Attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs
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An attempted assassination of Lilburn Boggs occurred on May 6, 1842, when an unknown assailant fired
buckshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired thro ...
into Boggs's home, striking the former
Missouri Governor The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...
. Boggs was shot through a window as he read a newspaper in his study and was hit in four places: two balls were lodged in his skull, a third lodged in his neck, and a fourth entered his throat and was swallowed. Boggs was severely injured. Several doctors—Boggs's brother among them—pronounced his injuries fatal, and at least one newspaper ran an obituary. To general surprise, Boggs not only survived, but his condition gradually improved. The crime was investigated by Sheriff J.H. Reynolds, who discovered a revolver at the scene, still loaded with buckshot. He surmised that the suspect had fired upon Boggs and lost his firearm in the dark rainy night when the weapon recoiled due to its unusually large shot. The gun had been stolen from a local shopkeeper, who identified "that hired man of Ward's" as the "most likely culprit".


Context and aftermath

In the wake of the
1838 Mormon War 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 J ...
, which saw armed conflict between Missouri State Guard and a Mormon militia, Governor Boggs issued
Missouri Executive Order 44 Missouri Executive Order 44, commonly known as the Mormon Extermination Order, was an executive order issued on October 27, 1838, by the then Governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs. The order was issued in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked Ri ...
, known by Mormons as the "Extermination Order", branding Mormons "enemies homust be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace". News of the attack reached Nauvoo around May 14. On May 21, the ''Quincy Whig'' reported that "There are several rumors in circulation ... one of which throws the crime upon the Mormons—from the fact, we suppose, that Mr. Boggs was governor at the time, and no small degree instrumental in driving them from the State. Smith ... prophesied a year or so ago, his death by violent means." Some Mormons saw the assassination attempt positively: An anonymous contributor to '' The Wasp'', a pro-Mormon newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, wrote on May 28 that "Boggs is undoubtedly killed according to report; but who did the noble deed remains to be found out."


John C. Bennett's accusations

The ''Sangamo Journal'' published a letter by John C. Bennett, a recently excommunicated Mormon who, prior to the assassination, had served as mayor of Nauvoo, Major General of the Nauvoo Legion, and Chancellor of the University of Nauvoo. Bennett made a number of controversial allegations. Firstly, he claimed that Joseph Smith personally threatened him and forced him to make a false statement under oath. Bennett's letters also alleged, in detail, the practice of Mormon polygamy in Nauvoo. Bennett implicated Smith in the assassination attempt, writing: :"In 1841, Joe Smith predicted or prophesied in a public congregation in Nauvoo, that Lilburn W Boggs, ex-Governor of Missouri, should die by violent hands within one year. From one or two months prior to the attempted assassination of Gov. Boggs, Mr. O. P. Rockwell left Nauvoo for parts unknown to the citizens at large. I was then on terms of close intimacy with Joe Smith, and asked him where Rockwell had gone? "Gone," said he, "GONE TO FULFILL PROPHECY!" Rockwell returned to Nauvoo the day before the report of the assassination reached there." Smith and his supporters vehemently denied Bennett's account.


Porter Rockwell

Officials accused Orrin Porter Rockwell, one of Smith's longest and closest followers. Rockwell was one of the first members of the Latter Day Saint movement. At 16 years old, Rockwell was baptized into
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
on April 6, 1830, the day the church was organized; it is most likely that Rockwell was the youngest member of the first group to be baptized into the church. Rockwell was eight years younger than
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...
. When Smith was publishing the
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
, Rockwell would work by picking berries at midnight and hauling wood into town in order to help pay for the publishing of the book. Rockwell served as a loyal personal bodyguard to both Smith and
Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...
.


Arrest of Smith and Rockwell attempted

On July 20, Boggs issued a sworn statement saying that he "believes, and has good reason to believe from evidence and information now in his possession, that Joseph Smith, commonly called the Mormon Prophet, was accessory before the fact of the intended murder;" Current Missouri Governor Reynolds requested "the surrender and delivery of the said Joseph Smith" to Edward R. Ford. Illinois governor
Thomas Carlin Thomas Carlin (July 18, 1789 – February 14, 1852), a farmer, soldier and Jacksonian Democrat, was the seventh Governor of Illinois (from 1838 to 1842) and also served in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. He became the first Democ ...
issued arrest warrants for Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell. On August 8, Smith and Rockwell were placed under arrest by Thomas King, the deputy sheriff of Adams County, and two other officers. The defendants were ordered to be freed by the
Municipal Court of Nauvoo The Municipal Court of Nauvoo was the judicial body of Nauvoo, Illinois from 1840 until 1845. Establishment The Nauvoo City Charter was passed by the Illinois Legislature on December 16, 1840. The legislature mandated that "The Municipal Court sh ...
. The officers did not recognize the authority of the municipal court, and left the prisoners in the custody of the city marshal.


Defendants in hiding

On August 10, Sheriff Thomas King returned to Nauvoo and found both men had been released by the city marshal. Both Smith and Rockwell had fled to avoid arrest. Smith initially fled from Missouri to Iowa territory. He remained in hiding in various locations for months. On September 20, Governor Carlin issued a reward of $200 for each man, describing them as "fugitives from justice". In October, Governor Reynolds of Missouri offered an additional reward of $300 each.


Surrender of Joseph Smith

On December 8, Governor Carlin's term ended and Thomas Ford became Governor of Illinois. On December 26, Smith surrendered to church member
Wilson Law Wilson Law (26 February 1806 – 15 October 1876) was an early Latter Day Saint. Life He was born in Ireland and emigrated with his family to the United States in 1820. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the late 1830 ...
and they traveled to Springfield, arriving on the 30th. Smith was granted bail in the sum of $4,000 and a hearing was scheduled for the following week. In a hearing on January 2, 1843, Smith was defended by US District Attorney Justin Butterfield in Federal Circuit Court before Judge
Nathaniel Pope Nathaniel W. Pope (January 5, 1784 – January 23, 1850) was an American government leader in the early history of the State of Illinois. He served as the Secretary of the Illinois Territory, then as a Delegate to the United States House of Repr ...
. Pope quashed the warrant and ordered Smith released.


Arrest of Porter Rockwell

O.P. Rockwell was apprehended in St. Louis on March 6, 1843. In late May, Rockwell briefly escaped from the Independence jail where he was being held. On September 30, 1843, it was reported: : "Orin Porter Rockwell, the Mormon confined in our county jail some time since for the attempted assassination of ex-governor Boggs, was indicted by our last grand jury for escaping from the cointy jail some weeks since, and sent to Clay county for trial. Owing, however, to some informality in the proceedings, he was remanded to this county again for trial. There was not sufficient proof adduced against him to justify an indictment for shooting ex-Governor Boggs; and the grand jury, therefore, did not indict him for that offence." Though never indicted for the attempted assassination, Rockwell was tried and convicted of jailbreak. Rockwell was released on December 13, 1843—ten months after his arrest.


Joseph Smith's denial

Joseph Smith vehemently denied involvement in the assassination attempt, telling he had neither paid Rockwell to assassinate Boggs, nor prophesied of the attempt. Rockwell also denied that Smith paid him.


Joseph H. Jackson's accusations

On June 1, Joseph H. Jackson wrote a letter to the ''
Warsaw Signal The ''Warsaw Signal'' was a newspaper edited and published in Warsaw, Illinois during the 1840s and early 1850s. For most of its history, the ''Signals editorial stance was one of vigorous anti-Mormonism and the advancement of the policies of th ...
'' in which he publicly claimed that Joseph Smith had admitted to sending "O.P. Rockwell to Missouri to assassinate Gov. Boggs". Jackson further stated that he had tricked Smith into believing him an assassin, after which Smith purportedly offered him $3000 to "do what Rockwell had failed to do, to wit: take the life of Boggs."


William Law's accusation

In 1887, more than 40 years after the events, former Latter Day Saint
William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I. P ...
gave an interview to the ''
Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...
'' in which he claimed Joseph Smith had admitted a role in the assassination; Law reported that Smith stated, "I sent Rockwell to kill Boggs, but he missed him, it was a failure; he wounded him instead of sending him to Hell."


References

{{Reflist 1842 in Missouri Boggs, Lilburn Mormonism and violence Mormonism-related controversies May 1842 events 1842 crimes in the United States Boggs, Lilburn