1838 Mormon War

1838 Mormon War
Part of the Mormon Wars
"Charge of the Danites" in the 1838 Mormon War
Date August 6, 1838 – November 1, 1838 Location Northwestern Missouri, United States (Caldwell County, Carroll County, Daviess County, Livingston County) Result Missourian victory Mormons expelled from Missouri and resettled in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Belligerents
Missouri Missouri Volunteer Militia	Mormons Caldwell County Militia Mormon Missouri Volunteer Militia defectors Danites
Commanders and leaders
Lilburn Boggs Samuel Bogart Thomas Jennings Samuel D. Lucas	Joseph Smith (de facto) George M. Hinkle Sampson Avard David W. Patten †
Casualties and losses
22 killed and unknown wounded unknown civilian deaths

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The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three "Mormon Wars".

Some members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by Joseph Smith, had begun to settle in Jackson County, Missouri in 1831. However, tensions with non-Mormon residents led to episodes of anti-Mormon violence, and Mormons were violently evicted from Jackson County in 1833. The displaced Mormons re-settled in neighboring counties, where tensions and attempts to evict them resumed. Eventually, the Missouri legislation created Caldwell County in 1836 as a sanctuary for Mormon settlement, which became known as the "Caldwell Compromise".

Tensions reignited in 1838, when a brawl erupted at an election in Gallatin after some Missourians tried to block the Mormons from voting. Violence escalated between Mormons and non-Mormons backed by the Missouri Volunteer Militia in northwestern Missouri. The Battle of Crooked River in late October led to Lilburn Boggs, the Governor of Missouri, issuing the Missouri Executive Order 44, ordering the Mormons to leave Missouri or be killed. On November 1, 1838, Smith surrendered at Far West, the church's headquarters, ending the war. Smith was accused of treason and sent to Liberty Jail, where he stayed in custody until April, when he was transferred to a Daviess County prison. While traveling to Daviess County, the guards released Smith and the other prisoners. After their release, Smith joined with the other Mormons who were gathering in Nauvoo, Illinois.

During the conflict, 22 people were killed: three Mormons and one non-Mormon at the Battle of Crooked River,^[1] one Mormon prisoner fatally injured while in custody,^[2] and 17 Mormon civilians at Hawn’s Mill.^[3] An unknown number of non-combatants died due to exposure and hardship as a result of being expelled from their homes in Missouri.^[4] All of the conflicts in the Mormon War occurred in a corridor 100 miles (160 km) to the east and northeast of Kansas City.