Review
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Title: Tragedy and Truth: What Happened At Hawn’s Mill
Editor: Alexander L. Baugh, Glenn Rawson, and Dennis Lyman
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Genre: History
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 128 pp.
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN10: 1621088405
ISBN13: 978-1621088400
Price: $24.99
Reviewed by John E. Baucom for the Association for Mormon Letters
The horrific surprise attack on Hawn’s Mill by Missouri vigilantes was the bloodiest event in the Missouri-Mormon War. On the afternoon of October 30, 1838, approximately 200 mounted militia came sweeping in from the north and indiscriminately fired a hailstorm of lead into the fleeing Saints. Numerous women and children helplessly scrambled across the creek for shelter. Others, mostly men and boys, rushed for safety and arms in a nearby blacksmith shop. In less than an hour, the attack killed 17 Mormons and injured many others—including women and children.
“Tragedy and Truth: What Happened At Hawn’s Mill” is a collection of five historical essays that clearly describe the tragic events surrounding the massacre at Hawn’s Mill. Max Parkin, Gerrit Dirkmaat, Alexander Baugh, and Brent Rogers each contribute well-researched accounts regarding the circumstances leading up to the assault and the massacre’s lasting effect on LDS memory. Collectively, this book endeavors to answer how and why such an attack occurred. Although this book is a collection of individual essays, each piece fits nicely together, creating an easy to follow narrative. This volume is further enhanced and filled with numerous paintings, photographs, maps, and document facsimiles.
Parkin begins the volume by offering an overview of Mormon-Missouri relations between 1830 and 1838. Parkin chronicles early missionary efforts in Missouri and specifies why the Saints desired to gather in Independence. However, internal and external strife quickly escalated and the Saints were soon driven out of Jackson County into northern Missouri. The second chapter by Dirkmaat continues the saga with the settlement of Mormon villages in both Caldwell and Davis Counties. This chapter unpacks the escalating tensions between Mormons and Missourians due to the Saints’ surging population. This chapter further clarifies key events during the Missouri-Mormon War—such as, the Election–day skirmish at Gallatin, the battle of Crooked River, and Governor Boggs’ infamous “Extermination Order.”
The next two chapters, written by Alexander Baugh, depict Jacob Hawn and his small settlement on Shoal Creek. In this chapter, Baugh takes the opportunity to correct a long-standing misconception concerning the spelling of Hawn’s Mill. He writes, “Early Mormon sources and narratives give both spellings (though H-a-u-n is still the more common), but references made to Jacob and Harriett in histories of Oregon—where they emigrated in 1843 and where they both died—and virtually every family source always uses H-a-w-n.” Baugh continues, “Even their grave makers use the ‘w’ spelling—a clear indication of the correct spelling” (p. 57-58). Although a minor correction, this misspelling is found throughout Mormon literature.
In Chapter 4, Baugh describes in-depth the preparations of vigilante leaders, the assault on Hawn’s Mill, and the immediate aftermath of the massacre. The final chapter by Brent Rogers grapples with the memory of the Hawn’s Mill Massacre. Rogers outlines Mormon efforts to seek redress for property lost during the Missouri-Mormon War and explains how the raw memory of Hawn’s Mill permeated long into the Utah period.
“Tragedy and Truth” is a sturdy volume for any LDS household. It is a faith-filled narrative of hope and survival in the face of adversity. This book remembers and honors the people involved in such a tragic event by highlighting their courage and faith.
“Tragedy and Truth” is a superb example of not only how to credit the sacrifice of so many, but it also uses their story to strengthen individual testimony and faith in the Restoration.