Mountain Meadows Massacre Facts
- Date — September 11, 1857.
- Location — Mountain Meadows, Utah.
- Participants — Mormon Militia (Nauvoo Legion), Paiute Indians, Arkansas Emigrants.
- Mormon Leaders — Isaac C. Haight, John D. Lee.
- Arkansas Emigrant Leaders — John Baker, Alexander Fancher.
- Outcome — 120 migrants were killed. The Mormons tried to cover up the incident but were eventually exposed, leading to the execution of John D. Lee.
- Part Of — The Mountain Meadows Massacre is part of the Utah War and Manifest Destiny.
Key Moments
- In 1857, President James Buchanan replaced Brigham Young as the Governor of the Utah Territory, due to accusations federal officials made against Young and the Mormon Church.
- Buchanan sent a military force, known as the Utah Expedition, to escort the new Governor and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
- Believing the Utah Expedition intended to attack Mormons, Young called up the militia and prepared to defend Utah
- In September 1857, an emigrant wagon train from Arkansas, traveling to California, entered Utah Territory. The emigrants were involved in disputes with Mormons over grazing cattle and purchasing supplies.
- Mormons from Cedar City, Utah, led by Isaac C. Haight, and John D. Lee, decided to attack the wagon train.
- On September 7, 1857, Mormons and Paiute Indians attacked the wagon train at Mountain Meadows.
- The emigrants circled their wagons and fought back, leading to a four-day siege.
- On September 11, the Mormons negotiated with the emigrants and promised them safe passage to Cedar City and protection from the Indians.
- As the party was escorted away, the militia turned on the immigrants, killing 120 men, women, and children.
- Mormon leaders, shocked by the violence, decided to cover up the incident and placed the blame on the Paiute Indians.
- The cover-up was eventually exposed and John D. Lee was tried, convicted, and executed for the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Significance to American History
The Mountain Meadows Massacre is important to American History because it was the most devastating attack on a wagon train carrying pioneers to the West on the Overland Trails.
Mountain Meadows Massacre Overview and History
The Mormons Move West
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, was founded in April 1830 in upstate New York. The founder of the church, Joseph Smith, declared to have uncovered the history of the Lamanites, one of four ancient Israeli tribes that migrated to the New World, who were the ancestors of Native American Indians.
The Mormons were controversial due to their religious beliefs and practices. Like the Pilgrims more than 200 years earlier, the Mormons referred to themselves as “Saints,” and called non-Mormons “Gentiles.”
Over time, the Mormons were slowly pushed westward due to religious persecution. They moved to Ohio, then Missouri, and finally to Illinois, where Smith was killed by a mob in 1844. Brigham Young replaced Smith as the head of the Mormon Church.
Two years later, in 1846, the Mormons were expelled from Illinois. Young organized the “Great Western Measure,” a plan to move the Mormons west, out of the United States, where they could live in peace. By 1847, the Mormons were settling in Mexican territory, in areas that are now Utah and Nevada. On July 24, 1847, they established Great Salt Lake City, the first major settlement on the Oregon-California Trail.
Young and the Mormons were supported in their westward migration by President James K. Polk, who wanted to expand the United States to the Pacific Ocean.
Utah Territory
In 1848, Mexico gave up much of the southwestern United States as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. The Mormons applied for statehood but were denied. Instead, Congress created the Utah Territory two years later, as part of the Compromise of 1850.
President Millard Fillmore appointed Brigham Young the Territorial Governor and Indian Superintendant to acknowledge the large Mormon population there. Young was re-appointed as Governor in 1854 by President Franklin Pierce.
Controversy with Young
As Governor, Young dealt with the Native American Indians with a heavy hand. He kept a close watch on them and threatened them with violence, which often led to armed conflicts, increasing tensions between Americans and Indians in the region.
Although Young was the Governor, most of the other offices in his government were filled by people appointed by the Federal Government who were not Mormons. Young and the Mormons clashed with these officials over policies and sometimes simply ignored them.
This continued until 1857. One of the federal appointees, Judge W.W. Drummond, sent letters to Washington, complaining about the Mormons to the newly elected President, James Buchanan. Drummond informed Buchanan that Young was defying orders from Washington.
Brigham Young Dismissed
While Buchanan could have sent a commission to investigate the situation in Utah, he chose not to. Instead, he took decisive action and removed Young as Governor, replacing him with Alfred Cumming.
The Utah War Begins
Anticipating the Mormons would resist the new Governor, Buchanan ordered Secretary of War John B. Floyd and Army Chief of Staff Winfield Scott to organize a military expedition to escort Cumming to Utah and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
The Utah Expedition included roughly 1,500 troops, which amounted to about 20% of the United States Army. Buchanan reviewed the troops on June 29, 1857, and then they started their journey to Salt Lake City.
The mobilization of these troops was the start of the so-called “Utah War,” or “Mormon War.”
Mormons Prepare for War
Due to slow mail service, Young heard rumors about an impending attack by the U.S. Army before he received official notice of his dismissal. Fearing the purpose of the Utah Expedition was to attack the Mormons, Young decided to defend Utah.
Young ordered the Mormons to hoard supplies, including food, and to prepare to take refuge in the mountains. He mobilized the territorial militia, known as the Nauvoo Legion, but instead of directly engaging the Expedition, Young planned to harass its supply trains.
As the Expedition continued west, Young used his control of the Utah Territory to his advantage, he declared, “I will fight them and I will fight all hell.” Young and other preachers, including George A. Smith, delivered sermons calling on Mormons to prepare for conflict with the U.S. Army.
Murder of Parley P. Pratt
In May 1857, Parley P. Pratt, a prominent leader in the Mormon Church, was murdered in Arkansas. In some newspapers, Pratt’s death was celebrated. This contributed to the fears the Mormons held toward non-Mormons. In 1878, John Hanson Beadle wrote:
“…Parley P. Pratt…was killed in Arkansas by Hector McLean, whose wife Pratt had taken away some time before. To the Gentiles this would seem but the rash act of an outraged husband; to the Mormons it appeared the murder of an…apostle…The spring of 1857 found the Mormon community in a mixed state of fanatic enthusiasm, grief for the lost, zeal for the cause, and fierce anger against the whole American race. While in this state [Utah] the news arrived that President Buchanan had removed Brigham Young from the Governorship, and determined to station a part of the army in Utah. The immediate consequences were frightful.”
Restrictions on Migrants
Young decided to close many of the trails used by immigrant wagon trains to travel west to California. He issued orders restricting Mormons from selling supplies to immigrants and permitted Native American Indians living in the territory to attack wagon trains and seize cattle traveling with them.
The Arkansas Emigrants
In early September 1857, more than 10 wagon trains left Arkansas and headed to Los Angeles, California.
At Salt Lake City, they merged, which is often referred to as the Baker-Fancher Party. The wagon train included 140 people from 12 families, mostly from Arkansas, and two of the leaders were Alexander Fancher and John Baker.
A history of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, published in 1877, describes the wagon train:
“In the summer of 1857, a train of emigrants, hailing from Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois, and bound for California, entered Salt Lake City. It was a wealthy and populous train. There were in it one hundred and fifty persons, men, women, and children, four hundred head of cattle, and seventy or eighty fine horses. It was a rich train, and carried money, jewelry, bedding, household goods, and superior wearing apparel. Its strength and wealth made it independent, and doubtless its members were boastful and bold. They were told that snows would prevent their making the northern passage, and they resolved to pass down through Utah and go into California by the southern route. Mormons say that in Salt Lake one of the emigrants swung a pistol above his head and swore that it helped to kill ‘Joe Smith,’ and was then loaded for ‘Old Brigham’…In addition to this, several of the emigrants came from McLean’s neighborhood in Arkansas, and at least one was believed to have had a hand in the killing of Pratt.”
As the Arkansas Emigrants moved through Utah, they clashed with the Mormons over buying supplies and grazing their cattle. Rumors spread through the territory that the Emigrants were openly insulting Mormons and some of them might have been involved with the murder of Parley P. Pratt.
The Emigrants were also said to have named one of their cows “Brigham,” after Young, which Mormons found insulting.
The Emigrants Move South
The Arkansas Emigrants were ordered to leave Salt Lake City, which they did. They traveled south, stopping at several towns, all of which refused to sell them provisions. At two places, they grazed their cattle, but were threatened and had to keep moving.
George A. Smith traveled ahead of the wagon train and warned Mormons not to aid the Emigrants. He threatened to excommunicate anyone who violated his orders.
Cedar City Plans to Attack the Emigrants
In Cedar City, Utah, 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, Mormon officials and militia leaders, including Isaac C. Haight and John D. Lee decided to take action against the Arkansas Emigrants.
They asked William Dame, the district’s militia commander for permission to attack the Emigrants, but Dame refused.
Determined to attack the Emigrants, the Mormons in Cedar City decided to approach the Paiute Indians about attacking the wagon train while it traveled through the Santa Clara Canyon on the California Trail. The Indians were hesitant but agreed when Cedar City leaders — led by Haight and Lee — told them they could have whatever they could take from the Emigrants.
Lee presented the plan to Cedar City leaders on September 6. When some of them objected, an express rider was sent to Salt Lake City to inform Young of the situation and ask for instructions.
However, by the time the rider was en route, the local militia, led by Lee, was already preparing to attack the Emigrants, but not in the Santa Clara Canyon. Instead, he targeted one of their camps about 50-60 miles southwest of Cedar City, at a place in the Alpine Valley called Mountain Meadows.
Lee’s force included a party of Indians, however, the Mormons were also dressed as Indians, a decision that was intended to deceive the Emigrants into thinking all their attackers were Indians.
Attack on the Arkansas Emigrants
On the morning of September 7, 1857, some of the Emigrants were grazing their cattle in Mountain Meadows and eating breakfast when the Mormons and Indians attacked.
Despite casualties, the immigrants fought back, formed a circle with their wagons, and took defensive positions. They dug a pit in the center of the circle and pushed the dirt up against the wagons, turning them into breastworks.
Surprised by the ability of the Arkansas Emigrants to defend themselves, the Mormons and Indians laid siege to the wagon train.
The Siege at Mountain Meadows Escalates
During the siege, one of the Emigrants was able to escape from the camp on horseback and rode to warn the rest of the wagon train.
Fearing possible reprisals from Mormon and U.S. officials, the militia leaders decided they needed to bring the conflict to an end, but needed to eliminate witnesses who could identify them.
As the Emigrants ran low on food and water, more Mormon militiamen joined the original attackers, escalating the situation.
Massacre in the Desert
On September 11, Mormon negotiators, bearing a white flag of truce, approached the Emigrants and asked them to negotiate. They told them they would safely escort them away from the Indians and back to Cedar City, but needed the Emigrants to give up their weapons, leave their possessions, and divide into three groups.
Although the Emigrants were skeptical, they were in desperate need of food and water, so they agreed to the terms. They turned over their weapons and then the youngest children and wounded were loaded into two wagons, which led the column. Following the wagons were the women and children who were old enough to walk. At the rear of the column were the men and boys, who were lined up single file — each with an armed militiaman as an escort.
The Mormons marched the column into the desert for about a mile when a signal shot was fired. At that moment, each of the militiamen turned and shot the men and Indians attacked the women and children.
The entire attack lasted roughly five minutes. When it was over, most of the Arkansas Emigrants were dead. Those who were not killed right away were executed, under the direction of John D. Lee. It is believed that roughly 120 Emigrants were killed. 17 children, all under the age of 7, were spared by the Mormons, who thought they would be too young to testify against them or remember what happened.
Aftermath
After the massacre, the express rider returned from Salt Lake City, carrying a letter from Young. He ordered the militia to leave the Arkansas Emigrants alone but that he expected the “Indians to do as they please.” Although some have accused Young of ordering the attack, this letter has served as his alibi.
At first, the children who survived were adopted by local families. In 1859, some of them were returned to relatives in Arkansas.
Young’s Proclamation
On September 15, Young issued a proclamation that included the following:
“…I, Brigham Young, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the Territory of Utah,
First — Forbid all armed forces of every description from coming into this territory, under any pretense whatever.
Second — That all the forces in said territory hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment’s notice, to repel any and all such invasion.
Third — Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this territory, from and after the publication of this proclamation; and no person shall be allowed to pass or repass, into or through, or from this territory without a permit from the proper officer.”
The Utah War Continues
Meanwhile, the Utah Expedition continued to march toward Salt Lake City. The Nauvoo Militia harrassed the Expedition and slowed its progress, including setting prairie grass on fire and burning supply wagons.
The Expedition was forced to spend the winter of 1857–1858 near the ruins of Fort Bridger in Montana and Governor Cumming did not reach Salt Lake City until April 1858. In the interim, negotiations took place to resolve the Utah War and avoid hostilities.
As part of the agreement, Young and the Mormons were granted amnesty. Cumming was installed as Governor and the Utah Expedition was allowed to remain in the territory.
During these negotiations, U.S. officials were unaware of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Young Responds to the Massacre
The Mormons kept the incident quiet until January 1858 when Young issued his Governor’s Address and said, “Capt. Fancher & Co. fell victim to the Indians’ wrath near Mountain Meadows…”
Young accused the Emigrants of being disrespectful to Mormons and poisoning a spring, which led to some deaths among the Indians. It was these deaths that caused the Indians to attack the Arkansas Emigrants.
Young also did nothing to help the survivors reclaim any property stolen by the Indians and Mormons. In the months after the Mountain Meadows Massacre, survivors reported seeing women in Cedar City wearing dresses that had belonged to the Arkansas Emigrants.
Federal Investigation
In 1859, federal authorities launched an investigation into the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the Mormons’ responsibility for the attack was uncovered. Judge John Cradlebaugh issued warrants for the arrests of 38 men who were involved in what he called “…the cowardly, cold-blooded butchery and robbery at the Mountain Meadows.”
Due to the Secession Crisis and the outbreak of the Civil War, many of the men responsible for the Mountain Meadows Massacre avoided trial.
- In 1870, Isaac Haight and John D. Lee were excommunicated from the Mormon Church.
- Four years later, in 1874, a territorial grand jury indicted 9 men for their role in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Haight and some others went into hiding and were never captured.
- In 1877, Lee was tried and convicted of murder for his involvement.
- On March 23, 1877, Lee was executed by firing squad at Mountain Meadows. He claimed he had been “sacrificed in a cowardly, dastardly manner” by Brigham Young.
The Story of William A. Aden and William Laney
William A. Aden was one of the pioneers traveling with the wagon train. He was originally from Paris, Tennessee, and at the time of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, he is believed to have been 20 years old.
While living in Paris, a Mormon named William Laney visited the town and gave a speech about Mormonism at the courthouse.
During the speech, Aden and some other boys discharged a small cannon, as a prank, but it caused Laney to think he was under attack. However, some accounts say Laney was attacked by an angry mob and fled for his life.
Regardless, Aden’s father took Laney in and let him stay with the family while he remained in Paris.
Aden left Tennessee for California in 1857. He joined the wagon train at Provo, Utah, and proceeded with it to Mountain Meadows. When the wagon train arrived at Parowan, Utah, Aden saw Laney and, remembering his family’s earlier kindness, invited him to his home. Before Aden left, Laney gave him some food.
Unfortunately, this was witnessed and reported to William Dame, who responded by sending his brother-in-law, Barney Carter to visit Laney. Carter went to Laney’s house and called on him to come outside. When he did, Carter hit him in the head with a pick-axe, fracturing his skull.
Carter left Laney for dead, but he survived and suffered permanently from the damage.
Aden survived the initial attack at the Mountain Meadows Massacre. During the siege, Aden and two other men slipped out and tried to make their way to Cedar City to find help. Along the way, they were discovered by two Mormons. One of them, William C. Stewart, shot and killed Aden.
