that a mob was preparing to attack Nauvoo, JS sent out several orders that evening. The first instructed city marshal to keep the peace in Nauvoo using the city’s police and the Nauvoo Legion. A second order directed acting major general to muster the legion to assist Greene in keeping the peace.
JS also issued the featured order to , which was probably written by . The order was apparently conveyed to Rockwood on 17 June. JS’s staff and guard may have gathered at his as early as that evening and no later than 18 June, since JS’s staff accompanied him around town that afternoon and JS issued an order sometime in the afternoon or evening stating that he would “recieve all his communications” by way of his staff.
One member of JS’s staff was apparently reluctant to obey the 17 June order to . JS sent to John R. Hall “to enquire if he was intending to serve in his place in the Legion.” Hall explained that “he was willing to resign his commission inasmuch as he intended to leave this fall,” and he then went to JS to do so. JS, however, counseled Hall “to retain his commission, which he did.”
The original order is not extant, but made a copy of it at some point, probably soon after the original was written. Richards’s copy of the order is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. See Historical Introduction to Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844; JS, Journal, 17 June 1844; and Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 17 June 1844.

  2. Mayor’s Order to John P. Greene, 17 June 1844.

  3. Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 17 June 1844.

  4. Richards’s journal indicates that on the evening of 17 June he “wrote orde[r]s to Ma[r]shal. Major Gen &c,” and it seems likely that he also penned the order to Rockwood. (Richards, Journal, 17 June 1844; Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 17 June 1844.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  5. JS, Journal, 18 June 1844; Stout, “History of the Nauvoo Legion,” 18 June 1844.

  6. William Clayton, Daily Account of JS’s Activities, 14–22 June 1844; “Roll of the Lieutenant General’s Staff,” no date, Albert Perry Rockwood, Papers, 1832–1877, CHL.

    Rockwood, Albert P. Papers, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 14888.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Military Order to Albert P. Rockwood, 17 June 1844
History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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Head Quarters.
Liut Genls office June 17, 1844.
To Col.
You are hereby commanded to notify my guard and Staff, to appear at Head Quarters, without delay, armed and equipped according to Law for Military duty and inspection, with powder and ball.
Joseph Smith
Liut. Gen [1/2 page blank] [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Military Order to Albert P. Rockwood, 17 June 1844
ID #
1413
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards

Footnotes

  1. As the drill officer for the Nauvoo Legion, Rockwood held the rank of colonel. (Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 8 July 1843, 40.)

    Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 1843–1844. Nauvoo Legion, Records, 1841–1845. CHL. MS 3430, fd. 1.

  2. According to a roll probably written on or after 18 June 1844, JS’s staff included guards Alpheus Cutler, Reynolds Cahoon, James Allred, Henry G. Sherwood, Shadrach Roundy, Abraham C. Hodge, John L. Butler, Joseph M. Cole, Cornelius P. Lott, Lewis Dunbar Wilson, John Snider, George Creymour, Thomas Grover, Samuel Smith, and Phineas Richards; aides Lucien Woodworth, Isaac Morley, Jefferson Hunt, John R. Hall, Merinus G. Eaton, Edward Bonney, Thomas A. Lyne, and Orrin Porter Rockwell; and herald and armor bearer Edward Hunter. (“Roll of the Lieutenant General’s Staff,” no date, Albert Perry Rockwood, Papers, 1832–1877, CHL; Military Appointment of Edward Bonney, 18 June 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; “The First List of the Officers of the Nauvoo Legion, as Made Out by John C. Bennett. M. Gl.,” 1841, [1], Nauvoo Legion Records, CHL.)

    Rockwood, Albert P. Papers, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 14888.

  3. Illinois’s state militia law required “staff officers ranking as commissioned officers,” which would have included the members of JS’s staff and guard, to “be armed with a sword or hanger,” a short, broad sword with a curved tip, “and a pair of pistols.” Surviving receipts for arms indicate that members of JS’s guard were usually issued a Jäger rifle and various accoutrements in addition to the required sword and pistols. (An Act Organizing the Militia of This State [26 Mar. 1819], Laws . . . of the State of Illinois [1819], p. 270, sec. 1; Nauvoo Legion Minute Book, 8 July 1843, 40; “Hanger,” in American Dictionary [1841], 1:796; Receipts for Arms and Equipment, Albert Perry Rockwood, Papers, 1832–1877, CHL.)

    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.

    An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.

    Rockwood, Albert P. Papers, 1832–1877. CHL. MS 14888.

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