CHAPTER XIX.
The Expulsion Of The Mormons
General Hardin's Proclamation--County Meetings of Non-Mormons--Their Ultimatum-- The Commission's Negotiations--Non-Mormon Convention at Carthage--The Agreement for the Mormon Evacuation
GENERAL HARDIN
announced the coming of his force, which numbered about four hundred men, in a
proclamation addressed "To the Citizens of Hancock County," dated
September 27. He called attention to the lawless acts of the last two years by
both parties, characterizing the recent burning of houses as "acts which
disgrace your county, and are a stigma to the state, the nation, and the
age." His force would simply see that the laws were obeyed, without taking
part with either side. He forbade the assembling of any armed force of more
than four men while his troops remained in the county, urged the citizens to
attend to their ordinary business, and directed officers having warrants for
arrests in connection with the recent disturbances to let the attorney-general
decide whether they needed the assistance of troops.
But the citizens were in no mood for anything like a
restoration of the recent order of things, or for any compromise. The Warsaw
Signal of September 17 had appealed to the non-Mormons of the neighboring
counties to come to the rescue of Hancock, and the citizens of these counties
now began to hold meetings which adopted resolutions declaring that the Mormons
"must go," and that they would not permit them to settle in any of
the counties interested. The most important of these meetings, held at Quincy,
resulted in the appointment of a committee of seven to visit Nauvoo, and see
what arrangements could be made with the Mormons regarding their removal from
the state. Notwithstanding their defiant utterances, the Mormon leaders had for
some time realized that their position in Illinois was untenable. That Smith
himself understood this before his death is shown by the following entry in his
diary: --
Feb. 20, 1844. I instructed the Twelve Apostles
to send out a delegation, and investigate the locations of California and
Oregon, and hunt out a good location where we can remove to after the Temple is
completed, and where we can build a city in a day, and have a government of our
own, get up into the mountains, where the devil cannot dig us out, and live in
a healthy climate where we can live as old as we have a mind
to."1
1 Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 819.
The Mormon reply to the Quincy committee was given under date of September 24 in the form of a proclamation signed by President Brigham Young.2 In a long preamble it asserted the desire of the Mormons "to live in peace with all men, so far as we can, without sacrificing the right to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences"; recited their previous expulsion from their homes, and the unfriendly view taken of their "views and principles" by many of the people of Illinois, finally announcing that they proposed to leave that country in the spring "for some point so remote that there will not need to be a difficulty with the people and ourselves." The agreement to depart was, however, conditioned on the following stipulations: that the citizens would help them to sell or rent their properties, to get means to assist the widows, the fatherless, and the destitute to move with the rest; that "all men will let us alone with their vexatious lawsuits;" that cash, dry goods, oxen, cattle, horses, wagons, etc., be given in exchange for Mormon property, the exchanges to be conducted by a committee of both parties; and that they be subjected to no more house burnings nor other depredations while they remained.
2 For text, seeMillennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 187.
The adjourned meeting at Quincy received the report
of its committee on September 26, and voted to accept the proposal of the
Mormons to move in the spring, but stated explicitly, "We do not intend to
bring ourselves under any obligation to purchase their property, nor to furnish
purchasers for the same;. but we will in no way hinder or obstruct them in
their efforts to sell, and will expect them to dispose of their property and
remove at the time appointed." To manifest their sympathy with the
unoffending poor of Nauvoo, a committee of twenty was appointed to receive
subscriptions for their aid. The resignation of Sheriff Backenstos was called
for, and the judge of that circuit was advised to hold no court in Hancock
County that year.
The outcome of the meetings in the different counties
was a convention which met in Carthage on October 1 and 2, and at which nine
counties (Hancock not included) were represented. This convention adopted
resolutions setting forth the inability of non-Mormons to secure justice at the
hands of juries under Mormon influence, declaring that the only settlement of
the troubles could be through the removal of the Mormons from the state, and
repudiating "the impudent assertion, so often and so constantly put forth
by the Mormons, that they are persecuted for righteousness' sake." The
counties were advised to form a military organization, and the Mormons were
warned that their opponents "solemnly pledge ourselves to be ready to act
as the occasion may require."
Meanwhile, the commissioners appointed by Governor Ford
had been in negotiation with the Mormon authorities, and on October 1 they,
too, asked the latter to submit their intentions in writing. This they did the
same day. Their reply, signed by Brigham Young, President, and Willard
Richards, Clerk,3 referred the commission to their response to the
Quincy committee, and added that they had begun arrangements to remove from the
county before the recent disturbances, one thousand families, including the
heads of the church, being determined to start in the spring, without regard to
any sacrifice of their property; that the whole church desired to go with them,
and would do so if the necessary means could be secured by sales of their
possessions, but that they wished it "distinctly understood that, although
we may not find purchasers for our property, we will not sacrifice it or give
it away, or suffer it illegally to be wrested from us." To this the
commissioners on October 3 sent a reply, informing the Mormons that their
proposition seemed to be acquiesced in by the citizens of all the counties
interested, who would permit them to depart in peace the next spring without
further violence. They closed as follows: --
"After what has been said and written by
yourselves, it will be confidently expected by us and the whole community, that
you will remove from the state with your whole church, in the manner you have
agreed in your statement to us. Should you not do so, we are satisfied, however
much we may deprecate violence and bloodshed, that violent measures will be
resorted to, to compel your removal, which will result in most disastrous
consequences to yourselves and your opponents, and that the end will be your
expulsion from the state. We think that steps should be taken by you to make it
apparent that you are actually preparing to remove in the spring.
"By carrying out, in good faith, your
proposition to remove, as submitted to us, we think you should be, and will be,
permitted to depart peaceably next spring for your destination, west of the
Rocky Mountains. For the purpose of maintaining law and order in this county,
the commanding general purposes to leave an armed force in this county which
will be sufficient for that purpose, and which will remain so long as the
governor deems it necessary. And for the purpose of preventing the use of such
force for vexatious or improper objects, we will recommend the governor of the
state to send some competent legal officer to remain here, and have the power
of deciding what process shall be executed by said military force."
"We recommend to you to place every possible
restraint in your power over the members of your church, to prevent them from
committing acts of aggression or retaliation on any citizens of the state, as a
contrary course may, and most probably will, bring about a collision which will
subvert all efforts to maintain the peace in this county; and we propose making
a similar request of your opponents in this and the surrounding counties."
"With many wishes that you may find that peace and
prosperity in the land of your destination which you desire, we have the honor
to subscribe ourselves,
"JOHN J. HARDIN, W. B.
WARREN.
S. A. DOUGLAS, J. A. MCDOUGAL."
3 Text in Millennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 190.
On the following day these commissioners made
official announcement of the result of their negotiations, "to the
anti-Mormon citizens of Hancock and the surrounding counties." They
expressed their belief in the sincerity of the Mormon promises; advised that
the non-Mormons be satisfied with obtaining what was practicable, even if some
of their demands could not be granted, beseeching them to be orderly, and at
the same time warning them not to violate the law, which the troops left in the
county by General Hardin would enforce at all hazards. The report closed as
follows: --
"Remember, whatever may be the aggression
against you, the sympathy of the public may be forfeited. It cannot be denied
that the burning of the houses of the Mormons in Hancock County, by which a
large number of women and children have been rendered homeless and houseless,
in the beginning of the winter, was an act criminal in itself, and disgraceful
to its perpetrators. And it should also be known that it has led many persons
to believe that, even if the Mormons are so bad as they are represented, they
are no worse than those who have burnt their houses. Whether your cause is just
or unjust, the acts of these incendiaries have thus lost for you something of
the sympathy and good-will of your fellow-citizens; and a resort to, or
persistence in, such a course under existing circumstances will make you
forfeit all the respect and sympathy of the community. We trust and believe,
for this lovely portion of our state, a brighter day is dawning; and we beseech
all parties not to seek to has ten its approach by the torch of the incendiary,
nor to disturb its dawn by the clash of arms."
The Millennial Star of December 1, 1845,
thus introduced this correspondence: --
"The following official correspondence shows that this government has given thirty thousand American citizens THE CHOICE OF DEATH or BANISHMENT beyond the Rocky Mountains. Of these two evils they have chosen the least. WHAT BOASTED LIBERTY! WHAT an honor to American character!"