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 Non-Mormon settlers Missouri Volunteer Militia	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mormon settlers Mormon Missouri Volunteer Militia defectors Danites
Commanders and leaders
Governor Lilburn Boggs	Joseph Smith (de facto)
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".

Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by Joseph Smith, had gradually migrated from New York to northwestern Missouri since 1831, mainly settling in Jackson County, where tensions with non-Mormon residents led to episodes of anti-Mormon violence. The Mormons were evicted from Jackson County in 1833 and resettled in new counties nearby, where tensions grew again and attempts to evict them resumed. On August 6, 1838, the war began following a brawl at an election in Gallatin, resulting in increased organized violence 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 falsely accused of treason and sent to Liberty Jail. In Liberty Jail, Smith stayed in custody until April, when he was transferred to Davies County prison. While traveling to Davies County, the guards released Smith and the other prisoners. After their release, Smith joined with the other saints who were gathering in Nauvoo, Illinois. During the conflict, 22 people were killed (three Mormons and one non-Mormon at Battle of Crooked Creek,^[1] one Mormon prisoner fatally injured while in custody,^[2] and 17 Mormon civilians at Hawn’s Mill^[3]), and 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.