On October 30, 1838, 240 Livingston Regulators descended on the small Mormon settlement of Haun's Mill in Missouri.
The Haun's Mill Massacre occurred a few days after Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued the Mormon Extermination Order in 1838. The events that led up to the issuance of the Extermination Order were dubbed the Mormon Missouri War by historians. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the largest Mormon group today, tends to ignore that the first use of the term extermination occurred by Sidney Rigdon, one of the high ranking Mormon apostles of the time.
The Events that Led Up to the Haun's Mill Massacre
Initial relations between the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and their Missouri neighbors were peaceful. After Joseph Smith moved into the state in 1838, the peaceful relations soon deteriorated. The declaration of the Mormon prophet that Missouri had been given to god by the Mormons led to much of the resentment felt by native Missourians. Most of the Mormons fleeing from Ohio would gather in Far West, Missouri. The largest concentration who did not settle in Far West were those who chose to make their homes at a community known as Haun's Mill.
Jacob Haun Organizes the Mormon Defense
The owner of the Haun's Mill property, Jacob Haun, encouraged some Mormons on their way to Far West to stay at his settlement due to non-member threats to burn down the mill. The founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Joseph Smith had advised Jacob Haun and the other settlers who made their homes in the small community to join the other Mormons at Far West. Local Missourians who lived near Haun's Mill viewed the increased size of the Mormon encampment as a potential threat. Despite the local militia negotiating a piece treaty on October 28, a group of Livingston Country Regulars would descend upon the small community two days later in an event that would become known as the Haun's Mill Massacre.
Missouri Militia Men Move in on Haun's Mill
The militia would approach the small town early on the morning of the 30th. The Livingston County Regulars and volunteers would nearly surround the community, leaving only one escape route to the southeast. A group of 35 Mormon men gathered to defend the Haun's Mill settlement. Before the battle skirmish began, the Mormon defenders told their wives and children to flee. The women and children fleeing from the Massacre had to go through a pond or find cover in a local stream bed. Later in the day a second attempt would be made by the Mormons to end the skirmish, but the Haun's Mill massacre did not stop until all the defenders had either fled or been killed at the blacksmith shop from which they staged their defense.
The Haun's Mill Massacre Aftermath
When the smoke from the muskets finally cleared, some 17 Mormons were left dead or mortally wounded, while only three of the Livingston Regulators would lose their lives. The bodies of the dead Mormons at Haun's Mill were stripped of their clothing, boots and other possessions. Three boys who had hidden in the blacksmith shop were fatally shot. The town of Haun's Mill would be looted and the Mormons would be driven from Missouri a few days later.
Sources:
“The Haunting Message of Haun's Mill.”
