While in Nauvoo this past summer I had occasion to hear much about the trials and tribulations of the Latter-day Saints and how they came to arrive in Illinois after having been driven out of Missouri by mobs. Specially highlighted in the recitation of the story was the famous "extermination order" issued against the Mormons by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs. The people of Missouri in general, and Governor Boggs in particular, were portrayed as small minded bigots intolerant of anybody holding an opposing viewpoint. This may have been true of some of the people, but I do not believe it true of the majority, nor of Governor Boggs in particular.
Our understanding of Governor Boggs' order depends heavily on the events leading up to his proclamation and, when possible, relies on the voice of the era. We start with a look at what the word extermination meant in the mid-1800s.
Today our definition of the word is colored heavily by commercials for exterminators who promise to kill all the bugs in your house, or gangland hit-men who kill for a living. However, in 1838, when the extermination order was issued, the word was understood a bit differently.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary has this definition:
"EXTERMINATE, v.t. [L. extermino; ex and terminus, limit] Literally, to drive from within the limits or borders. Hence,
1. To destroy utterly; to drive away; to extirpate; as, to exterminate a colony, a tribe or a nation; to exterminate inhabitants or a race of men.
2. To eradicate; to root out; to extirpate; as to exterminate error, heresy, infidelity, or atheism; to exterminate vice."1
Notice that the force of the word is to drive out. It can mean destroy, but not necessarily to destroy the individuals of the group. LDS prophet Joseph Fielding Smith evidently understood that what was intended was the displacement of the Saints for he wrote, "…this action was a concerted effort on the part of state officials, to…cause them [Church members] to be driven from the state."2 Understanding the goal Governor Boggs had in mind lessens the horror with which twentieth century Americans view this military injunction; still, to order the extermination of a group of people does seem rather extreme. What were the events that led to this decision?
The first of importance came from Mormon Sidney Rigdon in his Fourth of July 1838 oration. He said, "We take God and all the holy angels to witness this day, that we warn all men in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more forever, for from this hour, we will bear it no more, our rights shall no more be trampled on with impunity. The man or the set of men, who attempts it, does it at the expense of their lives. And that mob that comes on us to disturb us; it shall be between them and us a war of extermination, for we will follow them, till the last drop of their blood be spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us; for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses, and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed--Remember it then all Men."3
This is certainly fiery rhetoric. To be sure, the manner of speaking was different in those days, but what was it that had gotten Mr. Rigdon so riled up? We're not exactly sure.
On the following September 14th a Missouri newspaper contained the following: "Until the 4th of July we heard of no threats being made against [the Mormons], in any quarter. The people had all become reconciled to let them remain where they are, and indeed were disposed to lend them a helping hand, but one Sidney Rigdon, in order to show himself off as a great man, collected them all together in the town of Far West, on the 4th of July and there delivered a speech containing the essence of, if not treason itself. This speech was not only published in the newspapers, but handbills were struck for distribution in Caldwell and Daviess Counties. We have not the speech now before us, but we recollect amongst other threats, that this author said: 'We will not suffer any vexatious lawsuits against our people; nor will we suffer any person to come into our streets and abuse them.' Now, if this is not a manifestation of a disposition to prevent the force of law, we do not know what is."4
The Missourian author chose the correct word for this defiance of the law of the State: treason.
It was Brigham Young's opinion that Rigdon's incendiary remarks were responsible for the problems that soon erupted between the Latter-day Saints and the people of Missouri. He testified, "Elder Rigdon was the prime cause of our troubles in Missouri, by his fourth of July oration."5
Although it is clear that Sidney Rigdon was up in arms about something, his contemporaries have left us in the dark as to what it was.
The ensuing months brought a series of disturbances for which both sides in the conflict were at fault.
As stated in a contemporary newspaper, "… no difficulty may be expected except it arises from the indiscretion of individuals belonging to each of the belligerents."6
The first of these disturbances was political in nature. August 6, 1838 was election day. The Latter-day Saints tended to vote in a block. Consequently, they were the most powerful political force in western Missouri. This fact led to an exchange of ugly words and the eruption of a full-scale brawl on election day which involved at least 30 participants on either side. No one was killed, but there were many cuts and bruises.7 Don't forget; this was a time in America in which politics really mattered: there were sword fights in the House, a man was beaten with a cane in the Senate, and the Civil War, which was essentially a presidential election taken to the battlefield, was only 20 years away.
Soon after the election day fight came another intriguing incident. Leading citizens of Daviess county, including Judge Black and Sheriff Morgan, were confronted by a group of 100 armed Mormons and coerced into signing statements disavowing their alleged connections with vigilantes. In so doing, the Mormons crossed the county line with a body of troops. In the eyes of the Missourians, the Mormons invaded.8
It was this action which precipitated the protracted conflict. At this point people who had previously opposed violence towards the Latter-day Saints became part of the 'mob' that besieged the town of Dewitt and drove the Mormons from the area.
The rest of the conflict was a series of actions and counter-actions common to a struggle of this kind.
The Mormons attacked, looted and burned the town of Gallatin. They then proceeded to plunder and burn the houses of Daviess county in order to gather provisions for the Mormon army. Their expedition was accomplished without meeting any organized resistance. However, these actions angered the Missouri citizens who formed mobs and began immediate retaliation.9 Feelings continued to escalate on both sides.
Then, on October 25th, a Mormon militia attacked Missouri state troops encamped at Crooked River.10
Five days later the bloodiest episode in the conflict occurred. Over two hundred state militiamen attacked the LDS settlement of Huan's Mill. Eighteen Mormons were killed, including several children; 12 to 15 others were wounded.11
In the midst of this continuing conflict Governor Boggs issued the infamous "extermination order" which read in part:
Head Quarters of the Militia
City of Jefferson, Oct. 27, 1838
Gen. John B. Clark
Sir:-- Since the order of this morning to you, directing you to cause four hundred mounted men to be raised within your Division, I have received by Amos Rees, Esq. of Ray county and Wiley C. Williams, Esq. one of my aids, information of the most appalling character, which entirely changes the face of things, and places the Mormons in the attitude of an open and avowed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this State. Your orders are, therefore, to hasten your operations with all possible speed. The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace-- their outrages are beyond all description…12
Proverbs 17:14 says, "Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out." Both sides would have done well to have heeded the wisdom of God's word.
Once the dispute started, the floodwaters poured forth and it mattered little who did what to whom. Those on either side trying to justify their own actions sounded like bickering children: "He started it!" "No, he started it!" The truth is both sides had the chance to drop the matter before things got out of hand.
I am always distressed to hear about a group of people unfairly persecuted, as many groups have been in the past. The Huguenots of France, the Christians under the Roman Empire, and Christians in Islamic countries today are but a few examples. Many of these have been exterminated, or driven out, at the cost of many lives. However, if you compare these circumstances with LDS history, you do not see the same armed militancy that was seen among the Mormon people of the 1830s.
This article is not designed to justify Governor Boggs, nor any of the belligerents in the conflict. However, it is difficult to accept the claim of persecution so often asserted by Latter-day Saints when it is clear the Mormons had ample opportunity to avoid the Missouri conflict without sacrificing any of their sacred beliefs.