, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; handwriting of ; nineteen pages; in Willard Richards, Journal, CHL. Portions of some entries were written in pencil before they were overwritten in ink.
Historical Introduction
JS’s journal, kept by , ended with the entry of 22 June 1844, just before JS left , Illinois, in company with Richards, , and . Richards, who remained with JS until the moment of JS’s death on 27 June, evidently left JS’s journal in Nauvoo when the four men departed for , Illinois. Richards, however, recorded in his own journal many of the events of the last five days of JS’s life. These events include JS’s arrival on the bank in on the morning of 23 June and his trip to Carthage, during which JS and Hyrum gave themselves up to authorities on the charge of treason. Richards’s journal also recounts JS’s activities in Carthage during the days preceding his and Hyrum’s deaths. The material Richards recorded in his own journal during this time is in the same format and style as the record he had been keeping for JS. Richards’s hasty, terse notations and precise attention to details—illustrated by his practice of recording the specific times events occurred—indicate that he continuously carried his journal with him and recorded many of the events as he witnessed them, possibly with the intention of using the record to fill in JS’s journal at a later date. Richards’s journal entries for 23–27 June 1844 provide a contemporaneous firsthand account of JS’s activities during the last five days of his life, and they are reproduced here in full. Richards first inscribed portions of these entries in pencil and then rewrote them in ink. In a few cases, while overwriting, he skipped or altered the original penciled text. The transcription here reproduces the final ink version and does not capture the slight variations in the penciled text.
For additional details on the events leading to the deaths of JS and Hyrum Smith, see Oaks and Hill, Carthage Conspiracy.
Oaks, Dallin H., and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975.
Page [24]
Editorial Note
Following are ’s hastily written notes taken during an “examination” of JS and other defendants in the Nauvoo Expositor riot case, held before Justice of the Peace Robert Smith at ’s in , Illinois. The fragmentary nature of the record precludes a thorough understanding of the arguments made by the prosecution, the defense, and the court in the course of the hearing. Accounts written shortly afterward, however, indicate that the court decided to release the prisoners on bail, with instructions to appear at the next term of the circuit court, only after hearing “great exertions” from the defense counsel and “a good deal of resistance” from the prosecution.
— mentind [mentioned] affidavit not here moved.— an adjournet [adjournment],— read Law.——
&— [blank] objected to an adjourmt [adjournment]—— said court was not authorizd to take recognisanc [recognizance] without their acknowlidgig [acknowledging] their guilt— or having witnesses <to prove, <that we> we> admit the press was distroyed.—— read Law— to show— that Justice could not r[e]cognize without admission of guilt—
Offered to give bail or <askd [illegible]> discharge, us.——
Law read was stated by to belong to civil not criminal cases.—
insistd to have a commissi[o]n crime acknownldgd [acknowledged]—
cou[r]t asked askd if the parties admitted th[e]re was suffic[ie]nt cau[s]e to bind over— and the council admittd there was suffcnt [sufficient] cau[s]e to bind ove[r]— with cognizanc[e] in comm[o]n form— [p. [24]]
“Awful Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:560; “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:564; see also Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Higbee was a prosecuting attorney in the case. The law Higbee read to support his motion to adjourn may have been “An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” section 8, which states that “previous to the commencement of any trial before a justice of the peace, either party may move to have such trial put off for a time not exceeding ten days, upon making proof, either upon his own oath, or that of a credible witness, that the said party cannot safely proceed to trial, on account of the absence of a material witness, or on account of any other cause or disability, which would prevent him from obtaining justice at such trial.” The affidavit to which Higbee referred may have offered the required “proof” that a key witness was unable to appear in court, or it may have been a missing key piece of evidence itself. (An Act Concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [1 June 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 405.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
The law Reid read may have been “An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders,” section 3, which states that before any judge in a criminal charge “shall commit such prisoner to jail, admit to bail, or discharge him or her from custody,” he must first “inquire into the truth or probability of the charge.” At this point in the proceedings, Reid, as counsel for the defense, apparently argued that the trial should proceed rather than adjourning (as adjournment would require that JS and the others continue to be incarcerated in Carthage) and releasing the prisoners on bail to appear at a later trial. Reid’s apparent resistance to the latter option seems based on his unwillingness to concede that a crime may have been committed, which the law required before bail could be set. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
At this point, the defense appears to have lifted its objection to posting bail. According to later accounts, “because of the rage of the rioters” and “in order to prevent if possible, any increase of excitement,” the defendants “chose to post bail . . . rather than go to the inquiry.” (Dan Jones, “The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother, Hyrum!,” in Dennis, “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” 87; see also “Statement of Facts,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
“An Act to regulate the apprehension of offenders” was part of Illinois’s criminal code. Reid may have been referring to a different law, or Willard Richards may have switched the order of “civil” and “criminal” as he recorded Reid’s statement. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.
The court’s question was apparently an inquiry “into the truth or probability of the charge.” Both the defense and the prosecution conceded that a crime may have been committed. The defense’s concession of this point was a reversal of its earlier position but necessary if setting bail was to be allowed. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 238.)
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835. Vandalia, IL: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835.