Carthage Greys

The Carthage Greys were the sole militia company assigned to guard the prisoners held at Carthage Jail after Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith were jailed on treason charges. Their assignment was to protect the prisoners, but the account of the attack on June 27, 1844, shows that the company’s conduct did not fulfill that purpose: the guards’ blank volley and withdrawal from the entrance enabled the attackers to reach the prisoners.

Assignment at Carthage Jail

Thomas Ford ordered the militiamen in Carthage to disband, retaining only the Carthage Greys to guard the jail and its prisoners. This placed the company at the center of an effort to protect Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith amid an armed, hostile crowd. The jailer had already moved the brothers from a vulnerable downstairs cell to his upstairs bedroom, where visitors had been allowed access.

Conduct during the attack

When approximately 125 members of the Warsaw Dragoons returned to Carthage and charged the jail, only seven members of the Carthage Greys were on guard. The guards fired their muskets, but their weapons had been loaded with blanks as part of a prearranged plan. After the volley, they stepped aside, allowing the attackers to enter the building and make their way upstairs. The contrast between the company’s protective assignment and its actions is central to the account: the guards did not merely fail to stop the assault, but cleared the way for it.

Aftermath and significance

A second lieutenant in the Carthage Greys witnessed Joseph Smith fall from the jail window and later reported that he was shot again after reaching the ground. The attack killed Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith; John Taylor survived, and Willard Richards emerged with minor wounds. The company’s role in the episode thus extends beyond the formal order to guard the prisoners: its prearranged use of blank ammunition and its withdrawal from the entrance made the jail’s assigned protection ineffective at the decisive moment.