pontius pilate ford's entrance upon the scene at carthage—the old cry of "crucify!"—joseph's final effort to avert danger from nauvoo—lack of faith and suspicions of cowardice—fatal blindness—like a lamb to the slaughter—the arms defended—farewell to nauvoo—at carthage.
on the 21st day of june, 1844, thomas ford, governor of the state of illinois, arrived at carthage. what pontius pilate was to the divine atonement on calvary, this man ford was to the sealing martyrdom at carthage.[1]
he was a politician, a friend to the masses, right or wrong. he submitted himself at carthage to the direction of the mob leaders. from the moment of his arrival there until the deed was done, he interposed no hand to stay the awful deed. he could not have been so blind as to fail in seeing that murder impended for the prophet and patriarch; and that extermination threatened the saints. a statesman and a true and brave patriot could have put forth his power and dissipated the evils at a stroke; but ford was not of such mettle. he affected to view joseph and his brethren as rebels and the mob as law-abiding citizens—at best, he classed them altogether. how he must have cringed when the prophet asked him:
sir, is it not an easy matter to distinguish between those who have pledged themselves to exterminate innocent men, women and children, and those who have only stood in their own defense, and in defense of their innocent families, and that, too, in accordance with the constitution and laws of the country as required by the oaths, and as good and law-abiding citizens?
on the 21st ford wrote to joseph asking for a conference at carthage with discreet representatives from nauvoo. apostle john taylor and dr. john m. bernhisel went at once, in obedience to this request, carrying with them a full account of the situation and the circumstances which had led to it, and a score of affidavits from trustworthy men—some of whom were not connected with the prophet or his people—showing clearly the purpose of the mob to commit murder. the next day lucien woodworth was sent to him from nauvoo, with further documents and with a letter from the prophet. when apostle taylor and dr. bernhisel reached carthage, they found that the governor had taken the entire mob into his service; that he had passed judicially upon the municipal ordinances and proceedings at nauvoo; and that, without hearing from them, he had decided upon his course. he received them coolly and as he read their communications aloud, he was surrounded by mobocrats who interrupted him at every sentence with a torrent of profanity and threats. he could listen to no argument and weigh no justice, for the cry was in his ears, "crucify! crucify!" by the hands of these brethren he sent a communication back to nauvoo to require "all who are or shall be accused, to submit themselves to arrest by the same constable, by virtue of the same warrant, to be tried by the same magistrate whose authority had heretofore been resisted."
he asked that martial law should be abolished. he sent the constable with a guard to nauvoo to secure joseph and his friends. of this circumstance ford himself says:
upon the arrival of the constable and guard [at nauvoo], the mayor and common council at once signified their willingness to surrender, and stated their readiness to proceed to carthage next morning at 8 o'clock. martial law had previously been abolished. the hour of 8 o'clock came, and the accused failed to make their appearance. the constable and his escort returned. the constable made no effort to arrest any of them, or would he or the guard delay their departure one minute beyond the time to see whether an arrest could be made. upon their return, they reported that they had been informed that the accused had fled and could not be found.
i immediately proposed to a council of officers to march into nauvoo with a small force then under my command, but the officers were of opinion that it was too small, and many of them insisted upon a further call of the militia. upon reflection, i was of opinion that the officers were right in the estimate of our force, and the project for immediate action was abandoned. i was soon informed, however, of the conduct of the constable and guard, and then i was perfectly satisfied that a most base fraud had been attempted; that, in fact, it was feared that the mormons would submit and thereby entitle themselves to the protection of the law. it was very apparent that many of the bustling, active spirits were afraid that there would be no occasion for calling out an overwhelming militia force, for marching it into nauvoo, for probable mutiny when there, and for the extermination of the mormon race. it appeared that the constable and the escort were fully in the secret, and acted well their part to promote the conspiracy.
informed of all the plots against him and seeing the executive weakness or connivance with the mob the prophet determined to make one final effort to draw the menace from nauvoo. he addressed a letter to the governor, in which he exposed the fallacy and cowardice of ford's official proceedings and personal position. then, after dark on the night of the 22nd of june, he called hyrum, willard richards, john taylor, w. w. phelps, a. c. hodge, john l. butler, alpheus cutler and some others into his house and read to them the letter from the governor, merely remarking: "there is no mercy—no mercy here!"
hyrum said: "no: as sure as we fall into their hands, we are dead men."
joseph then told the brethren that if he and hyrum should leave nauvoo the attention of the mob would be attracted away from the saints and in pursuit of the prophet and patriarch; and if the people would go quietly about their business none of them would be harmed. with this purpose he prepared to cross the river and go into the west. that night they bade farewell to their families. as they departed it was seen that joseph's tears were falling fast, and he uttered not a word while they walked down to the bank of the river. joseph, hyrum and willard, rowed by orrin p. rockwell, crossed the mississippi in a leaky skiff, bailing out the water with their boots and shoes to keep the frail boat from sinking. they found refuge on the iowa side at the house of brother william jordan, and made immediate preparations to depart toward the rocky mountains. but while they were packing their provisions, on the 23rd day of june, messengers came from emma and others in nauvoo, entreating the prophet to return and by innuendo accusing him of cowardice in thus leaving the city. it was a fatal blindness on the part of these professed friends. they seemed to fear that the governor, failing to find joseph and hyrum, would fall upon nauvoo with the militia. the prophet knew better, that ford would not dare such a thing as this—he might consent to the murder of individuals but he dare not lead an army against an unoffending city. it is pitiable to think that the saints could have so misjudged their leader as to suspect him of cowardice. but it is often so, that men placed in responsible stations, who act by the light of heaven and for the benefit of their brethren, without one thought of personal safety or advantage, are condemned by the unthinking.
"we are going back to be butchered," said joseph; "if we live or die we will be reconciled to our fate," said hyrum; as they moved down to the river to cross to nauvoo on that 23rd day of june. while they walked joseph fell behind, deep in thought. someone shouted to him to quicken his steps, and he remarked: "there is time enough for the slaughter."
that night, sunday, june 23rd, 1844, joseph sent a letter to the governor informing him that he would go to carthage the next morning to meet his trial. he asked that the governor send a posse to meet him near the mound, outside of carthage, about two o'clock on the afternoon of the 24th. seeing the determination of joseph, the very friends who had induced him to return would now have interposed; but he was firm. to remain in nauvoo would be to draw the vengeance of the mob upon that city. the next morning elder jedediah m. grant and theodore turley, who had carried joseph's communication to the governor, returned to nauvoo and reported their mission. ford had at first agreed to send a posse to escort joseph in safety to carthage, but some of the mobocrats and apostates made bitter speeches to him and he rescinded his promise. he refused to send or allow an escort for joseph, "as it was an honor not given to any other citizen." he would not even allow elders grant and turley to remain in carthage that night, but sent them out with a demand that joseph should appear unaccompanied at carthage the next morning. the messengers told the prophet that intense excitement existed at carthage; but he would not heed their warning.
on the morning of monday, the 24th of june, 1844, joseph and the seventeen other men named in the old writ from morrison, started from nauvoo. when they reached the temple, the prophet looked upon it with a long and wistful gaze, and then turned his eyes upon the city, saying: "this is the loveliest place and these are the best people under the heavens. little do they know the trials that await them."
as they passed out of the city the prophet said to daniel h. wells: "squire wells, i wish you to cherish my memory, and not think me the worst man in the world, either."
on the way out they met captain dunn coming from carthage with about sixty mounted men. joseph said: "do not be alarmed, brethren, for they cannot do more to you than the enemies of truth did to the ancient saints—they can only kill the body."
dunn presented to joseph an order from governor ford for all the state arms in the possession of the nauvoo legion. joseph immediately countersigned the order. then he turned to the company and spoke these memorable words:
i am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but i am calm as a summer's morning. i have a conscience void of offense toward god and toward all men.
again, he said: "if they take my life i shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall yet be said of me, 'he was murdered in cold blood.'"
joseph sent henry g. sherwood back to nauvoo to get the arms ready for captain dunn and to have all things done with good order and regularity. but dunn feared that the governor's demands, coming at such a time, would excite resistance, and he requested joseph and the brethren to return with him to the city under a pledge of mutual protection. he preferred to depend upon the well-known integrity of joseph rather than to risk the wounded feelings of a much abused people. when the order for the state arms was made known in nauvoo many of the brethren regarded this as a preparation for another far west tragedy: but they heeded the prophet's word and unresistingly yielded obedience to the requirement.
it was an outrage to ask these arms under the circumstances; they were borne by men who were on the defensive, not the offensive—men who carried them for the protection of home and virtue, and who had not set foot outside the limits of their own city. ford's action in this matter was atrocious; the compliance of the prophet and the saints was noble.
joseph again bade farewell to his family, and looked again and again upon the fair domain which his mortal eyes were beholding for the last time. his face was white and luminous, yet upon it and in his eyes was a look of anguish. his friends would even now have detained him, be the consequences what they might; but he told them he must either yield himself to his sworn murderers or the city would be given up to massacre and pillage under the sanction of the governor.
shortly after leaving nauvoo they met brother a. c. hodge coming from carthage, who told them that a minister—whom joseph had previously treated with great kindness—warned him that so sure as joseph and hyrum came to carthage they would be killed. he also said that hamilton, the innkeeper at carthage, had pointed to the carthage greys, saying: "hodge, there are the boys that will settle you mormons."
a little farther on the way, the prophet received letters from attorneys at carthage to whom the governor had pledged his own honor and the honor of the state of illinois that the prisoners should be protected from all harm. this pledge ford reiterated often; and upon the strength of it many of the prophet's friends felt that he was safe.
it was not until a little before midnight that the party reached carthage, but they found the mob up and expecting them with great anxiety. as they passed the public square, many troops, especially the carthage greys, gave way to a frenzy of joy.
some of them shouted, "god damn you, old joe smith, we have got you now." others cried, "where is the damned prophet!" "stand away, you mcdonough boys, and let us shoot the damned mormons." "clear the way and let us have a view of joe smith, the prophet of god. he has seen the last of nauvoo. we'll use him up now, and kill all the damned mormons."
the profanity of the mob was an avalanche. such ravings and cursings were scarcely ever before heard from civilized men. the governor was an ear witness to it all and leaned from his tavern window to say in a fawning voice to the rabble:
gentlemen, i know your great anxiety to see mr. smith, which is natural enough, but it is quite too late tonight for you to have that opportunity; but i assure you, gentlemen, you shall have that privilege tomorrow morning, as i will cause him to pass before the troops upon the square, and i now wish you, with this assurance, quietly and peaceably to return to your quarters.
at this there was a hurrah for tom ford, and the mob obeyed his wish.
the prisoners were quartered at the tavern of hamilton, who had threatened brother hodge that the carthage greys would settle the "mormons." at the same inn was a party of apostates. one of them, john a. hicks, formerly president of the elders' quorum, stated to brother cyrus h. wheelock that it was determined to shed the blood of joseph smith, whether he was cleared by the law or not. hicks talked freely and unreservedly upon the subject, as if he were discoursing upon the most common occurrence of life; and boldly declared that the laws, the higbees and the fosters were all agreed upon this course.
elder wheelock carried this information to governor ford, but that craven wretch treated it with perfect indifference and suffered hicks and his associates to go on with their plans for murder.
a few hours later the most prominent enemies of the prophet at carthage declared:
there is nothing against these men; the law cannot reach them, but powder and ball shall. they will never get out of carthage alive.
footnotes
1. sixteen years after ford had acquiesced in the murder of joseph and hyrum smith, he said in his history of illinois:
the christian world, which has hitherto regarded mormonism with silent contempt, unhappily may yet have cause to fear its rapid increase. modern society is full of material for such a religion. at the death of the prophet, fourteen years after the first mormon church was organized, the mormons in all the world numbered about two hundred thousand souls (one-half million according to their statistics); a number equal, perhaps to the number of christians when the christian church was of the same age. it is to be feared that, in the course of a century, some gifted man like paul, some splendid orator, who will be able by his eloquence to attract crowds of the thousands who are ever ready to hear, and be carried away by the sounding brass and tinkling cymbal of sparkling oratory, may command a hearing, may succeed in breathing a new life into this modern mahometanism, and make the name of the martyred joseph ring as loud, and stir the souls of men as much, as the mighty name of christ itself. sharon, palmyra, manchester, kirtland, far west, adam-ondi-ahman, ramus, nauvoo and the carthage jail, may become holy and venerable names, places of classic interest, in another age: like jerusalem, the garden of gethsemane, the mount of olives, and mount calvary to the christian, and mecca and medina to the turk. and in that event, the author of this history feels degraded by the reflection, that the humble governor of an obscure state, who would otherwise be forgotten in a few years, stands a fair chance, like pilate and herod, by their official connection with the true religion, of being dragged down to posterity with an immortal name, hitched on to the memory of a miserable impostor. there may be those whose ambition would lead them to desire an immortal name in history, even in those humbling terms. i am not one of that number.
