Before 11/12/1838: “The account of a bloody butchery of
thirty-two Mormons, on Splawn’s Creek is fully confirmed. Two children were killed, we presume, by
accident. Considerable plunder—such as
beds, hats, &c. were taken from the slaughtered. Not one of the assailants was killed or hurt.”
Category: public
Suicide: no
Cause: religious hatred
Weapon: firearm[1]
It turns out that Missouri Gov. Boggs issued an order Oct. 27, 1838,"The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace..." I cannot find the date of the Splawn's Creek Massacre, so I do not know if it is mass murder or government action.
According to this: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1838-newspaper-mormon-war-ends-splawns-ridge the extermination order was given the day after the massacre.
ReplyDeleteSplawn's Creek is also known as Haun's Creek, and was the site of the Haun's Mill Massacre on 30 October 1838. 17 people were killed and another 15 were injured (not counting attackers). It's generally accepted by historians that while it happened a few days after the Extermination order, it's unlikely that the militia/mob had heard about the Order before the attack.
ReplyDeleteOne of my ancestors was a survivor of Haun's Mill.
There appears to be one document that suggests the Splawn's creek, Hawn's creek, and Haun's creek massacre are the same event with different descriptors
ReplyDeletehttp://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-Haun%E2%80%99s-Mill-Massacre-and-the-Extermination-Order-of-Missouri-Governor-Lilburn-W.-Boggs.pdf
(search the word Splawn)
Another (modern) source equating Splawn's creek with Haun's creek:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.keepapitchinin.org/2016/07/11/historys-newsroom-the-hauns-mill-massacre/
No need to choose! Embrace the healing power of "and."
ReplyDeleteStan: The extermination order is October 27, a month before this massacre.
ReplyDeleteUnknown: "It's generally accepted by historians that while it happened a few days after the Extermination order, it's unlikely that the militia/mob had heard about the Order before the attack." Source for this? General Atchison was apparently unhappy about what happened.
ReplyDeletehttp://mormonhistoricsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-Haun%E2%80%99s-Mill-Massacre-and-the-Extermination-Order-of-Missouri-Governor-Lilburn-W.-Boggs.pdf argues that the extermination order did not precipitate the massacre.
ReplyDeleteClayton, the item I linked to says that the order was issued the day after the surrender, not the day after the massacre, my bad. But how to reconcile that with your comment that the order was issued a month before the massacre?
ReplyDeleteClayton, also the excerpt I linked to indicates that the surrender took place on October 28,
ReplyDeleteWhat I can find from Mormon scholars say the massacre was Oct. 30, three days after the extermination order. But there is considerable doubt that the two events were connected.
ReplyDelete