[], An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri; 1–84 pp.; Cincinnati, OH: Glezen and Shepard, stereotypers and printers, 1840. The copy used herein is held at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Historical Introduction
While incarcerated at , Missouri, in March 1839, JS addressed a letter to the church “at Illinois and scattered abroad and to in particular,” instructing the Saints to gather up “a knoledge of all the facts and sufferings and abuses put upon them by the people of this .” Edward Partridge responded with an account that became the three opening installments of “A History, of the Persecution, of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints in Missouri,” an eleven-part series published in the church’s newspaper, Times and Seasons, between December 1839 and October 1840. “A History, of the Persecution” receives comprehensive treatment in volume 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers and is available on this website.
may have intended to tell the entire story himself, but he fell ill shortly after publication of “A History, of the Persecution” began and died on 27 May 1840. Prompted by Partridge’s illness and subsequent death, the editors of the Times and Seasons, and , sought elsewhere for source materials to continue the series. It is probable that they composed the fourth installment to provide a brief transition from Partridge’s account, which ends in 1836, and the conflicts in and adjoining counties in 1838. The fifth and seventh installments reprinted passages from ’s History of the Late Persecutions Inflicted by the State of Missouri upon the Mormons (Detroit: Dawson and Bates, 1839). In May 1840, the sixth installment reprinted passages from ’s eighty-four page pamphlet, An Appeal to the American People: Being an Account of the Persecutions of the Church of Latter Day Saints; and of the Barbarities Inflicted on Them by the Inhabitants of the State of Missouri (Cincinnati: Glezan and Shepard, 1840). More of Rigdon’s work was reprinted in the eighth through tenth installments, published from July to September 1840. The series concluded with an eleventh installment in the October 1840 issue, featuring General ’s callous speech to the Saints after their surrender at , Missouri, in November 1838.
A manuscript version of ’s Appeal to the American People, referred to as the “petition draft” titled “To the Publick” and endorsed by JS, Rigdon, and , was read to a conference of Saints in , Illinois, on 1 November 1839. The conference voted to approve its publication in the name of the church. and then collaborated to arrange for publication of the text in late 1839 and early 1840. Though no author is named on the title page, Rigdon was acknowledged as author when the pamphlet was advertised in the Times and Seasons in 1840 and 1841. JS and Elias Higbee had some expectation that funds from the sale of the publication would help defray costs of their trip to in late 1839. In July 1840, a second edition was printed by Shepard & Stearns in to raise funds for Orson Hyde and ’s mission to .
Although many of the events reported in ’s pamphlet can be corroborated from other sources, his chronology is often inaccurate. (Consult the annotation in Histories, Volume 2 for correction to portions published as part of “A History, of the Persecutions.”) However, his account contains the text of several significant documents. Among these are JS’s 5 September 1838 affidavit concerning the 7 August 1838 visit to and those of and and regarding the massacre. Consequently, though in many respects Rigdon’s document is more advocacy than history, it offers access to some material not readily found elsewhere.
with parents. The civil authorities, as well as the military had all refused to do their duty, and there were many of them, at least, as deeply engaged in the mob, as any others. In the meantime and , who had been the sole cause of the settlement being made, solicited the saints to leave the place. , said he had assurances from the mob, that if they would leave the place, they would not be hurt, and that they would be paid for all losses, which they had sustained; and that they had come as mediators to accomplish this object; and that persons would be appointed to set value on the property which they had to leave; and that they should be paid for it. They finally through necessity, had to comply, and leave the place. Accordingly the committee was appointed. Judge Erickson was one of the committee, and Major Flory of Rutsville another; the names of the others not recollected. They appraised the real estate; that was all. When the people came to start, their horses, oxen and cows were gone, many of them; and could not be found: It was known at the time, and the mob boasted of it, that they had killed the oxen and lived on them. A great number of cows, oxen, and horses, have never been seen since, which doubtless the mob took and kept. Such wagons as could get off, started. It was in the afterpart of the day, on the 11th of October, 1838, when they left , for , and Counties. They travelled that day about twelve miles, and encamped in a grove of timber, near the road. That evening, a women, who had, some short time before, given birth to a child, in consequence of the exposure occasioned by the operations of the mob, and having to move her before her strength would admit, died, and was buried in the grove, without a coffin. There were a considerable number sick, both grown persons and children, which was principally owing to their exposure, and to their having been obliged to live in their wagons and tents so long, and to being deprived of suitable food. No sooner had they started than , called the mob together, and made a speech to them, saying, that they must hasten to assist their friends in . The land sales (he said) were coming on; and if they could get the Mor [p. 40]