“This night the cholera burst forth upon us, and about midnight it was manifest in its most terrific form.” — Joseph Smith¹

Zion’s Camp stopped in Salt River, Missouri to wait for an escort to the Saints living in Missouri.² While there a cholera outbreak began suddenly, with previously healthy members succumbing to severe vomiting, irritability, stomach pains, and muscle cramps.³ Nancy Holbrook was one of the first to fall ill, followed by her sister-in-law Eunice. Joseph Smith and the elders provided blessings, but the disease affected them as well. Wilford Woodruff tended to the sick, and Heber Kimball and Brigham Young buried the dead. Over sixty Saints fell ill, and fifteen died, including Sidney Gilbert and Betsy Parrish. The last person to die was Jesse Smith, Joseph Smith's cousin. The cholera outbreak hastened the decision to disperse Zion’s Camp.⁴

1. History, 1838–1856, volume A-1

2. “Camp of Israel,” josephsmithpapers.org

3. "Signs and Symptoms of Cholera," cdc.gov

4. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 19, 207-208; “Zion’s Camp (Camp of Israel),” churchofjesuschrist.org