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THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE

September 11, 1857

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How do we know what we don’t know?

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What was the massacre?

The facts of the massacre

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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What was the Mountain Meadows Massacre?

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EMIGRANTS, SETTLERS, AND NATIVES

On September 11, 1857, a wagon train of emigrants passing through Utah was murdered by a combined group of Latter-day Saint men and Native Americans.

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The Facts of the Massacre

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In 1847, Latter-day Saint pioneers began to settle in the Great Basin in part to get away from disagreements they had with people in the East.

Many people in the East thought that the Saints were rebelling against the U.S.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also called the Mormon Church, was organized in the eastern United States in 1830. In 1847, Latter-day Saint pioneers began to settle in the Great Basin in part to get away from disagreements they had with people in the East.

2. After Utah became part of the United States in 1850, federal officers who weren’t church members were sent to help lead the new territory. These officers sometimes disagreed with the Saints and told government leaders and people in the East that they were causing trouble. Many people in the East also didn’t like that some Latter-day Saints men had more than one wife. Many new Saints who moved to Utah were from Europe, and people in the East didn’t think they would be good, loyal Americans. Some people thought that the Saints were rebelling against the United States.

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President Buchanan sent an army toward Utah, so the Saints stopped trading goods in order to prepare for war.

Emigrants crossing through southern Utah got into disagreements with the Saints over supplies and lands.

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In 1857 President James Buchanan sent an army of about 2,500 soldiers to stop what some people called the “Mormon Rebellion” in Utah. As the army made the long journey across the Great Plains, Utah prepared for war. The army reminded the Saints of mobs they were trying to get away from when they moved west. Latter-day Saint leaders sent a militia (volunteer army) to the Great Plains to slow down and discourage the U.S. troops. Their leader, Brigham Young, told the Saints to keep all of their supplies and not sell or trade any. Some church leaders made speeches that told the Saints to prepare to fight and kill and even die for their faith and families. That same year many emigrants crossed the Great Plains toward California. The Baker, Dunlap, Fancher, Miller and Tackitt families were a part of these emigrant groups. These families each entered the Salt Lake Valley in August then joined together into a large wagon train and followed the “Southern Road” into southern Utah. They happened to arrive in Utah just as the Saints were preparing for war with the U.S. Army. The emigrants got into disagreements with the Saints over grasslands and supplies as they passed through several cities. The worst disagreements happened in Cedar City on September 3, 1857.

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Latter-day Saints wanted the Indian nations to help them fight the U.S. soldiers.

On September 11, 1857, an emigrant train of about 120 people were massacred at a place called Mountain Meadows

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Latter-day Saint and U.S. leaders met and found a solution to their disagreements.

John D. Lee was executed 20 years later for leading the militia who killed the immigrants.

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Without knowing what had happened to the emigrants, the U.S. army got stuck near Fort Bridger, in what is now Wyoming, during the winter. This gave the Latter-day Saint leaders and U.S. leaders a chance to meet and to find a solution to their disagreements. Their meetings ended what some people call the “Utah War” before any real fighting happened between the Saints’ militia and the U.S. army. Many years after the massacre, the government accused John D. Lee of leading the Saints’ militia and the Indians who had killed the emigrants. He was convicted and executed 20 years after the massacre at the site where it had happened. The Latter-day Saint church punished some of the Saints who were involved. Eight church leaders and militia leaders hid from law enforcers for the rest of their lives. Some Paiutes were looked down on by both Indians and others for killing the emigrants.

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