1838 Mormon War

1838 Mormon War
Date August 6, 1838 – November 1, 1838 Location Carroll, Daviess and Caldwell counties in Missouri Result Missourian victory Mormons expelled from Missouri and resettled in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Belligerents
Anti-Mormon vigilantes  Missouri (after the Battle of Crooked River)	Mormons  Missouri (before the Daviess County Expedition)
Commanders and leaders
Samuel Bogart Thomas Jennings John Bullock Clark	George M. Hinkle David W. Patten † David Rice Atchison Alexander W. Doniphan
Casualties and losses
1 killed	21 killed (including 17 at Haun's Mill massacre)

Part of a series on the
History of Missouri
Timeline Pre-colonial Colonial period Territorial period 1821–present
By topic Civil War Education Honey War Mormon War Platte Purchase St. Louis World's Fair Slavery
United States portal
v t e

The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons (Latter Day Saints) and other residents of northwestern Missouri from August 6, to November 1, 1838.

Founded in upstate New York in 1830, the Latter Day Saint movement rapidly expanded in Missouri through organized migration. Mormons initially settled an outpost in Jackson County, but faced significant hostility and were violently evicted from the area in 1833. They later relocated to Caldwell, a county the state legislature organized for Mormon settlement in 1836 as a compromise for losses in Jackson County. Caldwell became the movement's headquarters as Joseph Smith and the remaining Mormon leadership relocated to Missouri in early 1838.

The rapid growth of the Mormon population upset local residents, and tensions intensified as Mormons began to spill into surrounding counties. An election brawl in Gallatin, Daviess County, where Mormons were obstructed from voting, marked the onset of violence. Vigilance committees were formed to expell the Mormons, which, along with Mormons forming counter-groups, led to a series of skirmishes and raids throughout October. A militia was dispatched to restore the peace, but eventually defected to join the expulsion efforts.

Hostilities culminated with the Battle of Crooked River in late October, prompting Governor Lilburn Boggs to order state forces to remove the Mormons from the state. Bogg's response to the conflict drew ample criticism, and the controversy significantly undermined his administration's political effectiveness.

The war resulted in the deaths of 22 people, and the displacement of approximately 10,000 Mormons, most of whom sought refuge in Illinois.