Mountain Meadows massacre
Encyclopedia
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train
, at Mountain Meadows
in southern Utah
. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County
district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local Native Americans.
The wagon train—composed almost entirely of families from Arkansas
—was bound for California
on a route that passed through the Utah Territory
during a turbulent period later known as the Utah War
. After arriving in Salt Lake City, the Baker–Fancher party made their way south, eventually stopping to rest at Mountain Meadows. While the emigrants were camped in the meadow, nearby militia
leaders including Isaac C. Haight
and John D. Lee
made plans to attack the wagon train. Intending to give the appearance of Native American aggression, their plan was to arm some Southern Paiute Native Americans and persuade them to join with a larger party of militiamen—disguised as Native Americans—in an attack.
During the initial assault on the wagon train, the emigrants fought back and a five-day siege ensued. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men, and had probably discovered who their attackers really were. This resulted in an order by militia commander William H. Dame
for the emigrants' annihilation. Running low on water and provisions, the emigrants allowed a party of militiamen to enter their camp, who assured them of their safety and escorted them out of their hasty fortification. After walking a distance from the camp, the militiamen, with the help of auxiliary forces hiding nearby, attacked the emigrants. Intending to leave no witnesses of complicity by Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church) in the attacks, and to prevent reprisals that would further complicate the Utah War
, the perpetrators killed all the adults and older children (totaling about 120 men, women, and children). Seventeen children, all younger than seven, were spared.
Following the massacre
the perpetrators hastily buried the victims, leaving their bodies vulnerable to wild animals and the climate. Local families took in the surviving children, and many of the victims' possessions were auctioned off. Investigations, temporarily interrupted by the American Civil War
, resulted in nine indictments during 1874. Of the men indicted, only John D. Lee was tried in a court of law. After two trials in the Utah Territory, Lee was convicted by a jury and executed. Today historians attribute the massacre to a combination of factors including both war hysteria
and strident Mormon teachings. Scholars still debate whether senior Mormon leadership, including Brigham Young
, directly instigated the massacre or if responsibility lies with the local leaders of southern Utah.
region started their trek to California, joining up on the way to form a group known as the Baker–Fancher party. The groups were mostly from Marion; Crawford; Carroll; and Johnson counties in Arkansas, and had assembled into a wagon train
at Beller's Stand, south of Harrison, Arkansas
, to emigrate to southern California
. This group was initially referred to as both the Baker train and the Perkins train, but after being joined by other Arkansas trains and making its way west, was soon called the Baker–Fancher train (or party) after "Colonel" Alexander Fancher who, having already made the journey to California twice before, had become its main leader. By contemporary standards the Baker-Fancher party was prosperous, carefully organized, and well-equipped for the journey. They were subsequently joined along the way by families and individuals from other states, including Missouri
. This group was relatively wealthy, and planned to restock its supplies in Salt Lake City
, as did most wagon trains at the time. The party reached Salt Lake City with about 120 members.
was organized as a theocratic democracy
under the lead of Brigham Young
, who had established colonies along the California Trail
and Old Spanish Trail
. President James Buchannan had recently issued an order to send troops to Utah. Rumors spread in the territory about the motives for the troop movement. Young issued various orders, urging the local population to prepare for the arrival of the troops. Eventually Young issued a declaration of martial law. The Baker–Fancher party chose to leave Salt Lake City and take the Old Spanish Trail, which passed through southern Utah. In August 1857, Mormon apostle George A. Smith
, of Parowan
, set out on a tour of southern Utah, instructing the settlers to stockpile grain. While on his return trip to Salt Lake City, Smith camped near the Baker-Fancher party on August 25 at Corn Creek, (near present-day Kanosh
) 70 miles (112.7 km) north of Parowan. They had traveled the 165 miles (265.5 km) south from Salt Lake City and Jacob Hamblin
suggested that the wagon train continue on the trail and rest their cattle at Mountain Meadows which had good pasture and was adjacent to his homestead.
While most witnesses said that the Fanchers were in general a peaceful party whose members behaved well along the trail, rumors spread about misdeeds. Brevet Major James Henry Carleton
's report, the first federal investigation of the incident, records Jacob Hamblin's account that the train was alleged to have poisoned a spring near Corn Creek that killed 18 head of cattle and resulted in the deaths of two or three people who ate the dead cattle. Carleton, who interviewed the father of a child who allegedly died from this poisoned spring, did not doubt the sincerity of the grieving father. However, Carlton also included a statement from an investigator who did not believe the Fancher party was capable of poisoning the spring, given its size. Carleton asked readers to consider a potential explanation for these stories, noting the general atmosphere of distrust for strangers at the time, and that some locals appeared jealous of the Fancher party's wealth.
; southern Utah communities led respectively by Stake Presidents William H. Dame
and Isaac C. Haight
. Haight and Dame were, in addition, the senior regional military leaders of the Mormon militia
. As the Baker-Fancher party approached, several meetings were held in Cedar City and nearby Parowan by the local Latter Day Saint (LDS) leaders pondering how to implement Young's declaration of martial law. In the afternoon of Sunday, September 6, Haight held his weekly Stake High Council meeting after church services, and brought up the issue of what to do with the emigrants. The plan for a Native American massacre was discussed, but not all the Council members agreed it was the right approach. The Council resolved to take no action until Haight sent a rider, James Haslam, out the next day to carry an express to Salt Lake City (a six-day round trip on horseback) for Brigham Young's advice; as Utah did not yet have a telegraph system. Following the Council, Isaac C. Haight decided to send a messenger south to John D. Lee. What Haight told Lee remains a mystery, but considering the timing it may have had something to do with Council's decision to wait for advice from Brigham Young.
The somewhat dispirited Baker-Fancher party found water and fresh grazing for its livestock after reaching grassy, mountain-ringed Mountain Meadows, a widely known stopover on the old Spanish Trail, in early September. They anticipated several days of rest and recuperation there before the next 40 miles (64.4 km) would take them out of Utah. But, on September 7, the party was attacked by Mormon militiamen dressed as Native Americans and some Native American
Paiute
s. The Baker-Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, wheels chained together, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons, which made a strong barrier. Seven emigrants were killed during the opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement. Sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water or game food and their ammunition was depleted. Meanwhile, organization among the local Mormon leadership reportedly broke down. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men, and had probably discovered who their attackers really were. This resulted in an order to kill all the emigrants, with the exception of small children.
On Friday, September 11, 1857, two militiamen approached the Baker-Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Native American agent and militia officer John D. Lee
. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants that he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely the 36 miles (57.9 km) back to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for turning all of their livestock and supplies over to the Native Americans. Accepting this, the emigrants were led out of their fortification. The adult men were separated from the women and children. The men were paired with a militia escort. When a signal was given, the militiamen turned and shot the male members of the Baker-Fancher party standing by their side. The women and children were then ambushed and killed by more militia that were hiding in nearby bushes and ravines. Members of the militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Native Americans. The militia did not kill some small children who were deemed too young to relate the story. These children were taken in by local Mormon families. Seventeen of the children were later reclaimed by the U.S. Army and returned to relatives in Arkansas.
Leonard J. Arrington
, founder of the Mormon History Association, reports that Brigham Young received the rider, James Haslam, at his office on the same day. When he learned what was contemplated by the members of the church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter stating the Baker-Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested. Young's letter supposedly arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857.
Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans involved, while large amounts of their valuables and cattle were taken by the Mormons in Southern Utah, including John D. Lee. Some of the cattle were taken to Salt Lake City and sold or traded. The remaining personal property of the Baker-Fancher party was taken to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons.
delayed any investigation by the U.S. federal government until 1859, when Jacob Forney, and U.S. Army Brevet
Major James Henry Carleton
conducted investigations. In Carleton's investigation, at Mountain Meadows he found women's hair tangled in sage brush and the bones of children still in their mothers' arms. Carleton later said it was "a sight which can never be forgotten." After gathering up the skulls and bones of those who had died, Carleton's troops buried them and erected a cairn
and cross.
Carleton interviewed a few local Mormon settlers and Paiute Native American chiefs, and concluded that there was Mormon involvement in the massacre. He issued a report in May 1859, addressed to the U.S. Assistant Adjutant-General, setting forth his findings. Jacob Forney, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, also conducted an investigation that included visiting the region in the summer of 1859 and retrieved many of the surviving children of massacre victims who had been housed with Mormon families, and gathered them in preparation of transporting them to their relatives in Arkansas. Forney concluded that the Paiutes did not act alone and the massacre would not have occurred without the white settlers, while Carleton's report to the U.S. Congress
called the mass killings a "heinous crime", blaming both local and senior church leaders for the massacre.
A federal judge brought into the territory after the Utah War, Judge John Cradlebaugh
, in March 1859 convened a grand jury in Provo
, concerning the massacre, but the jury declined any indictments. Nevertheless, Cradlebaugh conducted a tour of the Mountain Meadows area with a military escort. Cradlebaugh attempted to arrest John D. Lee, Isaac Haight, and John Higbee, but these men fled before they could be found. Cradlebaugh publicly charged Brigham Young as an instigator to the massacre and therefore an "accessory before the fact." Possibly as a protective measure against the mistrusted federal court system, Mormon territorial probate court judge Elias Smith arrested Young under a territorial warrant, perhaps hoping to divert any trial of Young into a friendly Mormon territorial court. When no federal charges ensued, Young was apparently released.
Further investigations, cut short by the American Civil War
in 1861, again proceeded in 1871 when prosecutors obtained the affidavit of militia member Phillip Klingensmith. Klingensmith had been a bishop and blacksmith from Cedar City; by the 1870s, however, he had left the church
and moved to Nevada
.
During the 1870s Lee, Dame, Philip Klingensmith and two others (Ellott Willden and George Adair, Jr.) were indicted and arrested while warrants were obtained to pursue the arrests of four others (Haight, Higbee, William C. Stewart and Samuel Jukes) who had gone into hiding. Klingensmith escaped prosecution by agreeing to testify. Brigham Young removed some
participants including Haight and Lee from the LDS church in 1870. The U.S. posted bounties of $500 each for the capture of Haight, Higbee and Stewart, while prosecutors chose not to pursue their cases against Dame, Willden and Adair.
Lee's first trial began on July 23, 1875 in Beaver
, before a jury of eight Mormons and four non-Mormons. This trial led to a hung jury
on August 5, 1875. Lee's second trial began September 13, 1876, before an all-Mormon jury. The prosecution called Daniel Wells, Laban Morrill, Joel White, Samuel Knight, Samuel McMurdy, Nephi Johnson, and Jacob Hamblin
. Lee also stipulated, against advice of counsel, that the prosecution be allowed to re-use the depositions of Young and Smith from the previous trial. Lee called no witnesses in his defense. This time, Lee was convicted.
At his sentencing, as required by Utah Territory statute, he was given the option of being hanged, shot, or beheaded, and he chose to be shot. In 1877, before being executed by firing squad at Mountain Meadows a fate Young believed just, but not a sufficient blood atonement
, given the enormity of the crime. Lee professed that he was a scapegoat
for others involved.
The first published report on the incident was made in 1859 by Carleton, who had been tasked by the U.S. Army to investigate the incident and bury the still exposed corpses at Mountain Meadows. Although the massacre was covered to some extent in the media during the 1850s, the first period of intense nation-wide publicity about the massacre began around 1872, after investigators obtained Klingensmith's confession. In 1867 C.V. Waite published "An Authentic History Of Brigham Young" which described the events. In 1872, Mark Twain
commented on the massacre through the lens of contemporary American public opinion in an appendix to his semi-autobiographical travel book Roughing It
. In 1873, the massacre was a prominent feature of a history by T.B.H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints. National newspapers covered the Lee trials closely from 1874 to 1876, and his execution in 1877 was widely covered.
The massacre has been treated extensively by several historical works, beginning with Lee's own Confession in 1877, expressing his opinion that George A. Smith
was sent to southern Utah by Brigham Young to direct the massacre. In 1910, the massacre was the subject of a short book by Josiah F. Gibbs, who also attributed responsibility for the massacre to Young and Smith. The first detailed and comprehensive work using modern historical methods was The Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1950 by Juanita Brooks
, a Mormon scholar who lived near the area in southern Utah. Brooks found no evidence of direct involvement by Brigham Young, but charged him with obstructing the investigation and for provoking the attack through his rhetoric.
Initially, LDS Church denied any involvement by Mormons, and was relatively silent on the issue. In 1872, it excommunicated some of the participants for their role in the massacre. Since then, the LDS Church has condemned the massacre and acknowledged involvement by local Mormon leaders. In September 2007, the LDS Church published an article in its publications marking 150 years since the tragedy occurred.
For the decade prior to the Baker–Fancher party's arrival there, Utah Territory existed as a "theodemocracy
" (a democratic theocracy) led by Brigham Young. During the mid-1850s, Young instituted a Mormon Reformation
, intending to "lay[ing] the axe at the root of the tree of sin and iniquity", while preserving individual rights. Mormon teachings during this era were dramatic and strident.
In addition, during the prior decades, the religion had undergone a period of intense persecution
in the American Midwest, and faithful Mormons moved west to escape persecution in midwestern towns. In particular, they were officially expelled from the state of Missouri
during the 1838 Mormon War, during which prominent Mormon apostle David W. Patten
was killed in battle. After Mormons moved to Nauvoo, Illinois
, the religion's founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum Smith
were assassinated in 1844
. Just months before the Mountain Meadows massacre, Mormons received word that yet another apostle had been killed: in April 1857, apostle Parley P. Pratt
was shot in Arkansas by Hector McLean, the estranged husband of one of Pratt's plural wives
, Eleanor McLean Pratt. Mormon leaders immediately proclaimed Pratt as another martyr
, and many Mormons held the people of Arkansas responsible.
In 1857, Mormon leaders taught that the Second Coming
of Jesus
was imminent, and that God would soon exact punishment against the United States for persecuting Mormons and martyring Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith, Patten and Pratt, all of whom were considered by Mormons to be prophets. In their Endowment ceremony
, faithful early Latter-day Saints took an oath
to pray that God would take vengeance against the murderers of the prophets. As a result of this oath, several Mormon apostles and other leaders considered it their religious duty to kill the prophets' murderers if they ever came across them.
The sermons, blessings, and private counsel by Mormon leaders just before the Mountain Meadows massacre can be understood as encouraging private individuals to execute God's judgment against the wicked. In Cedar City, the teachings of church leaders were particularly strident.
Thus, historians argue that southern Utah Mormons would have been particularly affected by an unsubstantiated rumor that the Baker-Fancher wagon train had been joined by a group of eleven miners and plainsmen who called themselves "Missouri Wildcats," some of whom reportedly taunted, vandalized and "caused trouble" for Mormons and Native Americans along the route (by some accounts claiming that they had the gun that "shot the guts out of Old Joe Smith") They were also affected by the report to Brigham Young that the Baker–Fancher party was from Arkansas, and the rumor that Eleanor McLean Pratt, the apostle Pratt's plural wife, recognized one of the party as being present at her husband's murder.
The Mountain Meadows massacre was caused in part by events relating to the Utah War
, an 1857 deployment toward the Utah Territory of the United States Army
, whose arrival was peaceful. In the summer of 1857, however, the Mormons expected an all-out invasion of apocalyptic
significance. From July to September 1857, Mormon leaders and their followers prepared for a siege that could have ended up similar to the seven-year Bleeding Kansas
problem occurring at the time. Mormons were required to stockpile grain, and were enjoined against selling grain to emigrants for use as cattle feed. As far-off Mormon colonies retreated, Parowan
and Cedar City became isolated and vulnerable outposts. Brigham Young sought to enlist the help of Native American tribes in fighting the "Americans", encouraging them to steal cattle from emigrant trains, and to join Mormons in fighting the approaching army.
Scholars have asserted that George A. Smith
's tour of southern Utah influenced the decision to attack and destroy the Fancher–Baker emigrant train near Mountain Meadows, Utah. He met with many of the eventual participants in the massacre, including W. H. Dame, Isaac Haight, John D. Lee and Chief Jackson, leader of a band of Paiutes. He noted that the militia was organized and ready to fight, and that some of them were eager to "fight and take vengeance for the cruelties that had been inflicted upon us in the States."
Among Smith's party were a number of Paiute Native American chiefs from the Mountain Meadows area. When Smith returned to Salt Lake, Brigham Young met with these leaders on September 1, 1857 and encouraged them to fight against the Americans in the anticipated clash with the U.S. Army. They were also offered all of the livestock then on the road to California, which included that belonging to the Baker–Fancher party. The Native American chiefs were reluctant, and at least one objected they had previously been told not to steal, and declined the offer.
There is a general consensus among historians that Brigham Young played a role in provoking the massacre, at least unwittingly, and in concealing its evidence after the fact; however, they debate whether Young knew about the planned massacre ahead of time and whether he initially condoned it before later taking a strong public stand against it. Young's use of inflammatory and violent language in response to the Federal expedition added to the tense atmosphere at the time of the attack. Following the massacre, Young stated in public forums that God had taken vengeance on the Baker–Fancher party. It is unclear whether Young held this view because he believed that this specific group posed an actual threat to colonists or because he believed that the group was directly responsible for past crimes against Mormons. However, in Young's only known correspondence prior to the massacre, he told the Church leaders in Cedar City:
According to historian MacKinnon, "After the [Utah] war, U.S. President James Buchanan
implied that face-to-face communications with Brigham Young might have averted the conflict, and Young argued that a north-south telegraph line in Utah could have prevented the Mountain Meadows massacre." MacKinnon suggests that hostilities could have been avoided if Young had traveled east to Washington D.C. to resolve governmental problems instead of taking a five week trip north on the eve of the Utah War for church related reasons.
A modern forensic assessment of a key affidavit, purportedly given by William Edwards in 1924, has complicated the debate on complicity of senior Mormon leadership in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Analysis indicates that Edwards's signature may have been traced and that the typeset belonged to a typewriter manufactured in the 1950s. The Utah State Historical Society, who maintains the document in its archives, acknowledges a possible connection to Mark Hofman, a convicted forger and extortionist, via go-between Lyn Jacobs who provided the society with the document.
built over the gravesite of 34 victims, and was topped by a large cedar cross
. The monument was found destroyed and the structure was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1864. By some reports, the monument was destroyed in 1861, when Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows. Wilford Woodruff, who later became President of the Church, claimed that upon reading the inscription on the cross, which read, "Vengeance is mine, thus sayeth the Lord. I shall repay", Young responded, "Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little". In 1932 citizens of the surrounding area constructed a memorial wall around the remnants of the monument.
Starting in 1988, the Mountain Meadows Association, composed of descendants of both the Baker–Fancher party victims and the Mormon participants, designed a new monument in the meadows; this monument was completed in 1990 and is maintained by the Utah State Division of Parks and Recreation
. In 1999 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints replaced the U.S. Army's cairn and the 1932 memorial wall with a second monument, which it now maintains.
In 1955, to memorialize the victims of the massacre, a monument was installed in the town square of Harrison, Arkansas
. On one side of this monument is a map and short summary of the massacre, while the opposite side contains a list of the victims. In 2005 a replica of the U.S. Army's original 1859 cairn was built in Carrollton, Arkansas
; it is maintained by the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation.
In 2007 the 150th anniversary of the massacre was remembered by a ceremony held in the meadows. Approximately 400 people, including many descendants of those slain at Mountain Meadows and Elder Henry B. Eyring
of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles attended this ceremony.
In 2011, the site was designated as a National Historic Landmark
after joint efforts by descendants of those killed and the LDS Church.
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
, at Mountain Meadows
Mountain Meadows, Utah
Mountain Meadows is an area in present-day Washington County Utah. It was a place of rest and grazing used by migrants on the Old Spanish Trail on their way overland to California.On September 11, 1857, the Mountain Meadows massacre happened here....
in southern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County
Iron County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,779 people, 10,627 households, and 8,076 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 13,618 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local Native Americans.
The wagon train—composed almost entirely of families from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
—was bound for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on a route that passed through the Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
during a turbulent period later known as the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. After arriving in Salt Lake City, the Baker–Fancher party made their way south, eventually stopping to rest at Mountain Meadows. While the emigrants were camped in the meadow, nearby militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
leaders including Isaac C. Haight
Isaac C. Haight
Isaac Chauncey Haight , an early convert to Mormonism, was a colonist of the American West remembered as a major conspirator of the Mountain Meadows massacre....
and John D. Lee
John D. Lee
John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:...
made plans to attack the wagon train. Intending to give the appearance of Native American aggression, their plan was to arm some Southern Paiute Native Americans and persuade them to join with a larger party of militiamen—disguised as Native Americans—in an attack.
During the initial assault on the wagon train, the emigrants fought back and a five-day siege ensued. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men, and had probably discovered who their attackers really were. This resulted in an order by militia commander William H. Dame
William H. Dame
William H. Dame was the first mayor of Parowan, Utah, a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature and Commander of the Iron and Washington County Militia District. He was heavily involved in the Mountain Meadows massacre....
for the emigrants' annihilation. Running low on water and provisions, the emigrants allowed a party of militiamen to enter their camp, who assured them of their safety and escorted them out of their hasty fortification. After walking a distance from the camp, the militiamen, with the help of auxiliary forces hiding nearby, attacked the emigrants. Intending to leave no witnesses of complicity by Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church) in the attacks, and to prevent reprisals that would further complicate the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
, the perpetrators killed all the adults and older children (totaling about 120 men, women, and children). Seventeen children, all younger than seven, were spared.
Following the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
the perpetrators hastily buried the victims, leaving their bodies vulnerable to wild animals and the climate. Local families took in the surviving children, and many of the victims' possessions were auctioned off. Investigations, temporarily interrupted by the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, resulted in nine indictments during 1874. Of the men indicted, only John D. Lee was tried in a court of law. After two trials in the Utah Territory, Lee was convicted by a jury and executed. Today historians attribute the massacre to a combination of factors including both war hysteria
War hysteria preceding the Mountain Meadows massacre
The Mountain Meadows massacre was caused in part by events relating to the Utah War, an 1858 invasion of the Utah Territory by the United States Army which ended up being peaceful. In the summer of 1857, however, Mormons experienced a wave of war hysteria, expecting an all-out invasion of...
and strident Mormon teachings. Scholars still debate whether senior Mormon leadership, including Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, directly instigated the massacre or if responsibility lies with the local leaders of southern Utah.
Baker–Fancher party
In early 1857, several groups of emigrants from the northwestern ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
region started their trek to California, joining up on the way to form a group known as the Baker–Fancher party. The groups were mostly from Marion; Crawford; Carroll; and Johnson counties in Arkansas, and had assembled into a wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
at Beller's Stand, south of Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
, to emigrate to southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. This group was initially referred to as both the Baker train and the Perkins train, but after being joined by other Arkansas trains and making its way west, was soon called the Baker–Fancher train (or party) after "Colonel" Alexander Fancher who, having already made the journey to California twice before, had become its main leader. By contemporary standards the Baker-Fancher party was prosperous, carefully organized, and well-equipped for the journey. They were subsequently joined along the way by families and individuals from other states, including Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. This group was relatively wealthy, and planned to restock its supplies in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, as did most wagon trains at the time. The party reached Salt Lake City with about 120 members.
Interactions with Mormon settlers
At the time of the Fanchers' arrival, the Utah TerritoryUtah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
was organized as a theocratic democracy
Theodemocracy
Theodemocracy is a political system that combines elements of theocracy and democracy.One concept of theodemocracy was theorized by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement...
under the lead of Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, who had established colonies along the California Trail
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
and Old Spanish Trail
Old Spanish Trail (trade route)
The Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route which connected the northern New Mexico settlements near or in Santa Fe, New Mexico with that of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately long, it ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is...
. President James Buchannan had recently issued an order to send troops to Utah. Rumors spread in the territory about the motives for the troop movement. Young issued various orders, urging the local population to prepare for the arrival of the troops. Eventually Young issued a declaration of martial law. The Baker–Fancher party chose to leave Salt Lake City and take the Old Spanish Trail, which passed through southern Utah. In August 1857, Mormon apostle George A. Smith
George A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
, of Parowan
Parowan, Utah
Parowan is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census.Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A fort that had been constructed on the east side of Center Creek the previous year was an initial in the...
, set out on a tour of southern Utah, instructing the settlers to stockpile grain. While on his return trip to Salt Lake City, Smith camped near the Baker-Fancher party on August 25 at Corn Creek, (near present-day Kanosh
Kanosh, Utah
Kanosh is a town in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 485 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Kanosh is located at ....
) 70 miles (112.7 km) north of Parowan. They had traveled the 165 miles (265.5 km) south from Salt Lake City and Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...
suggested that the wagon train continue on the trail and rest their cattle at Mountain Meadows which had good pasture and was adjacent to his homestead.
While most witnesses said that the Fanchers were in general a peaceful party whose members behaved well along the trail, rumors spread about misdeeds. Brevet Major James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
's report, the first federal investigation of the incident, records Jacob Hamblin's account that the train was alleged to have poisoned a spring near Corn Creek that killed 18 head of cattle and resulted in the deaths of two or three people who ate the dead cattle. Carleton, who interviewed the father of a child who allegedly died from this poisoned spring, did not doubt the sincerity of the grieving father. However, Carlton also included a statement from an investigator who did not believe the Fancher party was capable of poisoning the spring, given its size. Carleton asked readers to consider a potential explanation for these stories, noting the general atmosphere of distrust for strangers at the time, and that some locals appeared jealous of the Fancher party's wealth.
Conspiracy and siege
The Baker-Fancher party left Corn Creek and continued the 125 miles (201.2 km) to Mountain Meadows, passing Parowan, and Cedar CityCedar City, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...
; southern Utah communities led respectively by Stake Presidents William H. Dame
William H. Dame
William H. Dame was the first mayor of Parowan, Utah, a member of the Utah Territorial Legislature and Commander of the Iron and Washington County Militia District. He was heavily involved in the Mountain Meadows massacre....
and Isaac C. Haight
Isaac C. Haight
Isaac Chauncey Haight , an early convert to Mormonism, was a colonist of the American West remembered as a major conspirator of the Mountain Meadows massacre....
. Haight and Dame were, in addition, the senior regional military leaders of the Mormon militia
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
. As the Baker-Fancher party approached, several meetings were held in Cedar City and nearby Parowan by the local Latter Day Saint (LDS) leaders pondering how to implement Young's declaration of martial law. In the afternoon of Sunday, September 6, Haight held his weekly Stake High Council meeting after church services, and brought up the issue of what to do with the emigrants. The plan for a Native American massacre was discussed, but not all the Council members agreed it was the right approach. The Council resolved to take no action until Haight sent a rider, James Haslam, out the next day to carry an express to Salt Lake City (a six-day round trip on horseback) for Brigham Young's advice; as Utah did not yet have a telegraph system. Following the Council, Isaac C. Haight decided to send a messenger south to John D. Lee. What Haight told Lee remains a mystery, but considering the timing it may have had something to do with Council's decision to wait for advice from Brigham Young.
The somewhat dispirited Baker-Fancher party found water and fresh grazing for its livestock after reaching grassy, mountain-ringed Mountain Meadows, a widely known stopover on the old Spanish Trail, in early September. They anticipated several days of rest and recuperation there before the next 40 miles (64.4 km) would take them out of Utah. But, on September 7, the party was attacked by Mormon militiamen dressed as Native Americans and some Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
s. The Baker-Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, wheels chained together, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons, which made a strong barrier. Seven emigrants were killed during the opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement. Sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water or game food and their ammunition was depleted. Meanwhile, organization among the local Mormon leadership reportedly broke down. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men, and had probably discovered who their attackers really were. This resulted in an order to kill all the emigrants, with the exception of small children.
Killings and aftermath of the massacre
| Four of the nine Utah Territorial militiamen Nauvoo Legion The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary... of the Tenth Regiment "Iron Brigade" who were indicted in 1874 for murder or conspiracy (Not shown: William H. Dame • William C. Stewart • Ellott Willden • Samuel Jukes • George Adair, Jr.) |
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| Isaac C. Haight Isaac C. Haight Isaac Chauncey Haight , an early convert to Mormonism, was a colonist of the American West remembered as a major conspirator of the Mountain Meadows massacre.... —Battalion Commander—died 1886 Arizona |
Maj. John H. Higbee, said to have shouted the command to begin the killings. He claimed that he reluctantly participated in the massacre and only to bury the dead who he thought were victims of an "Indian attack." | Maj. John D. Lee John D. Lee John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:... , constable, judge, and Indian Agent Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866.... . Having conspired in advance with his immediate commander, Isaac C. Haight Isaac C. Haight Isaac Chauncey Haight , an early convert to Mormonism, was a colonist of the American West remembered as a major conspirator of the Mountain Meadows massacre.... , Lee led the initial assault, and falsely offered emigrants safe passage prior to their mile-long march to the field where they were ultimately massacred. He was the only participant convicted. |
Philip Klingensmith, a Bishop in the church and a private Private (rank) A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career... in the militia. He participated in the killings, and later turned state's evidence State's Evidence State's Evidence is an independent film created in 2004 and released in 2006, directed by Benjamin Louis and starring Douglas Smith, Alexa Vega, Majandra Delfino, Kris Lemche, Cody McMains, and Drew Tyler Bell.-Plot summary:... against his fellows, after leaving the church. |
On Friday, September 11, 1857, two militiamen approached the Baker-Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Native American agent and militia officer John D. Lee
John D. Lee
John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:...
. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants that he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely the 36 miles (57.9 km) back to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for turning all of their livestock and supplies over to the Native Americans. Accepting this, the emigrants were led out of their fortification. The adult men were separated from the women and children. The men were paired with a militia escort. When a signal was given, the militiamen turned and shot the male members of the Baker-Fancher party standing by their side. The women and children were then ambushed and killed by more militia that were hiding in nearby bushes and ravines. Members of the militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Native Americans. The militia did not kill some small children who were deemed too young to relate the story. These children were taken in by local Mormon families. Seventeen of the children were later reclaimed by the U.S. Army and returned to relatives in Arkansas.
Leonard J. Arrington
Leonard J. Arrington
Leonard James Arrington was an author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field.-Biographical background:Arrington was born in Twin Falls,...
, founder of the Mormon History Association, reports that Brigham Young received the rider, James Haslam, at his office on the same day. When he learned what was contemplated by the members of the church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter stating the Baker-Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested. Young's letter supposedly arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857.
Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans involved, while large amounts of their valuables and cattle were taken by the Mormons in Southern Utah, including John D. Lee. Some of the cattle were taken to Salt Lake City and sold or traded. The remaining personal property of the Baker-Fancher party was taken to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons.
Investigations and prosecutions
An early investigation was conducted by Brigham Young, who interviewed John D. Lee on September 29, 1857. In 1858, Young sent a report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs stating that the massacre was the work of Native Americans. The Utah WarUtah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
delayed any investigation by the U.S. federal government until 1859, when Jacob Forney, and U.S. Army Brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton was an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. Carleton is most well known as an Indian fighter in the southwestern United States.-Biography:...
conducted investigations. In Carleton's investigation, at Mountain Meadows he found women's hair tangled in sage brush and the bones of children still in their mothers' arms. Carleton later said it was "a sight which can never be forgotten." After gathering up the skulls and bones of those who had died, Carleton's troops buried them and erected a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
and cross.
Carleton interviewed a few local Mormon settlers and Paiute Native American chiefs, and concluded that there was Mormon involvement in the massacre. He issued a report in May 1859, addressed to the U.S. Assistant Adjutant-General, setting forth his findings. Jacob Forney, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, also conducted an investigation that included visiting the region in the summer of 1859 and retrieved many of the surviving children of massacre victims who had been housed with Mormon families, and gathered them in preparation of transporting them to their relatives in Arkansas. Forney concluded that the Paiutes did not act alone and the massacre would not have occurred without the white settlers, while Carleton's report to the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
called the mass killings a "heinous crime", blaming both local and senior church leaders for the massacre.
A federal judge brought into the territory after the Utah War, Judge John Cradlebaugh
John Cradlebaugh
John Cradlebaugh was the first delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Nevada Territory.-Biography:...
, in March 1859 convened a grand jury in Provo
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, concerning the massacre, but the jury declined any indictments. Nevertheless, Cradlebaugh conducted a tour of the Mountain Meadows area with a military escort. Cradlebaugh attempted to arrest John D. Lee, Isaac Haight, and John Higbee, but these men fled before they could be found. Cradlebaugh publicly charged Brigham Young as an instigator to the massacre and therefore an "accessory before the fact." Possibly as a protective measure against the mistrusted federal court system, Mormon territorial probate court judge Elias Smith arrested Young under a territorial warrant, perhaps hoping to divert any trial of Young into a friendly Mormon territorial court. When no federal charges ensued, Young was apparently released.
Further investigations, cut short by the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in 1861, again proceeded in 1871 when prosecutors obtained the affidavit of militia member Phillip Klingensmith. Klingensmith had been a bishop and blacksmith from Cedar City; by the 1870s, however, he had left the church
Ex-Mormon
Ex-Mormon refers to a disaffiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any of its schismatic breakoffs, collectively called "Mormonism". Ex-Mormons, sometimes referred to as Exmo, typically neither believe in nor affiliate with the LDS church. In contrast, Jack Mormons may believe...
and moved to Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
During the 1870s Lee, Dame, Philip Klingensmith and two others (Ellott Willden and George Adair, Jr.) were indicted and arrested while warrants were obtained to pursue the arrests of four others (Haight, Higbee, William C. Stewart and Samuel Jukes) who had gone into hiding. Klingensmith escaped prosecution by agreeing to testify. Brigham Young removed some
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
participants including Haight and Lee from the LDS church in 1870. The U.S. posted bounties of $500 each for the capture of Haight, Higbee and Stewart, while prosecutors chose not to pursue their cases against Dame, Willden and Adair.
Lee's first trial began on July 23, 1875 in Beaver
Beaver, Utah
Beaver is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,454 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Beaver County.Settled by Mormon pioneers in 1856, Beaver was one of a string of Mormon settlements extending the length of Utah...
, before a jury of eight Mormons and four non-Mormons. This trial led to a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
on August 5, 1875. Lee's second trial began September 13, 1876, before an all-Mormon jury. The prosecution called Daniel Wells, Laban Morrill, Joel White, Samuel Knight, Samuel McMurdy, Nephi Johnson, and Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...
. Lee also stipulated, against advice of counsel, that the prosecution be allowed to re-use the depositions of Young and Smith from the previous trial. Lee called no witnesses in his defense. This time, Lee was convicted.
At his sentencing, as required by Utah Territory statute, he was given the option of being hanged, shot, or beheaded, and he chose to be shot. In 1877, before being executed by firing squad at Mountain Meadows a fate Young believed just, but not a sufficient blood atonement
Blood atonement
In mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that teaches that murder is so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Thus, in order to atone for these sins, the perpetrators must have their blood shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering...
, given the enormity of the crime. Lee professed that he was a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
for others involved.
Media coverage about the event
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
commented on the massacre through the lens of contemporary American public opinion in an appendix to his semi-autobiographical travel book Roughing It
Roughing It
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870–71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocents Abroad...
. In 1873, the massacre was a prominent feature of a history by T.B.H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints. National newspapers covered the Lee trials closely from 1874 to 1876, and his execution in 1877 was widely covered.
The massacre has been treated extensively by several historical works, beginning with Lee's own Confession in 1877, expressing his opinion that George A. Smith
George A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
was sent to southern Utah by Brigham Young to direct the massacre. In 1910, the massacre was the subject of a short book by Josiah F. Gibbs, who also attributed responsibility for the massacre to Young and Smith. The first detailed and comprehensive work using modern historical methods was The Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1950 by Juanita Brooks
Juanita Brooks
Juanita Pulsipher Brooks was an American historian and author, specializing in the American West and Mormon history, including books related to the Mountain Meadows massacre, to which her ancestor Dudley Leavitt was sometimes linked.-Biography:Born Juanita Leone Leavitt, Brooks was born and raised...
, a Mormon scholar who lived near the area in southern Utah. Brooks found no evidence of direct involvement by Brigham Young, but charged him with obstructing the investigation and for provoking the attack through his rhetoric.
Initially, LDS Church denied any involvement by Mormons, and was relatively silent on the issue. In 1872, it excommunicated some of the participants for their role in the massacre. Since then, the LDS Church has condemned the massacre and acknowledged involvement by local Mormon leaders. In September 2007, the LDS Church published an article in its publications marking 150 years since the tragedy occurred.
Historical theories explaining the massacre
Historians have ascribed the massacre to a number of factors, including strident Mormon teachings in the years prior to the massacre, war hysteria, and alleged involvement of Brigham Young.Strident Mormon teachings
Mormons, such as John D. Lee, who participated in the Mountain Meadows massacre, felt justified by strident Mormon teachings during the 1850s. However, historians debate whether that justification was a reasonable interpretation of Mormon theology.For the decade prior to the Baker–Fancher party's arrival there, Utah Territory existed as a "theodemocracy
Theodemocracy
Theodemocracy is a political system that combines elements of theocracy and democracy.One concept of theodemocracy was theorized by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement...
" (a democratic theocracy) led by Brigham Young. During the mid-1850s, Young instituted a Mormon Reformation
Mormon Reformation
The Mormon Reformation was a period of renewed emphasis on spirituality within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It took place in 1856 and 1857 and was under the direction of President of the Church Brigham Young. During the Reformation, Young sent his counselor Jedediah M...
, intending to "lay[ing] the axe at the root of the tree of sin and iniquity", while preserving individual rights. Mormon teachings during this era were dramatic and strident.
In addition, during the prior decades, the religion had undergone a period of intense persecution
Religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or lack thereof....
in the American Midwest, and faithful Mormons moved west to escape persecution in midwestern towns. In particular, they were officially expelled from the state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
during the 1838 Mormon War, during which prominent Mormon apostle David W. Patten
David W. Patten
David Wyman Patten was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
was killed in battle. After Mormons moved to Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
, the religion's founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
were assassinated in 1844
Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States...
. Just months before the Mountain Meadows massacre, Mormons received word that yet another apostle had been killed: in April 1857, apostle Parley P. Pratt
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt...
was shot in Arkansas by Hector McLean, the estranged husband of one of Pratt's plural wives
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, Eleanor McLean Pratt. Mormon leaders immediately proclaimed Pratt as another martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, and many Mormons held the people of Arkansas responsible.
In 1857, Mormon leaders taught that the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was imminent, and that God would soon exact punishment against the United States for persecuting Mormons and martyring Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith, Patten and Pratt, all of whom were considered by Mormons to be prophets. In their Endowment ceremony
Endowment (Latter Day Saints)
In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
, faithful early Latter-day Saints took an oath
Oath of vengeance
In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance was an oath that was made by participants in the Endowment ritual of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between about 1845 and the 1920s, in which participants vowed to pray that God would avenge the blood of the prophets Joseph Smith, Jr...
to pray that God would take vengeance against the murderers of the prophets. As a result of this oath, several Mormon apostles and other leaders considered it their religious duty to kill the prophets' murderers if they ever came across them.
The sermons, blessings, and private counsel by Mormon leaders just before the Mountain Meadows massacre can be understood as encouraging private individuals to execute God's judgment against the wicked. In Cedar City, the teachings of church leaders were particularly strident.
Thus, historians argue that southern Utah Mormons would have been particularly affected by an unsubstantiated rumor that the Baker-Fancher wagon train had been joined by a group of eleven miners and plainsmen who called themselves "Missouri Wildcats," some of whom reportedly taunted, vandalized and "caused trouble" for Mormons and Native Americans along the route (by some accounts claiming that they had the gun that "shot the guts out of Old Joe Smith") They were also affected by the report to Brigham Young that the Baker–Fancher party was from Arkansas, and the rumor that Eleanor McLean Pratt, the apostle Pratt's plural wife, recognized one of the party as being present at her husband's murder.
War hysteria
The Mountain Meadows massacre was caused in part by events relating to the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
, an 1857 deployment toward the Utah Territory of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, whose arrival was peaceful. In the summer of 1857, however, the Mormons expected an all-out invasion of apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
significance. From July to September 1857, Mormon leaders and their followers prepared for a siege that could have ended up similar to the seven-year Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
problem occurring at the time. Mormons were required to stockpile grain, and were enjoined against selling grain to emigrants for use as cattle feed. As far-off Mormon colonies retreated, Parowan
Parowan, Utah
Parowan is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census.Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A fort that had been constructed on the east side of Center Creek the previous year was an initial in the...
and Cedar City became isolated and vulnerable outposts. Brigham Young sought to enlist the help of Native American tribes in fighting the "Americans", encouraging them to steal cattle from emigrant trains, and to join Mormons in fighting the approaching army.
Scholars have asserted that George A. Smith
George A. Smith
George Albert Smith was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the church's First Presidency.-Childhood:Smith was born in Potsdam, St...
's tour of southern Utah influenced the decision to attack and destroy the Fancher–Baker emigrant train near Mountain Meadows, Utah. He met with many of the eventual participants in the massacre, including W. H. Dame, Isaac Haight, John D. Lee and Chief Jackson, leader of a band of Paiutes. He noted that the militia was organized and ready to fight, and that some of them were eager to "fight and take vengeance for the cruelties that had been inflicted upon us in the States."
Among Smith's party were a number of Paiute Native American chiefs from the Mountain Meadows area. When Smith returned to Salt Lake, Brigham Young met with these leaders on September 1, 1857 and encouraged them to fight against the Americans in the anticipated clash with the U.S. Army. They were also offered all of the livestock then on the road to California, which included that belonging to the Baker–Fancher party. The Native American chiefs were reluctant, and at least one objected they had previously been told not to steal, and declined the offer.
Brigham Young
There is a general consensus among historians that Brigham Young played a role in provoking the massacre, at least unwittingly, and in concealing its evidence after the fact; however, they debate whether Young knew about the planned massacre ahead of time and whether he initially condoned it before later taking a strong public stand against it. Young's use of inflammatory and violent language in response to the Federal expedition added to the tense atmosphere at the time of the attack. Following the massacre, Young stated in public forums that God had taken vengeance on the Baker–Fancher party. It is unclear whether Young held this view because he believed that this specific group posed an actual threat to colonists or because he believed that the group was directly responsible for past crimes against Mormons. However, in Young's only known correspondence prior to the massacre, he told the Church leaders in Cedar City:
According to historian MacKinnon, "After the [Utah] war, U.S. President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
implied that face-to-face communications with Brigham Young might have averted the conflict, and Young argued that a north-south telegraph line in Utah could have prevented the Mountain Meadows massacre." MacKinnon suggests that hostilities could have been avoided if Young had traveled east to Washington D.C. to resolve governmental problems instead of taking a five week trip north on the eve of the Utah War for church related reasons.
A modern forensic assessment of a key affidavit, purportedly given by William Edwards in 1924, has complicated the debate on complicity of senior Mormon leadership in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Analysis indicates that Edwards's signature may have been traced and that the typeset belonged to a typewriter manufactured in the 1950s. The Utah State Historical Society, who maintains the document in its archives, acknowledges a possible connection to Mark Hofman, a convicted forger and extortionist, via go-between Lyn Jacobs who provided the society with the document.
Remembrances
The first monument for the victims was built two years after the massacre, by Major Carleton and the U.S. Army. This monument was a simple cairnCairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
built over the gravesite of 34 victims, and was topped by a large cedar cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
. The monument was found destroyed and the structure was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1864. By some reports, the monument was destroyed in 1861, when Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows. Wilford Woodruff, who later became President of the Church, claimed that upon reading the inscription on the cross, which read, "Vengeance is mine, thus sayeth the Lord. I shall repay", Young responded, "Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little". In 1932 citizens of the surrounding area constructed a memorial wall around the remnants of the monument.
Starting in 1988, the Mountain Meadows Association, composed of descendants of both the Baker–Fancher party victims and the Mormon participants, designed a new monument in the meadows; this monument was completed in 1990 and is maintained by the Utah State Division of Parks and Recreation
Utah State Parks
Utah State Parks is the common name for the Division of Utah State Parks and Recreation; a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. This is the state agency that manages the state park system of the U.S...
. In 1999 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints replaced the U.S. Army's cairn and the 1932 memorial wall with a second monument, which it now maintains.
In 1955, to memorialize the victims of the massacre, a monument was installed in the town square of Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
. On one side of this monument is a map and short summary of the massacre, while the opposite side contains a list of the victims. In 2005 a replica of the U.S. Army's original 1859 cairn was built in Carrollton, Arkansas
Carrollton, Arkansas
Carrollton is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. Once a thriving community with a population near the 10,000 mark in the 1850s, there are generally 30 residents now in the unincorporated community with a historically significant past.-Geography:Carrollton is...
; it is maintained by the Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation.
In 2007 the 150th anniversary of the massacre was remembered by a ceremony held in the meadows. Approximately 400 people, including many descendants of those slain at Mountain Meadows and Elder Henry B. Eyring
Henry B. Eyring
Henry Bennion Eyring is an American educational administrator, author, and religious leader. In 2008 Eyring became First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Eyring was the Second Counselor to Gordon B. Hinckley in the First Presidency from October...
of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles attended this ceremony.
In 2011, the site was designated as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
after joint efforts by descendants of those killed and the LDS Church.
Media detailing the massacre
- The Mountain Meadows Massacre, by Juanita BrooksJuanita BrooksJuanita Pulsipher Brooks was an American historian and author, specializing in the American West and Mormon history, including books related to the Mountain Meadows massacre, to which her ancestor Dudley Leavitt was sometimes linked.-Biography:Born Juanita Leone Leavitt, Brooks was born and raised...
(1950) - Blood of the ProphetsBlood of the ProphetsBlood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Will Bagley is an award-winning history of the Mountain Meadows massacre...
: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, by Will BagleyWill BagleyWill Bagley is a historian specializing in the history of western United States. Bagley has written about the fur trade, overland emigration, American Indians, military history, frontier violence, railroads, mining, and Utah and the Mormons....
(2002) - American Massacre: The Tragedy At Mountain Meadows, September 1857American MassacreAmerican Massacre: The Tragedy At Mountain Meadows, September 1857 is an historical account of the Mountain Meadows massacre, the murder of 140...
, by Sally Denton (2003) - Burying The Past: Legacy of The Mountain Meadows MassacreBurying The Past: Legacy of The Mountain Meadows MassacreBurying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre is a 2004 documentary film about the Mountain Meadows massacre. It was directed by Brian Patrick and has won 11 awards, but the producers where unable to obtain theatrical release for the film....
", a documentary film by Brian Patrick (2004) - September DawnSeptember DawnSeptember Dawn is a 2007 Canadian film by Christopher Cain, released on August 24, 2007. It sets a fictional love story against a controversial historical interpretation of the Mountain Meadows massacre...
a film by Christopher CainChristopher CainChristopher Cain is an American screenwriter, actor, director, and singer. He married Sharon Thomas in 1969 and adopted her two sons, Roger and Dean Cain. The couple's daughter Krisinda Cain Schafer was born in 1973....
(2007) - Massacre at Mountain MeadowsMassacre at Mountain MeadowsMassacre at Mountain Meadows is a book by Latter-day Saint historian Richard E. Turley, Jr. and two Brigham Young University professors of history, Ronald W. Walker and Glen M. Leonard. Leonard was also the director of the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, Utah...
, by Ronald W. WalkerRonald W. WalkerRonald Warren Walker is a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement who was formerly a professor at Brigham Young University and president of the Mormon History Association.-Biography:...
, Richard E. Turley, Glen M. LeonardGlen M. LeonardGlen Milton Leonard is an American historian specializing in Mormon history.- Background :Leonard is a native of Farmington, Utah. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Utah. For a time he was managing editor of Utah Historical Quarterly. He has taught at both Brigham Young...
(2008) - House of Mourning: A Biocultural History of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, by Shannon A. Novak. (2008)
External links
- Mountain Meadows Association
- Images of the monument and related sites
- Images of the current Mountain Meadows monument and surrounding area
- Images of the Mountain Meadows Monument and area in 2009
- PBS Frontline documentary: The Mormons, Part One, episodes 8 & 9: Mountain Meadows.