206. The "Election Day fight", and my great great grandfather John Lowe Butler.

This "election day fight" was on August 6th, 1838.  Brother John Butler mentioned was my 2nd great grandfather.  The story below was written in the History of the Church.  At the end, I'll include some of his own writing about the event.  (See January 10, 2014, Blog # 66 for more about his life.)

August 6, 1838 - The citizens of Far West met in the afternoon at the schoolhouse for the purpose of organizing a weekly newspaper with Sidney Rigdon as editor. It was also voted that a petition be circulated to locate the county seat at Far West. The Prophet Joseph spoke and encouraged their efforts and also encouraged the farmers to come into the city to live while continuing to work their farms outside the city "according to the order of God."

 Meanwhile, to the north of Far West, in Daviess County, fifty to one hundred Missourians refuse to let approximately thirty Latter-day Saints vote in the state and county elections at Gallatin, Missouri. There was a fist fight for several minutes and several were injured. When the mob left to get weapons, a few brethren were able to vote. They were determined to exercise their right to vote and Brother John Butler spoke and said, "We are American citizens; our fathers fought for their liberty, and we will maintain the same principles." 

The County offices then asked the brethren to withdraw to avoid further problems. The brethren gathered just outside of town where they witnessed armed men gathering into the town. The unarmed brethren decided to quickly head for home to gather their families and hid them in the fields in case the mob decided to raid the country side. This attack on the Saints is known as the "Election Day Battle" and becomes one of the events leading up to the Saints' expulsion from the state later in the year. (History of the Church, 3:56-58)

Aug. 7, 1838 - Word mistakenly arrived in Far West that "two or three of our brethren were killed by the Missourians" at the election in Gallatin. Joseph Smith, accompanied by Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and fifteen to twenty others, armed themselves for their own protection and headed for Adam-ondi-Ahman.

 They arrived at Colonel Wight's home in safety and found "some of the brethren who had been mobbed at Gallatin, with others, waiting for our counsel. Here we received the cheering intelligence that none of the brethren were killed, although several were badly wounded" The Prophet also records, "Blessed be the memory of those few brethren who contended so strenuously for their constitutional rights and religious freedom, against such an overwhelming force of desperadoes!" (History of the Church, 3:58-59).

In his history is the following:


     Trouble broke out in Gallatin, a small town in Davis County.  It was election Day, August 6, 1838.  A man by the name of Peniston, who had been one of the mob that was instrumental in driving the Mormons from Jackson County, was a candidate for the legislature.  Knowing his fate with reference to the Mormon vote, he harangued against them and influenced the crowd gathered at the polls to prevent the Mormons from voting.  A fight followed.  The mob, according to Church history, numbered about 100 men, the Mormons present numbered twelve.  So in this time of stress and need, John’s unusual physical strength and his righteous anger enabled him to handle not only two men but many.  He said, “Come Brethren, we will vote, our fathers fought in the Revolution for freedom.  We will exercise our rights as citizens.”

With a large stick, as John had no other arms, they cleared the way to the polls and cast their ballots.  The account of this conflict was exaggerated and made an excuse for almost a general uprising against the Mormons throughout the State.  Before going home from the election, he rode to Far West to see the Prophet, who, because of the experience of the day, counseled him to move his family from Davis County immediately.  He  hurried home, arriving after dark.  He and his wife set to work, packing their belongings and left with their last load just before daybreak and went to a Brother Taylor’s home.  At sunrise, a neighbor said, about 30 men surrounded the house so recently vacated.  They later saw the house go up in flames, and thought John and his family had been killed.

John took his family to Far West where they suffered the persecutions of the Saints.  Part of the time John was in hiding because there was a price on his head.  He was taken prisoner but he escaped by swimming across the river in icy temperatures.  John and others went into Illinois ahead of their families to prepare a home for them.  He spent the winter of 1838-1839 teaching school in Commerce.