The lore of the Danites blurs the boundaries between faith, fear, history and folklore, creating a multifaceted story of belief and legend. 

Although my own work in folklore only scratches the surface of Mormon legend (there are already enough “folklorists” digging into this Mormon lore), I have always kept my ear to the temple door, so to speak, listening for the faint rumble of vernacular oddities that drift into Utah’s cultural memory and voice. This is one of those stories.

Although rare, mentions of the Danites still surface from time to time. I began this article like any other, as a boots-on-the-ground project. When dealing with a topic like the Danites, however, most information is archival, but that did not stop me from seeing how many people were familiar with them. There weren’t many, but I found a few. I was able to corner Joel Bradford, my anthropologist buddy and general know-it-all, and ask him about the Danites.

 “They were a vigilante group,” he explained. “Supposedly a secret organization that formed during the Missouri war to defend the Saints against persecution. The big question is, did they stop after the Saints left Missouri or did they become an enforcement group for [Joseph] Smith and [Brigham] Young?”

The Danites, depending on who you ask, were the first Mormon militia, a divine army sometimes used for protection and other times for vengeance. They rose from the turmoil of 1838 Missouri, a time chock-full of suspicion and conflict. After being driven from Ohio, the Saints hoped to find a home in Missouri, but other settlers resented the Mormon newcomers whose voting in unison stirred suspicion. 

On the frontier, politics was personal, and that unity felt like an invasion to non-Mormons. Conspiracy rumors spread like wildfire, and no good came of it. Religious differences turned to political fear, and fear to hostility. The Saints were cornered, and when people are cornered, they respond accordingly.

The driving force behind the Danites was Sampson Avard. Charismatic and devoted, he gathered men sworn to defend the Saints from enemies and dissenters both within and without. They called themselves the Society of the Daughter of Zion. To their neighbors, they were simply the Danites. They swore secrecy and loyalty. For a short time they acted as protectors. Some believed they defended families. Others saw only a group using fear to silence dissent, and anonymous letters warned these critics to leave. Those who refused found armed visitors at their doors, causing most dissenters to leave willingly.

When the conflict known as the “Mormon War” erupted, the Danites became a symbol of fear. Stories spread that they had sworn blood oaths and planned to burn towns. Whether or not these stories were true no longer mattered. The fear had taken hold and violence followed. The Danites fought to defend their settlements, believing they were preserving Zion, while enemies saw a secret army on the frontier.

By autumn, Thomas Marsh and Orson Hyde fled the state and gave sworn testimony that the Danites were preparing for war and would follow their leaders without question. The worst fears of Missouri officials were confirmed. In October 1838, Governor Lilburn Boggs issued an Extermination Order, declaring that the Mormons must be driven from Missouri or exterminated if they stayed. Militia attacks burned towns and scattered families. By the end of the year, the Saints were on the move again, this time toward Illinois.

Sampson Avard was taken into custody after the fall of Far West. When questioned, he betrayed his own. Avard told officials that Joseph Smith had personally sanctioned the Danites. Smith denied it, calling the group a secret combination that had twisted its purpose. Avard was excommunicated and slipped quietly out of history. The Danites themselves were gone within months, yet the legend was only beginning. At this point, the Danites left the battlefield and entered the realm of imagination, politics, and fear. 

I reached out to Western Historian Ryan Roos, who noted that, “The Danites transitioned from a genuine body of force in Missouri to what amounted to political theater in Utah. Government officials assigned to the territory, but displeased by their lowly assignments, frequently returned early to Washington with tales of roving bands of Danites that prevented them from fulfilling their duties.” 

These stories painted Utah as a land ruled by secret enforcers. According to Roos, “By 1857, these stories were parlayed into an additional rationale for the United States government to get involved in Utah politics and helped lead to the Utah War.”

Ironically, by the time of the Utah War, Brigham Young no longer needed a secret militia. He commanded real military power. According to Roos, “By the Utah period, Brigham Young held at his disposal the entire Nauvoo Legion, as well as what was termed the ‘Standing Army of Israel.’ With such genuine muscle at his fingertips, a club-style organization such as the Danites would logically have become an extreme redundancy.” The Danites ceased to exist, but their myth was more useful than their reality.

“What Danite tales in Utah lacked in credibility they made up for in great copy and greater sales,” said Roos.  “After the political utility of these stories had waned, newspaper editors, exposé authors, and dime novelists took full advantage, peaking public interest in their murderous marauders of the printed page.” 

The Danites became the perfect villains in American popular culture. They were sensational, mysterious, and profitable. They showed up in novels, newspapers, and exposés as assassins enforcing the will of church leaders. The real Danites had been small and short lived, but their legend became enormous.

The most fascinating twist is that the legend actually protected Utah. Roos notes that, “Ironically, tales of Danite activities helped keep the Mormon kingdom isolated from some of the typical problems of the day. Unlike neighboring territories such as Arizona, Utah enjoyed a relatively outlaw-free existence. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that bad men weren’t anxious to ride where badder men were said to be.” Fear of the Danites kept criminals out more effectively than any sheriff.

And it wasn’t just mythic Danites. There were real men with real reputations. As Roos reminds us, “The haunting spectre of genuine triggermen such as Porter Rockwell or Bill Hickman riding up behind undesirables who crossed the Utah border was real. Outlaws were not themselves immune to Danite stories, and as such, largely practiced their craft elsewhere.” Belief in the Danites did what actual Danites never fully could; it enforced boundaries.

The Danites existed briefly in 1838, but their legend has lasted nearly two centuries. They became the embodiment of the suspicion the American public held about Mormons. Their story is not just about faith or violence, but about what happens when conviction turns to fear and belief arms itself for war. Danite lore still lingers in whispers, cautionary tales, and popular culture because it sits in that haunting place between history and folklore. In the end, the Danites were merely men, but the Danites we remember are myth.

Danny B. Stewart is a Utah based folklorist and tradition bearer whose work focuses on the intersection of faith, fear, and vernacular legend in Mormon culture.

Special Thanks to Western Historian Ryan Roos who helped with this article. 

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