The Assassination of Generals Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage,
Hancock Co., Ill., June 27, 1844, while under the pledged protection of
the Governor of the State.
The engraving presented on another page is a true representation of
the jail at Carthage, Illinois, wherein Joseph Smith, revered by
the "Mormon" people as a prophet of God, and his brother Hyrum were
foully murdered in 1844. A sketch of the building was made by the late
Robert Campbell soon after the massacre, from which the illustration
accompanying this sketch was made.
The mob of eighty men, whose faces were painted black, were under the
direction of the notorious Captain Williams, who is represented in the
picture as standing just back of the four men who are shooting the
Prophet as he is lying partially stunned against the well curb. The
Captain is directing the murder, as is to be seen in the engraving.
Farther to the right is Captain Smith, with his company of Carthage
Greys, who were entrusted with the care and custody of the prisoners
under the pledge of the Governor of the state for their safety.
In the afternoon of the day of the murder, the mob were concealed
in the woods about three-quarters of a mile northwest of the jail,
where they had previously marched. The front of the jail is to the
south. Communication for some time was kept up between the mob and
the Carthage Greys by couriers, until a perfect understanding was
effected between the two mobs, for by this mutual understanding the
State troops had become identified with the murder. The diabolical plot
was so arranged that the troops had their guns loaded only with blank
cartridges. From the situation of affairs, the disbanding of the troops
at Carthage (except those treacherous Greys), and the Governor being
at the same time in Nauvoo disarming the Nauvoo Legion, looks like a
very deep plot for the murder of those two innocent prisoners. What
makes it still more apparent that the State was guilty of this foul
deed, is the fact that not one of those who were immediately connected
with the murder were ever convicted, while many of them roamed at
large, although well known to the community as having taken part in the
murder, some even boasting of having participated in the vile act. One
man in particular, who lived in what was known as Morley's settlement,
near Carthage, openly claimed to have helped in the massacre.
While I was in St. George about two years ago I read from a record book
the following:
"Mr. Meradis Perry, a near neighbor of ours, was one of the mob who
killed Joseph Smith. He came home from Carthage sick and begged my
father to kill him; 'for,' said he, 'I can neither eat nor sleep. When
I close my eyes I can see Joseph Smith before me; I am a miserable
man.' My father told him that he was in the hands of the Lord, and he
would deal with him as seemed good onto himself; that Joseph was a true
prophet sent of God, and his blood, with that of his brother, would
cry from Carthage jail against his murderers as did Able's against his
slayer. My father, James Bellows, lived near Morley's settlement."
The daughter of Jas. Bellows, who has the record named, vouches for the
above, having seen the mobber. She says he was a miserable human being.
The mob came from the woods, entered the stairway door, crowded
upstairs, and commenced pressing in the door where the prisoners were
confined. They were unable to open the door for a while, when shots
were fired through the door. All was commotion and confusion. A ball
passing through the door pierced Hyrum Smith on the side of his nose
just below the eye, when he fell prostrate on the floor, exclaiming: "I
am a dead man."
The Prophet thought that by leaping from the window of the upper story
would attract the attention of the rabble and thus save the lives of
his friends. Willard Richards is to be seen looking from the window of
the prison upon the heart-rending scene without being able to render
the Prophet of God any assistance in his dying moments.
It is possible that while the martyr was holding on to the window sill
he received some of his wounds, before falling to the ground. As he
reached the ground he cried out: "O Lord, my God!"
Each received four balls. John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the
Twelve Apostles, were the only ones in the room at the time besides
the two martyrs. John Taylor was wounded severely with four balls, but
after much suffering he recovered, and lived a life of usefulness, and
finally presided over the Church, until his death. Willard Richards
escaped without a hole in his robe, and died in peace in his Utah home
many years after.
Thus two of the most noble sons of God have sealed their testimony with
their blood, and henceforth are numbered with those whom John saw under
the altar,--"the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and
for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood on them that live on the earth? And white robes were given
every one of them: and it was said unto them, that they should rest for
a little season, until their fellow servants and their brethren, that
should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
As Jesus our Saviour was crucified and his disciples martyred, and not
one of their murderers ever brought to justice (only as God punished
them), so has it been in this enlightened age of the world with
assassins who have been equally guilty.
The picture, although a sad one, is a true representation of the
tragedy, and will never be forgotten by those who once behold it. Hyrum
Smith was 44 years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was Only 38
in December, 1843. They were martyred on the 27th of June, 1844. The
late President John Taylor's watch was struck with a bullet while in
his pocket, and stopped between 4 and 5 o'clock.
I first saw Joseph Smith in 1844 at my mother's house. It was late
in the spring season. I also heard him bear his testimony many times
with a power that was not gainsaid by those who heard him testify with
regard to the visions which he had been favored with. Some of his
hearers said:
"Well, if it is true it will stand."
When I heard the three witnesses testify to the coming forth of the
Book of Mormon, and that they had in open daylight both seen and
heard the voice of the angel, I knew their testimony was true. My
first impression of Joseph nearly sixty years ago was that he was a
true prophet, and I formed a love for him which increased with our
acquaintance. I was with him in the state of Missouri during those
trying scenes until his imprisonment in Liberty jail, and subsequently
in Illinois, and with the bereaved family and thousands of Latter-day
Saints shed a tear over his remains as he lay silently in death's
embrace. I took a last look at him in the Nauvoo Mansion in June, 1844.
Joseph Bates Nobles stated to me that he was with the Prophet when he
was going voluntarily to give himself up to the pretended requirements
of the law, on which occasion he said:
"I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer's
morning; I have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards
all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me--'He was
murdered in cold blood.'"
Hyrum also knew of their doom, for on the morning just before leaving
for the murderous prison he turned down the leaf of the fifth chapter
of the Book of Ether, which reads as follows:
"And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give
unto the gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to
pass that the Lord said unto me, if they have not charity, it mattereth
not unto you, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments are
clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made
strong, even to the sitting down in the place which I have prepared
in the mansions of my father. And now I----bid farewell unto the
gentiles; yea, and also until my brethren whom, I love, [and all who
knew him well knew of his mercy and benevolence], until we shall meet
before the judgment seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my
garments are not spotted with your blood."
They were innocent of crime, as had been proven many, many times.
It was a conspiracy of "traitors and wicked men," and their blood,
as I saw it on the floor of Carthage jail in 1844, soon after their
martyrdom, and again in 1888, is still there as a witness against the
murderers.
The jail is now transformed into a comfortable private residence, and
is occupied by Mrs. Elizabeth Mathews Browning, her husband having
deeded it to her. Many years ago the county sold the premises to Mr.
B. F. Patterson, subsequently he sold it to Mr. Jas. M. Browning, who
in turn deeded it to his wife. While being shown around the premises,
in its varied parts, by Mrs. Browning, we came to where the well
curb once stood, which is now substituted by a bed of lilies of the
valley, being assured that the spot will ever be held in remembrance.
The house has an addition of an east wing, and the rude fence has been
remodeled into a nice picket fence. Just prior to leaving Carthage, the
kind lady of the house took us up stairs, where the mob entered. We
saw the bullet hole through the door. Although repaired somewhat, we
saw where the bullet went that killed Hyrum. Other bullet marks were
also visible. Although the floor was carpeted, we were assured by Mrs.
Browning that the blood stain still remains, and cannot be washed away.
At the time of the Prophet's martyrdom, many marveled why Joseph was
taken away from the Church; but since that time we have learned that
it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to them by whom they
come. God suffered his Son Jesus to be crucified. It was necessary
to accomplish certain ends. Many have marveled because of his death,
but it was needful that he should seal his testimony with his blood,
that he might be honored and the wicked be condemned. When Mr. O.
H. Browning, pleading for the Prophet, gave a recitation of what he
himself had seen at Quincy, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi
River (when the Saints were expelled from Missouri), so sad were the
scenes depicted that the spectators were moved into tears. Judge
Douglass himself and most of the officers wept. In conclusion, Mr.
Browning said:
"Great God! have I not seen it? Yes, my eyes have beheld the
blood-stained traces of innocent women and children in the drear
winter, who have traveled hundreds of miles barefoot, through frost
and snow, to seek refuge from their savage pursuers. 'Twas a scene
of horror sufficient to elicit sympathy from an adamantine heart.
And shall this unfortunate man, whom their fury has seen proper to
select for sacrifice, be driven into such a savage land and none dare
to enlist in the cause of justice? If there was no other voice under
heaven ever to be heard in this cause, gladly would I stand alone
and proudly spend my last breath in defense of an oppressed American
citizen."
Judge Douglass dismissed Joseph on the 10th of June, 1841. Again in
May, 1843, he was kidnapped in Dixon, Ill., but before his enemies
succeeded in dragging him over the line into Missouri, he obtained the
aid of three lawyers, who finally secured his release on habeas corpus.
While in custody, Mr. Reynolds of Missouri several times cocked his
pistol on Joseph, threatening to shoot. The latter bared his breast,
saying:
"Shoot away! I have endured so much I am weary of life; kill me, if you
please."
After repeated failures to have him executed in a legal way, his
enemies said:
"If we cannot reach him by law, powder and ball shall," which was at
last fulfilled at the well-curb at Carthage jail.
"Our Patriarch and Prophet, too, Were massacred; they bled To seal
their testimony,--They were numbered with the dead, Ah, tell me, are
they sleeping? Me thinks I hear them say, 'Death's icy chains are
bursting, 'Tis the Resurrection day!'
* * * * * * * * * *
"Oh, wretched murd'rers, fierce for human blood!
You've slain the Prophets of the living God,
Who've borne oppression from their early youth,
To plant on earth the principles of truth."