MORMON WAR

MORMON WAR. The Mormon War (1844–1846) was a series of disorders between the Mormon residents of Nauvoo in Hancock County, Illinois, and the non-Mormon population of the neighboring territory. The non-Mormon population had welcomed the Mormons upon their 1839 arrival but soon resented their city charter, feared their political power, and envied their apparent prosperity. By June 1844 the Mormon militia was under arms in Nauvoo. At at least 1,500 armed men had assembled to expel the Mormons, and Governor Thomas had taken charge. The Mormon leader Joseph Smith surrendered on a charge of riot, but a mob murdered him and his brother Hyrum in the Carthage jail on 27 June. The Mormons began migrating in February 1846 and were nearly gone by the year's end.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, James B., and John W. Welch, eds. Coming to Zion. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, Brigham Young University, 1997.

Hallwas, John E., and Roger D. Launius, eds. Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois. Logan: Utah State University Press, 1995.

Schindler, Harold, ed. Crossing the Plains: New and Fascinating Accounts of the Hardships, Controversies, and Courage Experienced and Chronicled by the 1847 Pioneers on the Mormon Trail. Salt Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake Tribune, 1997.

Paul M.Angle/d. b.

See alsoLatter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of ; Mormon Expedition ; Mormon Trail ; Nauvoo, Mormons at .

Mormon War a bloodless but significant conflict between the Mormons and the federal government in 1857–58. In July 1857, President James Buchanan sent a 2,500–member expeditionary to secure the Utah Territory for its new governor, Alfred Cumming, a non-Mormon from Georgia. Buchanan had earlier appointed Cumming to replace Mormon Governor Brigham Young in order to quell complaints that the Mormons were traitors. As the U.S. troops slowly advanced, Young organized the Utah Militia to prepare for a guerrilla war and its presence successfully held the army at bay through the winter. In June 1858, peace was reached as Young resigned, the government pardoned the Mormons for rebellious acts, and U.S. troops set up Camp Floyd near Salt Lake City.