Alexander William Doniphan (9 July 1808 – 8 August 1887) was an American politician and soldier who fought in both the 1838 Mormon War (during which he spared Joseph Smith from summary execution) and in the Mexican-American War (during which he captured New Mexico).
Biography[]
Alexander William Doniphan was born in Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky in 1808, and he became a lawyer in 1830. He became a lawyer in Liberty, Missouri, and he was known for his oratorical skills while serving as a defense attorney. In 1836, 1840, and 1854, he served in the Missouri state legislature as a Whig. In 1838, as a Brigadier-General in the state militia, Doniphan was called up to fight against the Mormons, although he had personally attempted to stop the war due to his belief that the Mormons were acting in self-defense. General Samuel D. Lucas ordered Doniphan to summarily execute Joseph Smith following his capture, but Doniphan called it "cold-blooded murder" and threatened to hold Lucas before a court if he executed the captured Mormons. He would be hailed as a hero when he visited Salt Lake City in 1878.
During the Mexican-American War, Doniphan commanded Missouri troops in the US Army and took part in the capture of Santa Fe, New Mexico. He then led his troops to capture Chihuahua, and he returned to Missouri via New Orleans, receiving a hero's welcome; his men had marched 5,500 miles, the longest military campaign since the times of Alexander the Great. After the war, he wrote New Mexico's legal code, and, during the American Civil War, he opposed secession and favored neutrality for his state. After the war, he opened a law office in Richmond, Missouri, where he died at the age of 79 in 1887.