A. P. Rockwood's Survival in the Prison Fire
Published October 5, 2026 at 5:49 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
During a visit by Wilford Woodruff to A. P. Rockwood in a Columbia jail in 1838, Rockwood related how, during a fire at the jail shortly before, he felt protected and secure in the midst of the disaster while other prisoners begged to be released or were cursing in agony.
In Their Own Words
“I visited Brother A. P. Rockwood, who was in prison at Columbia. He mentioned that the jail had taken fire a few days previous to my visit. He said it looked a little like a judgment upon them for their sins. He said while the flames were devouring the building, and the smoke and heat were upon every hand, and the prisoners were begging for mercy’s sake to be let out, or they would be consumed in the fire, one in the agonies of death, while others were cursing and swearing, Brother Rockwood said he felt secure in the midst of it until the fire was extinguished. He said he felt as calm as a summer morning, and he knew that the Lord would preserve him, and he was not injured in the least, although the building was nearly consumed.”
— Wilford Woodruff, The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 19 September 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 38). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-09-19_43_38 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 43, No. 38, 19 September 1881 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-09-19_43_38
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