Mormon War: Doniphan Defies Orders to Shoot Mormons
The man who refused orders to shoot Mormon leaders during Missouri’s “Mormon War” figures prominently in several military endeavors — and led as many as 10 Daviess Countians in battle against Mexico in 1846. He was also the legislator who...
Mormon War: Conflict Disrupts Hardin Mill on Honey Creek
Remains of one of Daviess County’s early grain mills is still evident today (May, 2005) to those walking along Honey Creek, located mostly south of Gallatin. Rock debris forming a dam, wooden planks for a water run, and the remains of a log “road” to...
Mormon War: Dark Chapter in Missouri History 1838
Few Missourians can relate details of what is commonly called the “Mormon War.” Historians mark it as a dark chapter in state annals, when the person of Missouri’s highest official rank ordered the extermination of a group of citizens based on their...
Mormon War: ‘Thicket Fort’ of 1838 Avoids Oblivion
The stone remains of a Mormon “thicket fort” marking their 1838 confrontation against Missouri militia narrowly averted absolute oblivion in June, 1993. Dirt work for a new water structure on the Frank Smith farm northwest of Gallatin commenced before the...
Mormon War: Estimated Costs Escalate to Over $1 Million
The “Bible Belt” is no homogenous label for the Grand River region in Northwest Missouri. Religious convictions sustained by the Amish community set Jamesport apart. Those of the Mormon faith point to Far West near Hamilton and Adam-ondi-Ahman near...
Mormon War: Latter-day Saints Driven Away from Missouri
The Mormon sites of Adam-ondi-Ahman, Far West, and Haun’s Mill marks some of the darkest chapters in Missouri history. These chapters reveal the religious strength of the founders of the Mormon faith — in a story which culminated in Missouri with the...
Mormon War: Fort Erected in 1838 at Awbrey Grove
In 1838 a grove south of the Gilman Prairie filled with early settlers and armed men. The unsettled period was from Sept. 15 to Nov. 8, 1838. Daviess County records, written in January 1838, called this place Awbrey Grove. Displaced families and defenders from...
Mormon War: Judge Adam Black Unable to Keep the Peace
Judge Adam Black is noted in Daviess County history as the justice of the peace during the period of the Mormon struggle which erupted here in 1838. Adam Black was born in Henderson County, KY, on Sept. 11, 1801, into a large family from Virginia. The family moved to...
Mormon War: Men that Mustered Out Against the Mormons
The following lists local men thought to have mustered in response to the Governor’s call concerning the Mormon War of 1838 which saw approximately 1,500 state militia confront Mormons located in Caldwell and Daviess counties in 1838. Captain Edward Smith...
Visit the 1889 Squirrel Cage Jail, located 2 blocks west of the Daviess County Courthouse in Gallatin, MO. This historic relic is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a visitors’ center — by appointment,
Trudi Burton, ph: 660.663.7342
Search digital posts from 1999 to 2021:
GallatinNorthMissourian.com
Read the last special edition published by the Gallatin North Missourian in 2021:
Daviess County History Guide