Did William Law try to kill Joesph Smith?

[_Gregg Kay]

I do not know of any "revolving" pistols (where either there is a single barrel and a revolving cylinder or multiple barrels that revolve) that were flint lock. They were all percussion cap ignition. In 1844 it is more likely that IF it was a "revolver" it was the pepper box variety like the one Joseph Smith had in Carthage jail two months later which Cyrus Wheelock gave him (which misfired three times and fired three times wounding three attackers in Carthage).

Given the fact that there are at least two versions of this story and in one it is a revolver that misfires 6 times and then fires 6 times and in the other it is a single shot that misfires at Joseph and then fires at the can, and since the vast majority of pistols at that time were single barrel, single shot, black powder percussion cap pistols (liked the one that Hyrum Smith had at Carthage jail which he never fired as he was killed soon after the attack began), it is more likely that IF William Law had a pistol that he pointed at Joseph Smith it would have been a single barrel, single shot percussion cap black powder pistol and IF it failed to fire the first time, that was a common problem with percussion caps of the day, and it was also not uncommon for them to fire the second time when the hammer was cocked and the trigger pulled a second time on the same percussion cap. So the story is at least plausible from a firearms point of view.

Whether the event actually happened and whether it was recorded at the time or is a later recollection, and whether it was embellished over time to be a "six shooter" instead of a single shot, and whether Joseph Smith would have had William Law arrested or not, I will leave to others to debate the historicity (which we may never be able to answer conclusively). But the story does make sense to me from the firearms standpoint.

[_deacon blues]

My "feelings" tell me the story is untrue, but................... it could be the devil giving me those feelings.

[_Quasimodo]

It's a pity that Joseph Smith wasn't able to perform the same magic non-firing gun trick at the Carthage Jail a few month's later.

Quoting Old Lodge Skins from "Little Big Man": "Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn't".

[_ludwigm]

I think that is a good policy, and it is one that I generally follow.

From 1957 to 2004 I was permanently a member of juries --- in court-martials. I can say, not a position I did like. (Jesus... it was near 50 years... now I count the time... and I don't know how many cases...)
In that interval, there were only two cases when some family members abused the weapon of the officer --- because it was handled a wrong way.
Two, in 40+ years. One of culprits was shot, the other capitulated and was released after three years.

Compare it with deadly shootings in US; even by four-six-nine-something years old children.

I have no words to describe...

[_Quasimodo]

I think that is a good policy, and it is one that I generally follow.

From 1957 to 2004 I was permanently a member of juries --- in court-martials. I can say, not a position I did like. (Jesus... it was near 50 years... now I count the time... and I don't know how many cases...)
In that interval, there were only two cases when some family members abused the weapon of the officer --- because it was handled a wrong way.
Two, in 40+ years. One of culprits was shot, the other capitulated and was released after three years.

Compare it with deadly shootings in US; even by four-six-nine-something years old children.

I have no words to describe...

You have to realize, ludwigm, that one or two children dying on a weekly basis from accidental shootings is a small price to pay for gun advocates to be able to live up to their dreams of being John Wayne in old movie westerns or playing army.

[_Sammy Jankins]

I'm starting to doubt the Deseret News will even update the article. And now it's been shared over 1,000 times on Facebook. Do they even care?

[_Bret Ripley]

... the vast majority of pistols at that time were single barrel, single shot, black powder percussion cap pistols ... it is more likely that IF William Law had a pistol that he pointed at Joseph Smith it would have been a single barrel, single shot percussion cap black powder ...

Oh, I agree that a single shot weapon would have been more readily available. However, one of the details in the earliest (diary) version of the story is that the author specifies that the gun was loaded with "one bullet." If the writer had a single shot weapon in mind, it would seem more natural simply to state that the gun was loaded (particularly in 1844, when single shot was the norm). Specifying "one bullet" may impy that perhaps more than one bullet was an option.

Of course, composition at a time when revolvers were the norm would also explain the writer's need to specify the number of bullets.

Oh, and welcome to the board, Gregg. I hope your picked up your complimentary Welcome Basket at the door?

[_Gregg Kay]

I agree with you Bret. I was just pointing out that it would have been unusual at that time to have a revolver as the single shot was the norm and it makes more sense to me that it would have been a single shot IF it failed to fire and then he fired the second time at the can. The revolver seems to me to be a later embellishment to make the story even more fantastic for a believing audience, IF it even happened.

[_fetchface]

This just goes to show how stupid William Law was. The smart thing would have been to aim the re-fire at Joseph's chest. It's a good thing for Joseph that bad guys are *always* stupid.

[_Black Moclips]

Quasimodo -

Your last statement shows a true lack of understanding why most people own firearms. It is low on fact, high on exaggeration liberal propaganda. Shame on you.