The Battle of Crooked River was a skirmish between

Latter Day Saints The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

forces and a

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit from southeast of Elmira, Missouri, in Ray County; the militia was under the command of

Samuel Bogart Samuel Bogart (2 April 1797 – 11 March 1861) was an itinerant Methodist minister and militia captain from Ray County, Missouri who played a prominent role in the 1838 Missouri Mormon War before later moving to Collin County, Texas, where h ...

. The battle was one of the principal points of conflict in the 1838 Missouri Mormon War. After the battle, the governor of Missouri issued

Missouri Executive Order 44 Missouri Executive Order 44, commonly known as the Mormon Extermination Order, was an executive order issued on October 27, 1838, by the then Governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs. The order was issued in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked Riv ...

, sometimes called the "Extermination Order", which led to the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri.

Background

During 1838 there was an escalation in tensions between the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and their neighbors in northwestern Missouri. Ray County was located immediately south of the Mormon-dominated Caldwell County. The two counties were separated by a no-man's land 24 miles long and 6 miles wide, known as "Bunkham's Strip" or "Buncombe Strip". This unincorporated strip was attached to Ray County for administrative and military purposes. The citizens of Ray County and their neighbors to the west in

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

, first began to have concerns about the Mormons to the north when a group of "dissenters" from the church was expelled from Caldwell County. These dissenters, including

David Whitmer David Whitmer (January 7, 1805 – January 25, 1888) was an American Mormon leader who eventually became the most interviewed of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Early life Whitmer was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvani ...

William Wines Phelps William Wines Phelps (February 17, 1792 – March 7, 1872) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He printed the first edition of the Book of Commandments that became a standard work of the church and wrote numerous hymns, some of ...

John Whitmer John Whitmer (August 27, 1802 – July 11, 1878) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates. Whitmer was also the first official Church Historian and a member of t ...

and

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

, had been the leaders of the Latter Day Saint church in Missouri. They relocated their families to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, the county seats of Ray and Clay, respectively, and claimed that their lives had been threatened and their property had been stolen by the Mormons. Conflicts between the Mormons and non-Mormons in Carroll County and Daviess County throughout the summer put settlers in the more settled counties of Ray and Clay increasingly on edge. This unease reached a bursting point when

Thomas B. Marsh Thomas Baldwin Marsh (November 1, 1800 – January 1866) was an early leader in the Latter-day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as the quorum's first president in the Church of the Latter Day ...

and

Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...

of the Mormon

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

arrived in Richmond and reported that the

Danites The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took ...

had invaded Daviess County and sacked the county seat of Gallatin. They also charged that a Mormon group known as the

Danite The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a ...

s planned to burn Richmond and Liberty to the ground. This testimony sent the worried citizens into a near frenzy. Women, children and property were ferried across the Missouri River for protection against an imminent Mormon invasion, and the state militia was put on alert. It was later discovered that the alert was ill-founded and caused by an anti-Mormon who was trying to create unease to turn the people against Mormons.

Prelude to the battle

General

David R. Atchison David Rice Atchison (August 11, 1807January 26, 1886) was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years. Atchison served as a major general i ...

of Clay County, commander of the state militia in northwestern Missouri, ordered a company led by Captain Samuel Bogart of Ray County to patrol Bunkham's Strip to "prevent, if possible, any invasion of Ray county by persons in arms whatever". According to Peter Burnett, a resident of Liberty, "Captain Bogart was not a very discreet man, and his men were of much the same character". Bogart had previously participated in a

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

group that harried the Mormons in Carroll County. Bogart and his party began visiting the homes of Latter Day Saints living in Bunkham's Strip, forcibly disarming them and ordering them to leave Ray County. Bogart penetrated into Caldwell County and began to similarly harass Mormons there, advising them to remove to

Far West, Missouri Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It ...

, the county seat. Returning to Ray County, his men captured three Mormons — Nathan Pinkham, Jr., William Seely, and Addison Green. Reports quickly made it to Far West to the effect that a "mob" had captured and intended to execute a group of Mormon prisoners. About midnight, an armed rescue party formed.

David W. Patten David Wyman Patten (November 14, 1799 – October 25, 1838) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was killed at the Battle of Crooked River and is regarded as a martyr ...

led the contingent of Caldwell county militia. Patten had come to be known as "Captain Fear-not," for his bravery during the attacks in Daviess County. The Mormon force quickly moved south along the main road connecting Far West and Richmond.

The battle

On the night of October 24, 1838, Captain Bogart's unit had camped along the banks of Crooked River in Bunkham's Strip. Patten and the Mormon rescue company approached from the north along the main road, having traveled the 12 or so miles from Far West in the five hours since midnight. At daybreak on the 25th, the Mormons encountered the militia's sentries. A brief firefight ensued, with each side testifying that the other had fired first. One of the sentries, John Lockhart, shot Patrick O'Bannion, the Mormons' scout. O'Bannion later died from this wound. Lockhart and the other guards fled down the hill to the militia camp which took up a defensive position. The Mormon company approached the camp of the Ray militia and formed a battle line in three columns, led by

, Charles C. Rich, and Patrick Durfee. Rich later recalled that soon after the Mormons had formed their lines, the militia "fired upon us with all their guns".Baugh, p. 104 A general firefight commenced, but the militia were situated behind the riverbank and held the tactically superior position. Patten decided to charge the militia position, shouting the Mormon battle cry of "God and Liberty!" The Missourians were without swords and so broke their lines and fled across the river in all directions. During his charge, Patten was shot and mortally wounded. Ebenezer Robinson recalled that Patten had been "brave to a fault, so much so that he was styled and called 'Captain Fearnought'". Although it was not immediately realized, Gideon Carter had also been killed, making a total of three Mormon fatalities and one militiaman fatality. The Mormons collected their wounded as well as the baggage which Bogart's unit had left in the camp and made their way back to Far West. During the conflict, one of the militia men named Samuel Tarwater was injured by

Parley P. Pratt Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...

. After Tarwater fell unconscious from the injury, D. Michael Quinn states the company of Danites "mutilated the unconscious Tarwater 'with their swords' striking him lengthwise in the mouth, cutting off his under teeth, and breaking his lower jaw; cutting off his cheeks ... and leaving him ordead."

Aftermath

The battle resulted in four fatalities and the mutilation of Samuel Tarwater. It served as a catalyst for a massive escalation of the Mormon War. Exaggerated reports of the Mormon incursion into Daviess County and of the battle (some claiming that half of Bogart's men had been lost) made their way to Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs. He responded by issuing an executive order calling out 2,500 state militiamen to put down what he perceived to be open rebellion by the Mormons. Two days later, Governor Boggs issued an order that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state" and directed the militia to carry this into effect. On October 30, a mob of approximately 200 men killed 17 men and boys at Haun's Mill. The next day,

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

and approximately 50 other church leaders were arrested. Most of these leaders were released within three weeks. In November, the rest were marched first to Independence, then to Richmond, and then to Liberty, where they were incarcerated in Liberty Jail. Joseph and

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...

were indicted by a grand jury on the charge of treason. They escaped while being transferred to Boone County. In the end, the bulk of the membership of the church was forced to leave the state, being expelled by the governor's order.

Notes

References

* Baugh, Alexander L., ''A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri,''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

, 2000. *''Document Containing the Correspondence, Orders &c. in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons; And the Evidence Given Before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the Court-House in Richmond, in a Criminal Court of Inquiry, Begun November 12, 1838, on the Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Others, for High Treason and Other Crimes Against the State.'' Fayette, Missouri, 1841
complete text.
* *Peck, Reed, ''The Reed Peck Manuscript,'

*Quinn, D. Michael, ''The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power,'' pp. 99–100 Signature Books, 1994

External links

Mel Tungate's Battle of Crooked River sources website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Crooked River 1838 Mormon War Mormonism-related controversies 1838 in Missouri Crooked River October 1838 events