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	Mormons
Commanders and leaders
Missouri Volunteer Militia: Samuel Bogart Samuel D. Lucas Unauthorized/renegade anti-Mormon vigilantes: Thomas Jennings	Caldwell County militia: George M. Hinkle David W. Patten † Danites: Sampson Avard
Casualties and losses
1 killed	21 killed (including 17 at Haun's Mill's massacre)
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 their neighbors in Missouri. It was preceded by tensions and episodes of extralegal violence targeting and involving Mormons, dating back to their initial settlement in Jackson County in 1831. State troops became involved after the Battle of Crooked River, leading Governor Lilburn Boggs to order Mormons expelled from the state. It should not be confused with the Illinois Mormon War or the Utah War.

By 1833, Mormons had established several settlements in Jackson County, Missouri, and had built a temple site in Independence, the county seat. The Mormons' presence in the county was short-lived, as non-Mormon residents grew increasingly hostile towards them. In November 1833, the Mormons were violently evicted from Jackson County, forcing the displaced Mormons to re-settle in neighboring counties. Eventually, the Missouri legislature created Caldwell County in 1836 as a sanctuary for Mormon settlement, known as the "Caldwell Compromise".

Violence reignited in 1838, when a brawl erupted at an election in Gallatin after a group tried to block the Mormons from voting. In Carroll County, a mob laid siege to the town of DeWitt demanding the Mormons' departure. The siege was joined by members of the Missouri Volunteer Militia who had been sent there to disperse the mob and settle the peace. Violence culminated in the Battle of Crooked River in late October, which 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, the Mormons surrendered at Far West, ending the war. Mormon leaders were accused of treason and sent to Liberty, where they stayed in custody until April, when they were transferred to a Daviess County prison. While traveling to Daviess County, the guards released the prisoners, including Joseph Smith. After their release, they joined with the 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.