Shortly after eight o’clock Governor Ford called all the troops together and formed them in a hollow square. He then addressed them in a most inflammatory manner against the Prophet Joseph and the Patriarch Hyrum Smith. They needed little encouragement, as he well knew, for they even then were inflamed to a murderous degree. At the close of his speech he fulfilled his promise to the troops as they were drawn up in file, by taking Joseph and Hyrum Smith before them, and introduced them as Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Carthage Greys refused to receive them by such title, and made threats against their lives, to which the governor paid little heed.
His Lack of Sincerity
When Joseph Smith reported to Governor Ford that he had been before Daniel H. Wells, a justice of the peace, and had been tried, the governor replied that no other justice would do to try the case but the one who had issued the writ, therefore they must be tried before Justice Morrison. His lack of sincerity is shown in the fact that they were now taken before Justice Robert F. Smith, captain of the Carthage Greys and a most bitter mobocrat. The governor’s object was to drag them to Carthage to their enemies, and there was no thought of justice or right in making his demand. The accused brethren were bound over to appear at the next term of the circuit court. It was evident that the magistrate intended to place their bail at a figure which could not be met, in order to cast them into jail, but the bond was given, and Justice Smith left the court house without calling on the two prisoners, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, to answer to the charge of treason.
False Imprisonment
About eight p.m. Constable Bettisworth appeared at their lodgings at the Hamilton House and insisted on Joseph and Hyrum going to jail. They demanded to see the copy of the mittimus, which was refused. Their counsel, Messrs. H. T. Reid and J. W. Woods, informed the constable that they were entitled to a hearing before a justice, whereupon the constable produced a mittimus which falsely stated that they had been brought before Justice Robert F. Smith and the trial had been postponed by reason of the absence of material witnesses. They vigorously protested against such false and outrageous proceedings. Justice Smith asked the governor for advice, since his mittimus was illegal, and therefore this was a false committal, when Governor Ford replied, “You have the Carthage Greys at your command!” The hint was sufficient, and Captain Robert F. Smith thereupon commanded his “Greys” to execute the illegal action of Justice Robert F. Smith, and the Prophet Joseph and Patriarch Hyrum Smith were thrust into jail in defiance of all law. Elder John Taylor protested to the governor, but was answered by that craven individual that he had no power to interfere, and the law must take its course.
The Governor’s Broken Pledge
On the morning of June 26, Joseph requested an interview with Governor Ford, which had been denied him the day before. This time it was granted and the whole cause of the trouble was reviewed. Governor Ford contemplated going to Nauvoo the following day to investigate certain charges of counterfeiting, and the Prophet said he considered himself unsafe in Carthage and requested to be taken to Nauvoo. The governor gave his word of honor that he would take him when he went, but failed to keep his promise.
The Illegal Summons
In the afternoon, Frank Worrell appeared before the jail with the Carthage Greys and demanded that the prisoners be delivered up to the constable to be taken before Justice R. F. Smith for trial. The jailer, who had been instructed to keep them in custody “until discharged by due course of law,” protested such proceedings; but by threats Worrell compelled the jailer to surrender the prisoners. They were taken before Justice Smith, where their counsel, who had been given no notice of a trial, asked for a continuance that they might obtain witnesses. A continuance was granted until noon the following day. A new mittimus was made out and the prisoners committed again to prison, and without consultation on their part the time of trial was changed until the twenty-ninth.