The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo

by B. H. Roberts

This sudden and unexpected change in the vote of the citizens of Nauvoo, stirred up to the very depths the enmity of the defeated political party; and when, shortly after the election, R. D. Foster, who had been elected school commissioner, and G. W. Thatcher, who had been elected clerk of the commissioner's court for the county, appeared at the courthouse in Carthage to take the oath of office, and file their bonds, an attempt was made to keep them from doing so; and the court was threatened with violence if the Mormons were permitted to qualify.

They qualified, nevertheless; whereupon a call was issued for an anti-Mormon meeting to convene in Carthage on the following Saturday, August the 19th, to protest against the Mormons holding office. The people of Carthage and vicinity assembled at the appointed time, organized with a chairman, Major Reuben Graves; and a secretary, W. D. Abernethy; and a committee of nine to draft resolutions. After listening to speeches by Valentine Wilson, Walter Bagby and others, the meeting adjourned to meet again on the sixth of September.

To enumerate the crimes alleged against the Saints in general and in particular against Joseph Smith, in the preamble to the resolutions adopted at their second meeting, would be drawing up a list of all the crimes that ever threatened the peace, happiness, prosperity and liberty of a nation. They resolved that from recent movements among the Mormons, there were indications that they were unwilling to submit to the ordinary restrictions of law; and therefore concluded that the people of Illinois must assert their rights in some way. That while they deprecated anything like lawless violence, they pledged themselves to resist all wrongs the Mormons should inflict upon them in the future—"peaceably if they could, but forcibly if they must." They called upon all good and honest men to assist in humbling the pride of that "audacious despot," Joseph Smith; pledged themselves to raise a posse and take him if the authorities of Missouri made another demand for him; that it might not be said of them, that they allowed the most outrageous culprits "to go unwhipped of justice." They agreed to support no man of either political party who should truckle to the Mormons for their influence, and finally

Resolved that when the government ceases to afford protection, the citizens of course fall back upon their original inherent right of self-defense.

One of the principal movers in these meetings was Walter Bagby, the county collector, with whom Joseph had some difficulty in relation to the payment of taxes. In the dispute that arose Bagby told Joseph he lied, and for this insult Joseph struck him, and would doubtless have thrashed him soundly but for the interference of Daniel H. Wells. From that time on, Bagby became the relentless enemy of Joseph and the inspirer of these meetings at Carthage; and afterwards went to Missouri where he conferred with the Prophet's old enemies, and brought about that concerted action between the Missourians and the anti-Mormons of Illinois which resulted finally in his assassination.

Later in the fall, acts of violence began to be perpetrated upon the Mormon people who lived at a distance from Nauvoo; and threats of violence were frequent. In December of the year of which I am now writing—1843—a member of The Church living near Warsaw, by the name of Daniel Avery, and his son Philander, were kidnapped by Levi Williams, of Warsaw, John Elliot and others, and run across the Mississippi to Missouri, where for several weeks Daniel Avery was kept a prisoner in Clark County, while one Joseph McCoy was hunting up witnesses to prove that he had stolen a mare from him. Philander Avery escaped and returned to Illinois; but his father remained a prisoner, and suffered great cruelty at the hands of his captors. Finally, however, he was released by writ of habeas corpus, and went to Nauvoo where he made affidavit as to his treatment.

Wild rumors abounded also as to what the Missourians intended to do; and some of the letters from Missouri that fell into Joseph's hands, through friends of his, threatened Illinois with invasion, and for a season it would seem that a border war was inevitable. Joseph was careful to keep Governor Ford informed as to all acts of violence perpetrated upon his people, and especially as to the threats of the Missourians respecting an attack, and went so far as to tender the services of the Legion to repel any attempted invasion of the State should it occur. Governor Ford, however, refused to believe there was any danger in the threats, and therefore would detail no portion of the Legion, or of the other State militia, to be ready for such an assault.

A petition signed by nearly all the citizens of Nauvoo, asking the governor to issue no more warrants at the demand of Missouri for the arrest of Joseph Smith on the old charges, was presented to the executive, but the governor refused to give the people any encouragement that he would favorably entertain their suit.

In the meantime another important event began to take shape. As the time of the presidential election was now approaching the probable candidates for the office began to be discussed.

It was well known that the vote of the citizens of Nauvoo would be important, as it would most likely determine whether Illinois would go Whig or Democratic. The political friends of John C. Calhoun at Quincy, early perceived the importance of securing their favor, and began to work for it. A Colonel Frierson, of Quincy, the political friend of John C. Calhoun, expressed great sympathy for the Saints because of the injustice and persecution they had received at the hands of Missouri, and intimated to Brother Joseph L. Heywood that the Hon. B. Rhett, a representative from South Carolina to the United States Congress, and also a political friend to Mr. Calhoun, had expressed a willingness to present to Congress a memorial for a redress of wrongs suffered by the Saints in Missouri; but was careful to intimate to Brother Heywood, and through him to the citizens of Nauvoo, that he supposed that Mr. Calhoun would be a more acceptable candidate to them than Mr. Van Buren.