Introduction
The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the most violent episode of the Utah War. With tensions running high between Mormons and non-Mormons, an unlucky group was caught in the crossfire and hysteria. An emigrant group, known as the Baker-Fancher party, was passing through southern Utah in September of 1857 and suffered almost total extermination. Mormon residents, dressed as and aided by some Paiutes in the region, attacked the party as they were leaving the area. The party spent several days defending themselves by circling their wagons and standing constant watch. The citizens of Iron County meanwhile, became increasingly worried about what to do, as the emigrants had almost certainly identified them. After five days, leaders of the Iron District militia (which was operated by the LDS church) came up with a plan to “save” the party and then kill all the emigrants above the age of seven. Around 120 men, women, and children were killed, with only seventeen children (all under the age of seven) surviving the ambush. With all viable witnesses dead, Mormon leaders blamed both the initial attack and slaughter on the band of Paiutes which then was corroborated by Brigham Young, the President and Prophet of the Mormon church. The Utah War delayed any investigation by the federal government until 1859, which was delayed again by the Civil War, and by the Mormon church, until finally in 1877 John D. Lee, an Indian agent and Mormon in the region, was hung. Lee, along with nine other men, was tried by a territorial grand jury for his role in the massacre. Lee was the only person ever tried, convicted and executed for the massacre. The other individuals gave evidence against Lee or ran from authorities for decades.
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The events and people of the Mountain Meadows Massacre are difficult for historians to piece together and still not fully known. For years, the Church and its leaders in Southern Utah insisted that the Paiutes were responsible for the massacre. It was easier to blame Native Americans than to face the truth. Most of the members involved in the massacre would not admit to their involvement, at least not until years after. After the initial LDS investigation into the massacre, the Church kept the majority of primary sources related to the massacre closed to research. Scholars were not allowed to handle the documents for many years, making the massacre a challenge to study. More documents are being unlocked by the Church, although some documents are only accessible to Church scholars. Nevertheless, the emergence of additional primary sources has led to more accurate scholarship about the Mountain Meadows Massacre than ever before.
1. The Baker-Fancher party will also be referred to as the emigrants or the wagon train.
2. J.H Beadle, “Interview with J. D. Lee of Mountain Meadows Notoriety,” Salt Lake Daily Tribune July 29, 1872; Joseph Clewes, in “Mountain Meadows Massacre: Joe Clewes’ Statement concerning It,” Salt Lake Daily Herald, Apr. 5, 1877.