JS, Letter, [Pike Co., IL], to , , Geauga Co., OH, 4 June 1834. Retained copy, [between ca. June and ca. Oct. 1839], in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 56–59; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
Historical Introduction
On 4 June 1834, JS dictated this letter to his wife from the eastern banks of the in , where he and the rest of the had arrived earlier that morning. In the roughly two and a half weeks that had passed since he wrote to Emma on 18 May, JS and the expedition had traveled through and into Illinois, frequently using the National Road, a thoroughfare that ran from Maryland, through Indiana, and into Illinois.
Residents of the towns they passed through noticed the company, particularly its relatively large numbers of armed men. Having received recruits from of the church along the way, the expedition’s numbers were approximately 170 at this point. Many observers, however, estimated a much larger number for the group. For example, the Huron Reflector, published in Norwalk, Ohio, stated that the expedition had 300 members, each marching “with the Book of Mormon in one hand and a musket in the other.” The Richmond Palladium, an newspaper, described the expedition as numbering “about two hundred,” nearly all of whom carried firearms. The Sangamo Journal of , Illinois, reported that the “generally armed” group consisted of between 250 and 300 men. also reported that a man in , Illinois, counted the members of the expedition as they passed, giving the final count as more than 500. “This thing was attempted many times in villages and towns as we passed through,” Kimball explained, “but the people were never able to ascertain our number.” Similarly, later remembered, “I never heard of our being numbered less than twice our actual number.”
After arriving at the , the group had to wait for a ferry before crossing. Using the extra time, JS dictated this letter to , detailing the camp’s organization, the food its members ate, the health of individual members, the attention the expedition received from curious onlookers, and the burial mounds they discovered in that, for JS, confirmed the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. JS also shared his fears that he did not have enough men to protect the Saints once they were restored to their lands. He expressed hope that members of the church would quickly move to to strengthen the church there.
In general, JS downplayed the difficulties the expedition was encountering, probably to alleviate any concerns might have had about him. Although he mentioned spies of “the enemy,” he did not discuss threats that these individuals sometimes made against the camp, including declarations that the expedition would never reach . Likewise, JS stated that the camp experienced a “tolerable degree of union,” even though other accounts explained that the day before JS dictated this letter, he told the group that “the Lord was displeased” with them because of fault-finding and complaining. JS also depicted the expedition as having sufficient food, but according to , their food was sometimes “scanty.” later stated that at one point, he was so “weary, hungry and sleepy” that he “dreamed while walking along the road of seeing a beautiful stream of water by a pleasant shade and a nice loaf of bread and a bottle of milk laid out on a cloth by the side of the spring.”
The original of this letter has not been located. JS likely dictated it to , who penned a note at the end of it to his wife, . The letter was probably mailed to on 5 June after the group crossed the and camped near the town Louisiana, Missouri, where a post office was located. In 1839, copied the letter into Letterbook 2, including the note from Williams to his wife.
Bruce, Robert. The National Road: Most Historic oroughfare in the United States, and Strategic Eastern Link in the National Old Trails Ocean-to-Ocean Highway. Washington DC: National Highways Association, 1916.
Kimball, “Journal and Record,” 10; Woodruff, Journal, 1 May 1834; Radke, “We Also Marched,” 149. George A. Smith later remembered that Parley P. Pratt and Amasa Lyman were sent to a branch of the church at Eugene, Indiana; they returned on 26 May with “a company and some additional funds.” Pratt himself recalled that he “was chiefly engaged as a recruiting officer,” calling on branches of the church in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri for “men and means.” (George A. Smith, Autobiography, 20; Pratt, Autobiography, 122.)
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Embracing His Life, Ministry and Travels, with Extracts, in Prose and Verse, from His Miscellaneous Writings. Edited by Parley P. Pratt Jr. New York: Russell Brothers, 1874.
George A. Smith, Autobiography, 26–27. George A. Smith also remembered an incident on 3 June in which some of the expedition’s members angrily hurled partially rotting ham at JS’s tent door, declaring, “We don’t eat dirty, stinking meat.”
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
Kimball, Heber C. “The Journal and Record of Heber Chase Kimball an Apostle of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” ca. 1842–1858. Heber C. Kimball, Papers, 1837–1866. CHL. MS 627, box 1.
Register of Officers and Agents, 161 (second numbering); “Extracts from H. C. Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1845, 6:788.
A Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth Day of September, 1817; Together with the Names, Force, and Condition, of all the Ships and Vessels Belonging to the United States, and When and Where Built. Prepared at the Department of State, In Pursuance of a Resolution of Congress, of the 27th of April, 1816. Washington DC: E. De Krafft, 1818.A Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the 30th of September, 1829; together with the Names, Force, and Condition, of All the Ships and Vessels Belonging to the United States, and When and Where Built. Washington DC: William A. Davis, 1830.A Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the 30th of September, 1831; together with the Names, Force, and Condition, of All the Ships and Vessels Belonging to the United States, and When and Where Built. Washington DC: William A. Davis, 1831.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
considerable fever in consequence of taking cold— and bro Foster who came from who was taken last evening with the Typhus Fever, but are both better to day, and we are in hopes will be able to proceed on their journey to morrow, I have been able to endur[e] the fatigue of the journey far beyond my most sanguine expectations, except have been troubled some with lameness, have had my feet blistered, but are now well, and have also had a little touch of my side complaint, Bro is now able to travel all day & his health is improving very fast, as is the case with all the weakly ones, Addison Wren has been an exceeding good boy and has been very obedient to me in all things, as much so as tho I was his own father, and is healthy and able to travel all day. has been some unwell, but is now enjoying good health has been afflicted with his eyes, but they are getting better, and in fine, all the is in as good a situation as could be expected; but our numbers and means are altogether too small for the accomplishment of such a great enterprise, but they are falling daily and our only hope is that whilst we deter the enemy, and terrify them for a little season (for we learn by the means of some spies we send out for that purpose that they are greatly terrified) notwithstanding they are endeavoring to make a formidable stand, and their numbers amount to several hundred, and the Lord shows us to good advantage in the eyes of their spies, for in counting us the[y] make of our 170 men from five to seven hundred and the reports of the people are not a little calculated [to] frighten and strike terror through their ranks for the general report is that four or five hundred Mormons are traveling through the Country well-armed, and disciplined; and that five hundred more has gone a south west [course?] and expect to meet us, and also another company are on a rout[e] North of us, all these things serve to help us, and we believe the hand of the Lord is in it, Now is the time for the abroad to come to . It is our prayer day and night that God will open the heart of the Churches to pour in men and means to assist us, for the redemption of Zion and upbuilding of Zion. We want the in to use every exertion to influence the Church to come speedily to our relief. Let them come pitching their tents by the way, remembering to keep the sabbath day according to the the same as at home, buying flour and cooking their own provision which they can do, with little trouble, and the expence will be trifling. We have our company divided into messes of 12 or 13— each having a cook and cooking utensils, all that is necessary; so that we are not obliged to trouble any mans house, and we buy necessaries such as butter, sugar and honey, so that we live as well as heart can wish. After we left the eastern part of the State of we could get provision on an average as follows; flour by the hundred $1.50, bacon from 4½ to 6 dollar per Hundred butter from 6 to 8 cents pr pound, honey from 3 to 4 shilling the gallon, new milk from 3 4 to 6 ct per gallon. The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest men and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the , recounting [p. 57]
A medical guide published in 1835 similarly stated that adults contracted the mumps through exposure to cold. (Gregory, Elements of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, 215–216.)
Gregory, George. Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic, Designed for the Use of Students. New York: M. Sherman, 1830.
The “bro Foster” referred to here is probably Solon Foster, who lived in Warsaw, Genesee County, New York, although a James Foster also participated in the expedition. (Account with the Church of Christ, ca. 11–29 Aug. 1834; Backman, Profile, 93; Solon Foster, Warsaw, NY, to Julius Foster, Clinton, NY, 25 Mar. 1833, Foster Family Correspondence, CHL.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
Foster Family Correspondence, 1833–1922. CHL. MS 6177.
JS’s lameness may have been an effect of an 1813 bone infection in his lower left leg and the subsequent surgery to treat it. (See Wirthlin, “Joseph Smith’s Boyhood Operation,” 131–154.)
On the night of 24–25 March 1832, JS was tarred and feathered by a mob in Hiram, Ohio. That attack, he noted in an 1835 letter to his brother William, “wounded . . . my side,” an affliction that apparently troubled him periodically thereafter. (JS History, vol. A-1, 205–207; Letter to William Smith, 18 or 19 Dec. 1835.)
JS History / Smith, Joseph, et al. History, 1838–1856. Vols. A-1–F-1 (original), A-2–E-2 (fair copy). Historian’s Office, History of the Church, 1839–ca. 1882. CHL. CR 100 102, boxes 1–7. The history for the period after 5 Aug. 1838 was composed after the death of Joseph Smith.
“Wren” may have been a transcription error by James Mulholland. The only “Addison” listed as part of the Missouri expedition was Addison Green, who was fourteen years old at the time (he turned fifteen on 12 June). (Account with the Church of Christ, ca. 11–29 Aug. 1834; Backman, Profile, 30; see also Bradley, Zion’s Camp 1834, 268–275.)
Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.
Bradley, James L. Zion’s Camp 1834: Prelude to the Civil War. Logan, UT: By the author, 1990.
George A. Smith later recollected that at the beginning of the journey, “My eyes which were always very weak were inflamed.” (George A. Smith, Autobiography, 14.)
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
It is possible that this was supposed to say “but they are falling in daily,” but the “in” was inadvertently left out. No records indicating desertions or other loss of men have been located; instead, records highlight increases in the expedition’s numbers.
By “enemies”—the number of which may have been exaggerated—JS may have been referring to the men waiting for them in Jackson County. Other individuals also closely followed the Camp of Israel and periodically threatened them on their journey. To acquire more intelligence on these individuals, Frederick G. Williams was sent “forward” from the camp one morning “to select a camp ground” close to Jacksonville, Illinois, and to “watch the movements of our enemies.” (“Extracts from H. C. Kimball’s Journal,” Times and Seasons, 1 Feb. 1845, 6:787–788; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 22–23.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
George A. Smith made several references to spies in his account of the expedition. On Tuesday, 20 May, he related, three men came into camp asking questions. “These same spies who had come from the West, passed us several times that day and the next, changing their horses and clothes and disguising themselves in various ways, yet we knew them.” On Sunday, 25 May, “a ruffianly looking fellow came into Camp professing to be drunk, but Joseph recognized him to be a man he had seen in Jackson Co. Mo.” On Friday, 30 May, “the Spies that had followed us so long, watched us very closely, changing their dress and horses several times a day.” George A. Smith also noted that “as we were aware of Spies being around us who sought to Kill Joseph Smith we called him Squire Cook.” (George A. Smith, Autobiography, 18–19, 22, 26, underlining in original.)
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.
A circular letter sent by Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery to church branches on 10 May 1834 counseled those outside of Zion to “dispose of their property, (such as they cannot carry,) and gather in upon the consecrated land” in Missouri. “The Lord has said,” the letter continued, “that there was abundant means in his church to establish the places where he had appointed his [the Saints] to gether.” (Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery, Kirtland, OH, to “Dear Brethren,” 10 May 1834, in Cowdery, Letterbook, 50.)
Cowdery, Oliver. Letterbook, 1833–1838. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
An August 1831 revelation similarly counseled the Saints traveling to Missouri to “do like unto the children of Israel pitching their tents by the way.” (Revelation, 12 Aug. 1831 [D&C 61:25].)
A shilling was an English silver coin valued at 1/20 of a pound sterling, or twelve pence. According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, it was equivalent to almost twenty-two cents in United States currency; by 1828, its value in states such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia had depreciated significantly. In New York, a Spanish coin worth twelve and a half cents was also called a shilling. George A. Smith later recollected that the group purchased honey in Atlas, Illinois, for twenty-five cents a gallon. (“Shilling,” in American Dictionary; George A. Smith, Autobiography, 27.)
An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to Exhibit, I. the Origin, Affinities and Primary Signification of English Words, as far as They Have Been Ascertained. . . . Edited by Noah Webster. New York: S. Converse, 1828.
Smith, George A. Autobiography, ca. 1860–1882. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 1, fd. 2.