Joseph
and the leading men of the Church, Rigdon, Lyman White, P. P.
Pratt, Phelps, and others, were to give themselves up without
delay; the remainder of the men were to surrender themselves and
their arms by ten o'clock the following day, the understanding
being that all would be tried for treason against the Government,
and for other offenses.

The Prophet took advantage of this information, and had every man
that was in imminent danger leave the camp for a place of safety.
The most of those in peril went to Illinois. They left at once,
and were safe from all pursuit before the surrender took place,
as they traveled north and avoided the settlements.

When the brethren had left for Illinois, as just stated, Joseph
called his remaining troops together and told them they were a
good lot of fellows, but they were not perfect enough to
withstand so large an army as the one now before them; that they
had stood by him, and were willing to die for and with him, for
the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven; that he wished them to be
comforted, for God had accepted their offering; that he intended
to, and was going to offer himself up as a sacrifice, to save
their lives and to save the Church. He wished them to be of good
cheer, and pray for him, and to pray that he and the brethren
that went with him might be delivered from their enemies. He then
blessed his people in the name of the Lord. After that he and the
leading men, six in number, went direct to the camp of the enemy.

They were led by a Judas, Col. G. M. Hinkle. I stood upon the
breastworks and watched them go into the camp of the enemy. I
heard the yells of triumph of the troops as Joseph and his
companions approached. It was with great difficulty that the
officers could restrain the mob from shooting them down as they
entered. A strong guard was then placed over them to protect them
from mob violence.

The next morning a court-martial was held, at which Joseph and
his six companions who had surrendered with him were sentenced to
be shot. The execution was to take place at eight o'clock the
next morning. When the sentence of the court-martial was
announced to them, Col. Lyman White said:

"Shoot and be damned!"

Gen. Atchison and Col. Doniphan arrived with their divisions the
same day, soon after the court-martial had been held. Col.
Doniphan, in particular, remonstrated against the decision. He
said it was nothing more nor less than cold-blooded murder, and
th