Haun's Mill Massacre: What Happened in 1838?

LDS Perspective

The Haun's Mill Massacre was a violent attack on Latter-day Saint settlers that occurred on October 30, 1838, in northwestern Missouri. The massacre took place at Hawn's Mill (sometimes spelled Haun's Mill), a settlement built around a mill constructed by Jacob Hawn, who was not a member of the Church but was friendly to the Saints who had settled nearby. The attack came three days after Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued his infamous "extermination order," which authorized militia action to drive the Saints from the state, though evidence suggests the attackers may have been unaware of the order and acted as vigilantes, possibly in retaliation for Latter-day Saint raids in Daviess County. On the day of the massacre, as armed men approached the settlement, women and most children fled

Historical Perspective

The Haun's Mill Massacre occurred on October 30, 1838, three days after Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issued the infamous Extermination Order declaring that Mormons "must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace." The event took place at a small, isolated Mormon settlement located approximately fifteen miles from the main Mormon community at Far West, Missouri. Approximately 300 armed Missourians—comprising the Livingston County Militia and former residents of Daviess County who had recently been expelled by Mormon forces—descended upon the settlement near sunset. According to BYU Church History professor Alex Baugh, the attack was explicitly motivated by revenge for the Mormon gutting of Daviess County earlier that month,