Another underlying reason that contributed to the violent encounters between Missourians and Mormons was the Mormon Danite group, a vigilante organization with the goals of purging the Mormon sect of religious dissenters.  In a speech made to a group of Mormon settlers on July 4, 1838, Sidney Rigdon, a Mormon church leader, urged the Mormons to defend their faith at whatever cause, and gave a warning to enemies of the faith:

. . . we will bear it no more, our rights shall no more be trampled on with impunity.  The man or the set of men, who attempts it, does it at the expense of their lives. . .for we will follow them, till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they shall have to exterminate us. . . and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed. . . (LeSueur, 50).

Many Missourians took this speech as a threat to the surrounding Missouri citizens and local law, and consequently the relations between the groups were further strained.

All of these circumstances were part of a crescendo of ill feelings that ultimately culminated in the Missouri-Mormon War of 1838.  This conflict consisted of many skirmishes and encounters involving the local Missouri militia, anti-Mormon vigilante groups, and the Mormon settlers. One particularly notable episode was the Haun's Mill Massacre, which occurred in October of 1838.      

There are various suggestions concerning the reasons for the attack on the mill.  One possible cause is that the Missouri troops were fearful that the Mormons were planning an attack to follow up on the Battle of Crooked River, a skirmish occurring four days earlier involving a Missouri casualty.  Another possible reason is that the attackers had received news of Governor Boggs' order for the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri.  This explanation is unlikely, however, because the order was signed only two days before the Haun's Mill Massacre.  It would have been virtually impossible for news to travel that rapidly, taking into consideration the poor communication capabilities of the 1830's.

Even if the reasons for the attack are not perfectly clear, there is ample evidence to show that the Missourians were planning an attack. In the weeks leading up to the massacre, there were numerous seizures of Mormon weapons from groups of traveling Saints, presumably in an effort to disarm the Mormons.  The Missouri vigilante groups also extended an offer for peace negotiations toward the Mormons in the weeks before the attack, but this action may have been a ploy designed to give the Mormons a false sense of security. Evidence shows that the decision to attack Haun's Mill was made on October 29 (LeSueur, 164).

On the afternoon of October 30, troops from the Livingston, Daviess, Caldwell, and Carrollton County militias, commanded by Colonel William Jennings (History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties Missouri, 146), swooped down upon Haun's Mill, taking the Mormon settlers by surprise. Although there had been suspicion of an attack, and a collection of weapons had been assembled in a blacksmith shop, there had been no evidence concerning when or where such an attack would occur.

As the Missouri troops advanced upon the mill, life was proceeding as it would on any normal day. Joseph Young, who was present at the time of the attack, wrote of the peaceful conditions of the mill:

The banks of Shoal creek on either side teemed with children sporting and playing. . .  while others were engaged in gathering in their cops for the winter consumption.  The weather was very pleasant, the sun shone clear, all was tranquil and no one expressed any apprehension of the awful crisis that was near us—even at our doors. (Stevens, 117)

When the troops were sighted, David Evans, the Mormon captain, immediately ran out in front of the troops, waved his hat in the air, and called for peace.  The Missourians did not listen to his plea, and Nehemiah Comstock, the leader of one of the three companies under the direction of Jennings, fired his gun.  The rest of the Missouri battalion followed suit.  Immediately the peaceful scene was thrown into one of turmoil. Mass confusion reigned as women and children fled under the heavy fire.  One woman, Mary Stedwell, was shot through the hand as she attempted to plead for peace.  She fell behind a log and was protected from the deadly barrage of bullets that continued to pursue her hiding place.

While the women and their children attempted to escape to safety, most of the men ran toward a small blacksmith shop, which had earlier been designated to be the place of defense and was also the location of the Mormon's weapons.  Although the men intended for the shop to be a place that would offer a means of protection while the men shot at their attackers, it ultimately turned out to be a death sentence.  The building was un-chinked and there were wide cracks between each of the logs, making it utterly impossible for the Mormons inside to escape the unceasing volleys of bullets directed towards the shop.  The outnumbered Mormons attempted to fight back, but soon it became apparent that to stay in the shop was to surrender to almost certain death. Sixty-two year old Thomas McBride attempted to escape from the building.  His son, James McBride, described his father's fate: "He had been shot with his own gun, after having given it into the mobs possession.  Was cut down and badly disfigured with a corn cutter, and left lying in the creek" (McBride, 5).  Two other men who were inside the shop, Nathan Knight and David Evans, ran outside to plead for a cease-fire, but were wounded while attempting to escape.  Knight received three bullets but made it to safety. David Lewis was one of only four Mormons who managed to escape from the shop uninjured.

Eventually, the last group of Mormons ran out of the blacksmith shop and some of the Missourians called for quarters. The shooting ceased temporarily as the Missouri troops approached the building.  Inside, they found eight dead and four wounded.  Further investigation yielded the discovery of three young boys, Sarduis and Alma Smith, and Charles Merrick, who had followed their fathers into the shop when the shooting started. Charles was gunned down as he tried to escape, Sardius received a bullet in the head as he pleaded for safety, and Alma escaped further injury by pretending to be dead.

After only thirty to sixty minutes, the attack was over. Eighteen Mormons lay dead and fourteen were injured, while only three Missourians were injured (Baugh, 203-218).  The remaining Missourians scoured the mill site, scavenging for any useful items that could be found. The troops then departed, leaving behind a devastated scene strewn with dead bodies and a legend of violence that would never be forgotten.

Although much of the blame of the attack is traditionally placed upon the Missourians, there was some evidence during the attack of the Missourians' kindness as well as their brutality. A member of the Missouri company spoke kindly of Jacob Foutz, a Mormon who had been captured, saying that he "was a damned fine man for he had ground many a grist for him" apparently saving Foutz from a certain death (Baugh, 122).  It is important to realize that even the attackers of Haun's Mill were not heartless.

The Haun's Mill Massacre was one of the last major conflicts in the Missouri-Mormon War of 1838.  Soon after, the Mormons were forced out of Missouri but continued pursuing their religious faith in other locations.  Their tradition lives on through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with its headquarters in Utah, as well as other denominations that trace their own roots back to the early Mormons. 

The tragic episode known as the Haun's Mill Massacre continues to speak today.  Emotional first hand accounts continue to bring the events of October 30, 1838, to life. Even though the times and lifestyles of the early 1800's are long past, these accounts of the event make it possible for us to receive a glimpse into the lives of early Missouri settlers.  We are also reminded of the terrible results that can occur simply from an encounter between two groups with largely different beliefs.  The violent events of the Haun's Mill Massacre had an enormous impact on everyone involved, and continue to affect the descendants of the people involved as well as other people reading about the massacre.  In both emotional and historical contexts, the Haun's Mill Massacre cannot be easily forgotten.