The “Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account, Draft,” and the “Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account” are the two complete, extant iterations of efforts by later church historians to record the murder of JS and , including the events leading up to their deaths and the immediate aftermath. As stated at the beginning of both accounts, the information was compiled from a number of different sources, including other journals, letters, and various other documents. It was put into a cohesive narrative during the 1850s by Church Historian’s Office clerks , Jonathan Grimshaw, and , presumably under the direction of the church historian, .
was the initial scribe for approximately the first half of “Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account, Draft,” and Grimshaw was the primary scribe for the remainder. Sometimes slips of paper were attached to pages of the draft with additional or alternative text to be included with a specific page. Page 12 of the draft has a notation by Grimshaw indicating that previously drafted text was to be added to the draft; instead of copying the text, he simply inserted a whole leaf into the draft. This leaf, in ’s handwriting, contains various numbered vignettes. It appears to be part of a larger collection of vignettes, as it is paginated “5” and “6,” and is likely the surviving portion of an earlier iteration of the martyrdom account by Thomas Bullock. The remainder of Bullock’s effort is not extant.
“Historian’s Office, Martyrdom Account,” which is a more final copy written primarily by Grimshaw in the mid-1850s, similarly has slips of papers attached. It also includes several leaves that were physically removed from “Martyrdom Account, Draft”; these leaves were renumbered to match the pagination of the copy: pages 7–10 in the draft became pages 11–14 in the more final copy; pages 13–14 became 19–20; most extensively, pages 19–52 became 27–60; and finally, page 57, the last page of the draft, became page 73 in the new version. Although these leaves are cataloged with the more final copy, this website presents the pages both in the draft, as originally paginated, and in the more final copy, with the new pagination. Two additional items were added at the end of the more final copy. A bifolium paginated as “75” and “2” and written on the back of a printed Utah Territory legal form gives an account of the arrival of the bodies of JS and Hyrum Smith in Nauvoo as well as the funeral and burial. It was written by Grimshaw and edited by from information given by . On the final leaf, which is torn and is paginated “76,” Bullock drafted an introduction to a passage from ’s History of Illinois, with instructions to include the passage from Ford’s history in the martyrdom account.
Both the draft and the more final copy were edited by , Grimshaw, and . It is not clear when the edits were made. The more final copy of the account appears to be what was used in 1856 when the final version was copied into the last volume of the Joseph Smith’s multivolume manuscript history (JS History, vol. F-1, 147, 151–204).
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preparation for a Massacre: nevertheless, as Joseph requested, they very unwillingly gave up the arms. Commissary General crammed his commission from the into one of his pistol barrels, as did several other of the commissioned officers. <get from >
About 6. P.M. when <all> the <State> arms were collected, and the Company were ready to Start, and another gentleman <Quar. Master Genl. Buckmaster> made a short speech, expressing their gratitude at the peaceable conduct of the citizens of , and said while we < the Mormons> thus conducted<,> he would protect us<them>.
< It appears feared that the although disbanded might avenge any outrage that might hereafter be committed on the persons of their leaders, and so thought he had better disarm them as he had previously disbanded them, although <yet> the mob was suffered to retain their <portion of State> arms even when within a half day’s march of , and then in a threatening and hostile attitude, while the Nauvoo Legion had not evinced the least disposition whatever except to defend their in case it shd. be invaded, and they had not set a foot outside the limits of this corporation.>
Joseph rode down home <twice> to bid his family farewell. He appeared solemn and thoughtful, and expressed himself to several individuals that he expected to be murdered. There appeared no alternative, but that he must either give himself up, or the inhabitants of the would be massacred by a lawless mob under the sanction of the . <He urged upon to go with him which she refused; he repeatedly and vehemently urged it upon her but she pointedly refused alledging that she would have the ague. He even wished her to run the risk of the ague but she persisted in her refusal. He then said “well if they don’t hang me I don’t care how they kick me Sister Leonora [Cannon] Taylor heard that conversation> When opposite to the , while on horseback, he said “Boys if I don’t come back, take care of yourselves, I am going like a lamb to the slaughter.” <-[]-> The company <(about 15,)> again started; when they [p. 4]