Under
the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, 2003, Excerpts
When Joseph ordered
the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, it confirmed a growing fear among
non-Mormons that he was a megalomaniacal tyrant who posed a clear and present
danger to the peace and stability of the region. The air over Hancock County
crackled with hostility.
Anticipating imminent
retaliation from the Gentiles, on June 18 Joseph declared martial law and
mobilized his Mormon army – the five-thousand-man Nauvoo Legion. Fearing the
outbreak of civil war, Illinois’s governor, Thomas Ford, responded by demanding
that Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and others responsible for destroying
the press surrender to face charges in Carthage, the Hancock County seat.
Joseph and eleven
others who were charged with destroying the press surrendered on June 24. As
they traveled the twenty-five miles from Nauvoo to Carthage, the roads were
lined with Illinois militiamen and other Gentiles who heckled the prophet
lustily: “God damn you, Old Joe, we’ve got you now!”
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