page_title: 1838 Mormon War
section_title: Battle of Crooked River
hierarchical_section_title: 1838 Mormon War / Battle of Crooked River
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Battle of Crooked River by John Hamer, permission granted for use on Wikipedia. I assert that this image is original to me and I'm releasing it under the cc2.5 rules. --John Hamer 03:05, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
context_page_description: The 1838 Mormon War, also known as the Missouri Mormon War, was a conflict between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri from August to November 1838, the first of the three "Mormon Wars".
  Members of the Latter Day Saint movement, founded by Joseph Smith, had gradually migrated from New York to northwestern Missouri since 1831, mainly settling in Jackson County, where tensions with non-Mormon residents led to episodes of anti-Mormon violence. The Mormons were evicted from Jackson County in 1833 and resettled in new counties nearby, where tensions grew again and attempts to evict them resumed. On August 6, 1838, the war began following a brawl at an election in Gallatin, resulting in increased organized violence between Mormons and non-Mormons backed by the Missouri Volunteer Militia in northwestern Missouri. The Battle of Crooked River in late October led to Lilburn Boggs, the Governor of Missouri, issuing the Missouri Executive Order 44, ordering the Mormons to leave Missouri or be killed. On November 1, 1838, Smith surrendered at Far West, the church's headquarters, ending the war.
context_section_description: Fearing attack, many citizens of Ray County moved their wives and children across the Missouri River for safety.  A Militia under the command of Samuel Bogart was authorized by General Atchison to patrol the no-man's land between Ray and Caldwell Counties known as "Bunkham's Strip" – an unincorporated territory 6 miles (9.7 km) east to west and 1-mile (1.6 km) north to south.  Instead of staying in the strip, Bogart passed into southern Caldwell County and began to disarm Mormons.  Rumor reached Far West that a Militia unit from Ray County had taken Mormons prisoner and an armed party was quickly assembled to rescue these prisoners and push the Militia out of the county.
  When the Mormons arrived on the scene, the State Militia unit was camped along Crooked River in the Bunkham's Strip just south of Caldwell County.  The Mormons divided into three columns led by David W. Patten, Charles C. Rich, and James Durphee.  The Missouri Militia had the advantage of position and fired, but the Mormons continued to advance.  The Militia broke ranks and fled across the river.  Although Mormons won the battle, they took heavier casualties than the Militia, only one of whom, Moses Rowland, was killed.  On the Mormon side, Gideon Carter was killed in the battle and nine other Mormons were wounded, including Patten, who soon after died from his wounds.   According to one Mormon witness, the deaths "threw a gloom over the whole place".
caption: Click the image for an enlarged map illustrating the Battle of Crooked River.
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