chased through Boston by the "vast assemblage," which ran over several Boston police officers in the process. After Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844, Bennett surprised many by returning briefly to Mormonism and joining forces first with Sidney Rigdon and then with James Strang, two of several Mormons contending for leadership of the movement. Bennett united with the "Strangites," who founded their own Mormon community on Beaver Island in Michigan. While there, he founded a short-lived Halcyon Order of the Illuminati to reinforce Strang's power over his kingdom. With Bennett's enthusiastic support, polygamy was introduced into the Michigan Mormon community. Shortly thereafter, in 1847, amid yet more charges of sexual misconduct, Bennett was excommunicated from the Strangite community. Bennett did not associate with any Latter Day Saint group for the remainder of his life. Bennett has been accused of having a part in Smith's murder, but, as his biographer Andrew F. Smith (no relation to Joseph Smith) states, based on the extant evidence, "Bennett appears to have had no influence on the events that unfolded in Carthage during June 1844." Bennett is often credited with introducing into Mormonism the term "spiritual wifery," the term he used for both his own practice of "free love" and for the Nauvoo practice of "plural marriage". The term was occasionally used by Mormon leaders such as Brigham Young, who spoke of the shock he received when introduced by Smith to "the spiritual wife doctrine," referring to "plural marriage." One of Bennett's legacies was the conflation of "plural marriage" with "free love" in the popular imagination. The term "spiritual wifery," with its mixed connotations of polygyny and promiscuity, was frequently used in the national dialogue and in activism against Mormon polygamy. Legacy Bennett's troubled relationship with the Mormons has overshadowed his other notable activities, including commanding a company for the Union in the American Civil War. Beginning in 1835, Bennett was an early champion of the health benefits of the tomato; a pioneer in the use of chloroform as an anesthetic, publishing his findings in 1848; and the creator of several breeds of chicken, including Plymouth Rock fowl, which he exhibited in Boston in 1849. From 1830 to 1846, Bennett worked to establish institutions of higher learning, many of which were medical colleges. Bennett's practice of "selling diplomas" clouds that achievement, and only one educational institution survived Bennett's