Danite
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The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saints in June of 1838, at Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their brief period of formal organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the Mormon War. The exact nature and scope of the organization, and its connection to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a matter of some dispute among historians.
In the period after 1838, the term "Danite" was often connected with any Mormon militantism, including the Nauvoo police, the body guards of Joseph Smith, Jr., the "Whistling and Whittling Brigades," and Brigham Young's so-called "Destroying Angels". Although some members of these later groups had been Danites in the Missouri period, it is unlikely the Danite organization existed formally after 1838. Nevertheless, the name "Danite" and tales about Danite exploits have become a part of Mormon and American folklore.
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Background
Prior to 1838, the Latter Day Saint movement had two centers — one in Kirtland, Ohio and the other in northwestern Missouri. The headquarters and First Presidency of the church were in Kirtland, while the Missouri church was led by a Stake Presidency made up of David Whitmer, W.W. Phelps, and John Whitmer. In 1836, John Whitmer and Phelps founded the town of Far West, Missouri which became the headquarters of the church in Missouri. Throughout 1837, the church in Kirtland was torn apart due to conflicts over the failure of the church's Kirtland Safety Society Bank. Ultimately, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon of the First Presidency, lost control of the headquarters and the temple itself to dissenters led by Warren Parish. Relocating to Far West in April of 1838, Smith and Rigdon were determined not to similarly lose Far West to dissenters.
In Missouri, financial disagreements had likewise created a dissenting group. The Missouri presidency stood accused of mismanaging church funds. These funds were intended to be used to purchase lands in Missouri on which Latter Day Saints could settle. Thomas B. Marsh led a series of church courts which released from office and ultimately disfellowshipped the presidency and their key supporters. However, these men and their families — who became known as dissenters — continued to live in Caldwell County. The legal situation concerning the property they had purchased in their names — some of it on behalf of the church, some for their own use — was unclear. When new church officials began to claim the property, the dissenters filed lawsuits to retain title.
Early Organization
In June of 1838, a group of zealous Mormons began meeting together in Far West under the leadership of Sampson Avard, Jared Carter and George W. Robinson to discuss the problem of the dissenters (Baugh, p. 36). The group organized under the name "The Daughter of Zion," but they soon became known as the "Sons of Dan" or the "Danites" — a reference to a Biblical prophecy found in the Book of Daniel (7:18). According to Albert P. Rockwood, a loyal Mormon writing in October of 1838:
- "The Companies are called Danites because the Prophet Daniel has said that the Saints shall take the kingdom and possess it forever" (Jesse and Whittaker, p. 23).
Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was present at the meetings (but later left the church) attested that the Danites swore oaths, "to support the heads of the church in all things that they say or do, whether right or wrong" (Document, p. 58). The newly formed band disagreed initially on what steps to take against the dissenters. Reed Peck, a Mormon witness who also left the church, alleged that Jared Carter and Dimick B. Huntington proposed that the group "kill these men that they would not be capable of injuring the church" (Peck, p. 22). John Corrill and Thomas B. Marsh, however, were able to argue strongly against the proposal.
The matter was tabled until the following Sunday when Sidney Rigdon preached his Salt Sermon, in which he announced that the dissenters were as "salt that had lost its savor." He went onto urge that it was the duty of the faithful to cast the dissenters out to be "trodden under the foot of men" (Van Wagoner, p. 218). Joseph Smith was said to have approved of these remarks, and although John Corrill recalled that "the first presidency did not seem to have much to do with [the Danites] at first," some of the Danites clearly saw this sermon as a sign of approval (Corrill, p. 31).
The Danite Manifesto
Ebenezer Robinson (who remained with the church after 1838), recalled that the next day a letter was "gotten up in the office of the First Presidency" (Quinn, p. 94), which Danite leader Sampson Avard later charged was written by Sidney Rigdon (Document, p. 102). Whatever its origins, the letter was addressed specifically to the principal dissenters: Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, W.W. Phelps, and Lyman E. Johnson. It made several accusations concerning the actions and character of these dissenters and then stated:
- "We have solemnly warned you, and that in the most determined manner, that if you do not cease that course of wanton abuse of the citizens of this county, that vengeance would overtake you sooner or later, and that when it did come it would be as furious as the mountain torrent, and as terrible as the beating tempest; but you have affected to dispise our warnings, and pass them off with a sneer, or a grin, or a threat, and pursued your former course; and vengeance sleepeth not, neither does it slumber; and unless you heed us this time, and attend to our request, it will overtake you at an hour when you do not expect, and at a day when you do not look for it; and for you there shall be no escape; for there is but one decree for you, which is depart, depart, or a more fatal calamity shall befall you" (Document, pp. 103-106).
The letter — the so-called "Danite Manifesto" — was signed by eighty-three Mormons, including Joseph Smith's brother, and fellow member of the First Presidency, Hyrum. Robinson later asserted that all of the signers were Danites (Quinn, p. 94).
The letter had the desired effect as the dissenters quickly fled the county, relocating to Liberty and Richmond in neighboring Clay and Ray counties. Their families were forced to follow later, leaving their property behind. One of the expelled dissenters, John Whitmer, claimed that they had been "driven from their homes" and robbed "of all their goods save clothing & bedding &c." (John Whitmer, p. 184). Reed Peck agreed, asserting that "the claims by which this property was taken from these men were unjust and perhaps without foundation cannot be doubted by any unprejudiced person acquainted with all parties and circumstances" (Peck, p. 28).
Joseph Smith (who later denied any direct involvement with the Danites) noted in his journal that the dissenters "took warning and soon they were seen bounding over the prairie like the scape Goat to carry of[f] their own sins" (Faulring, p. 187). According to Peck, Sidney Rigdon likewise approved and asserted that the Mormons were within their rights to expel a undesirable minority from their midst, saying that:
- "When a country, or body of people have individuals among them with whom they do not wish to associate and a public expression is taken against their remaining among them and such individuals do not remove it is the principle of republicanism itself that gives that community a right to expel them forcibly and no law will prevent it" (Peck, p. 33).
Expanded Roles and the Mormon War
With the dissenters successfully removed, the Danites took on three additional primary functions, (1) enforcement of the Law of Consecration, (2) political activities, and (3) militia activities (see Baugh, pp. 37-40, LeSueur pp. 39-43, and Quinn, pp. 95-103).
Joseph Smith outlined some of the expanded roles in his journal on July 27th, 1838:
- "Thus far, according to the order of the Danites. We have a company of Danites in these times, to put to right physically that which is not right, and to cleanse the Church of every great evil which has hitherto existed among us inasmuch as they cannot be put to right by teachings and persuasyons [sic]. This company or a part of them exhibited on the fourth day of July [—] They come up to consecrate, by companies of tens, commanded by their captains over ten" (Faulring, p. 198)
Danites as Enforcers
The Law of Consecration was a commandment given to the church to establish a kind of communitarian program, whereby the membership was to give or "consecrate all their money and property to the Church" and lease it back, so that the church could purchase lands for settlement by the converts continually pouring into northwestern Missouri. Corrill recalled that, "shortly after the Danites became organized, they set out to enforce the Law of Consecration, but this did not amount to much" (Corrill, p. 46, see also Lee, pp. 64-66).
In the realm of politics, the Danites were called upon to distribute tickets containing the names of candidates approved by the Presidency for the election which was held on August 6. Mormon leader John Corrill was the approved candidate and consequently won election to the Missouri House of Representatives, but he conceded, "may saw that it was taking unfair advantage of the election and were extremely dissatisfied" (Corrill, p. 33). A second outpost of Danites had been organized in Daviess County under the leadership of Lyman Wight, who was also a colonel in the state militia. The Danites in Daviess County took part in the Gallatin Election Day Battle, when a group of non-Mormons attempted to prevent any Mormons from voting (Lee, pp. 60-63).
Danites as a Militia
It was in the Danites final role, as a kind of militia, that its activities were most controversial. On July 4, 1838, the Latter Day Saints in Far West held a large Independence Day celebration. As part of the celebration, a military review was held in which both the Mormons of the legal Caldwell County militia (led by Colonel George M. Hinkle), and the Danites (led by Jared Carter, Sampson Avard and Cornelius P. Lott) paraded (Baugh, p. 45, see Elders' Journal Aug. 1838). The key-note address came from church spokesman, Sidney Rigdon, who gave an oration which was sometimes referred to as the Mormons' "Declaration of Independence" from the "persecution of mobs." In it, Rigdon announced:
- "And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them until the last drop of their blood is spilled; or else they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed..." (Van Wagoner, p. )
Although the Presidency was pleased with the speech and had copies printed and distributed, Brigham Young later recalled that it was "the prime cause of our troubles in Missouri" (Times and Seasons, Oct. 1844).
Danites and the Daviess Expedition
The new policy of an "aggressive defense against mobs" was put into practice in Daviess County when a group of non-Mormon vigilantes, primarily from Clinton and Platte counties, began to harrass Mormons in outlying areas. The vigilantes hoped to drive the Mormons from the county through a policy of intimidation, the burning of isolated homes and the plundering of property. Receiving little help from state authorities, the Latter Day Saints reacted with force. On October 18, elements of the Caldwell militia alongside Caldwell Danites gathered at Adam-ondi-Ahman, the Mormon headquarters in Daviess County. From there, the Mormons broke into three raiding parties under the command of Danite leaders: David W. Patten, Lyman Wight, and Seymour Brunson. The parties attacked the non-Mormon settlements of Gallatin, Millport and Grindstone Forks, respectively. In all cases, the non-Mormons were expelled and their stores and homes were burned; most fled the county as refugees. Additionally, their property was "consecrated" by the Mormon raiding parties and brought back to the bishop's store house in Adam-ondi-Ahman. (See Mormon War). These actions caused Apostles Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde to become dissenters. Leaving the church, they travelled to Richmond and swore out an affidavit reporting the existance of the Danites, and repeating rumors which asserted that a Danite "destroying company" had been set up with instructions to burn Richmond and Liberty (Document, pp. 57-59).
Danites and the Battle of Crooked River
The Marsh and Hyde affidavit was a factor leading to the last major military engagement involving the Danites, the Battle of Crooked River. When rumors reached Far West that a "mob" from Ray County had been raiding southern Caldwell County and was holding Mormon prisoners, a rescue party was immediately formed. Although Colonel Hinkle of the militia was available, Danite leaders were put in charge of the Mormon force. The rescue party discovered and attacked a unit of non-Mormons encamped along Crooked River in the extreme north of Ray County. A battle ensued in which 1 man from the Missouri unit and 3 men from the rescue party were killed. The Mormon casualties included two prominent Danite leaders, David W. Patten who had become known as "Captain Fear Not" and Gideon Carter, known as "the Brother of Jared". (The courageous Patten held the Danite rank of captain. Gideon had a brother named Jared Carter; the name "Brother of Jared" is a reference to a character in the Book of Mormon).
Although the Danite and Mormon forces had won the battle, the deaths were an enormous blow to morale. John D. Lee, a member of the Danites, recalled that Patten's death:
- "Spread a mantle of gloom over the whole community. It robbed many of their fond hope that they were invincible. If 'Fear Not' could be killed, who could claim immunity from the missiles of death, hurled by Gentile [non-Mormon] weapons?" (Lee, p. 79).
While the Mormons were likely unaware of the fact, it turned out that the unit they had attacked had been authorized as a part of the Missouri state militia. When exaggerated reports of the battle reached Missouri's governor, he responded by calling out 2,500 state troops to fight the Mormons (see Extermination Order). This led quickly to the arrest of church leaders and eventually to the expulsion of the Mormons from the state.
Aftermath
The state of Missouri considered the Mormons to be the aggressors in the war. Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman were occupied and much of the lands of individual church members were confiscated. Part of the terms imposed upon the Mormons was an insistance that they leave the state and most were forced to flee as destitute refugees to Illinois. A large number of church leaders, including Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Parley P. Pratt, and George W. Robinson were charged with many crimes including treason. During a preliminary hearing, Smith and the other defendants were surprised to learn that Danite leader Sampson Avard had decided to turn state's evidence and testify against them. As a result of the testimony, Judge Austin A. King of the Fifth Circuit of Missouri, ruled that there was sufficient evidence to hold Smith, Rigdon and other leaders for trial. However, before any such trial took place, Smith and the others escaped from prison and made their way to join the Latter Day Saints in what became Nauvoo, Illinois.
Scholarly Controversies concerning the Danites
There are many primary accounts of the Danites and their activities — from the recorded court testimony to numerous eye-witness and personal accounts — but these sources are often highly partisan and are occasionally contradictory. The existance of the Danites from June 1838 until the end of the Mormon War, and their participation in key events is well attested. However, scholars have some points of dispute, mainly concerning: (1) The extent of Danite membership among the Mormons, (2) the legitimacy of Avard's testimony concerning the Danites, and (3) Joseph's Smith and the church's relationship to the Danites.
Number of Danites
The two primary views concerning the extent of the Danite organization are expressed by D. Michael Quinn and Alexander L. Baugh.
Quinn follows the affidavit of self-professed Danite John N. Sapp, who stated on Sept. 4, 1838, that the number of Danites was "betwixt eight and ten hundred men, well armed and equipped..." He also credits the testimony of another Danite, Anson Call, who claimed that "the whole of the Military Force" at Far West belonged to the Danite organization. Based on these and other statements, Quinn concludes that nearly the entire fighting force of some 900 Mormon men in Caldwell and Daviess counties had become Danites, and that by end end of summer 1838, to be a member in full standing a Mormon must also have been a Danite (Quinn, 102-03).
Baugh disagrees and argues that the Danites were always "a select group." He finds the testimony of John Corrill, who gave the total number of Danites at 300 (or about 33% of the total Mormon force), more reliable than that of Sapp or Call.
Avard's Testimony
Sampson Avard became the star witness for the prosecution in the trial of Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders. Avard testified that he considered "Joseph Smith, jr., as the prime mover and organizer of the Danite band" (Document, p. 97). He went on to record several pages of testimony in which he implicated Smith as the overall commander of the Daviess Expedition and other Danite vigilante activities. He also included a recitation of a Danite Constitution with 8 articles, specifying that the "executive power" of the Danite society would be "vested in the president of the whole church" (Document, p. 102).
Many historians question the accuracy of much of Avard's testimony. Some have pointed out that to avoid prosecution himself, he may have promised prosecutors that he could implicate Smith in the Danite organization. As such, he might have deliberately over-emphasized or evenly falsely implicated Smith in some of the events. Some of the details Avard relates are unattested to or contradicted by other sources. For example, no one else makes any reference to the elaborate Danite constitution outlined by Avard.
It should also be noted that Smith condemned Avard publically and in the official "History of the Church" (volume 3, pp. 179-181). According to Smith's account, Avard, then a new member to the church, formed a "secret combination," an allusion to nefarious alliances in the Book of Mormon. Smith further stated that Avard's prideful leadership and zeal prompted him to organize the group and that this occurred contrary to the will of Smith, and the other heads of the LDS Church. According to this view, Avard illegitimately claimed to be the Lord's agent, and according to a quote Smith attributed to Avard, he wanted to profit from vigilantism by taking "spoils of the goods of ungodly Gentiles [non-Mormons]".
Smith also condemned Avard harshly, saying:
- "When a knowledge of Avard's rascality came to the Presidency of the Church, he was cut off from the Church, and every means proper used to destroy his influence, at which he was highly incensed and went about whispering his evil insinuations, but finding every effort unavailing, he again turned conspirator, and sought to make friends with the mob."
Therefore, Joseph Smith, Jr. at least publicly condemned the organization and its founder, discouraging Latter-day saints from making any more vigilante groups, exhorting them to instead have groups strictly for "self defense, in case of an attack from the mob". Mob violence was an ongoing problem for the Mormons in this period, and in all likelihood the problem was enhanced by rumors about the Danites.
Relationship to Joseph Smith and the church
There are conflicting views concerning the connection between the Danites, the church and Joseph Smith, Jr.. At the one extreme is the view that Smith was the prime mover in every aspect of the group's activities and at the other is the view that he had no connection whatsoever, save to condemn it. There are good reasons to discount both extreme positions, but the identifying an accurate middle view remains a point of conflict among scholars.
As mentioned above, Sampson Avard claimed that Smith was the leader of the group and Smith claimed that Avard was the leader. Both views are backed up by additional testimony in the trial and also by first hand recollections of the participants.
Moses Clawson, John Corrill, Reed Peck and others all named Avard at the head of the organization and George M. Hinkle testified that Joseph and Hyrum Smith never commanded any Danites in the field (Baugh, p. 41). Statements from other participants including Ebinezer Robinson (Quinn, p. 93), Morris Phelps (Document, pp. 109-110), and John D. Lee (Lee, p. 73), however, place Smith in a commanding role.
While it is clear that Smith was aware of the existence of the Danites and initially approved of certain Danite activities, his role in the creation of the society (if any) and his involvement in its later actions depend on the emphasis given to different sources. It does seem clear, however, that after Avard's betrayal (and subsequent excommunication), Smith publically condemned both Avard and the organization, which ceased to operate as a society.
Later Danite Connections and Folklore
While numerous rumors followed the Latter Day Saints in their later centers of settlement, there is little (if any) evidence for the continuing existance of the Danite society after 1838. However, even if they no longer acted as Danites, many prominent former Danites continued to occupy prominent roles in the church. For example, Lyman Wight, leader of the Danites in Daviess County, was ordained an Apostle of the Church three years after the events of the Mormon War in Missouri.
Other prominent former Danites continued to fulfill militant roles associated with the church. Hosea Stout, for example, became the chief of police in the new Mormon headquarters of Nauvoo, Illinois. Under Brigham Young, Stout was made the head of the "Whistling and Whittling Brigade" — an extralegal group which warned strangers visiting Nauvoo out of the city. Another former Danite, Owen Porter Rockwell, became a body guard to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and later to Brigham Young. In Utah, Rockwell gained fame as one of Young so-called "Destroying Angels".
Former Danite John D. Lee was one of the leaders of the Mormon militia in southern Utah which participated in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Lee's lengthy confessional autobiography describes the operations of the Danites in Missouri, but makes no indication of any continuing existence of the organization (see John Doyle Lee, Mormonism Unveiled: The Life & Confessions of John D. Lee).
Although many former Danites may have continued to perform militia and even vigilante related roles in the years following 1838, nothing indicates that they did so as members of a continuing or reorganized Danite society. Nevertheless, numerous accounts of the "Danites" and their supposed atrocities continued to be a part of Mormon and general folklore. A particularly famous example is Arthur Conan Doyle's fictionalization of the Danites in "A Study In Scarlet," the first Sherlock Holmes story, published in 1887.
References
- Baugh, Alexander L. , A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri, BYU Studies, 2000.
- Cannon, Donald Q., and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., The Far West Record: Minutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1844, Salt Lake City, 1983.
- Corril, John, A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Commonly Called Mormons), St. Louis, 1839.
- Document Containing the Correspondence, Orders &c. in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons; And the Evidence Given Before the Hon. Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, at the Court-House in Richmond, in a Criminal Court of Inquiry, Begun November 12, 1838, on the Trial of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Others, for High Treason and Other Crimes Against the State. Fayette, Missouri, 1841, complete text. (http://www.farwesthistory.com/docc01.htm)
- Faulring, Scott, An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Jesse, Dean, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984.
- Jesse, Dean and David Whittaker, "The Last Months of Mormonism in Missouri: The Albert Perry Rockwood Journal," BYU Studies 28, Winter 1998.
- Lee, John D., Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confessions of John D. Lee and the Life of Brigham Young, 1877.
- LeSueur, Stephen C., The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, University of Missouri Press, 1990.
- Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Salt Lake City, 1994.
- Peck, Reed, The Reed Peck Manuscript, complete text. (http://www.fiber.net/users/drshades/reedpeck.htm)
- Van Wagoner, Richard S., Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Salt Lake City, 1994.
External links
- One analysis of Danites evidence: http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/history/danites_eom.htm
- Affidavits signed by Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Hyde [1] (http://www.saintswithouthalos.com/p/1838_tbm_oh.phtml)
- A comprehensive collection of writings on the Danites: http://churches.net/churches/utmiss/Fundamentalists/Danites%20Research2.htm
- The Reed Peck Manuscript (http://www.fiber.net/users/drshades/reedpeck.htm), a first-hand account regarding the Danites.de:Daniten