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Mountain
Meadows Massacre
The
Monument Taken
By Utah Outdoor Activities Click
For Larger Picture
In
April 1857 a California-bound wagon train estimated at 40 wagons, 120 to
150 men, women, and children, and as many as 900 head of beef cattle, in
addition to draft and riding animals, assembled near the Crooked Creek,
approximately four miles south of present-day Harrison, Arkansas. Most of
these emigrants were from northwestern Arkansas and were families,
relatives, friends, and neighbors. Also included in the group may have
been some from Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and northeastern
Texas.
When they began their journey, their wagon train was identified by some as
the Baker train. En route it was known as the Perkins train; in Utah it
became known as the Fancher train. However, there were probably
individuals and perhaps elements of other wagon trains that joined the
Fancher train along the way. The emigrants arrived in Salt Lake City on or
about 10 August--a most crucial stop. There they had to refurbish their
equipment, refresh themselves and their stock, and replenish their
supplies. They also had to decide whether to take the shorter, cooler
northern route or the longer, warmer southern route to California. The
lateness of the season was the determining factor. They started on the
northern route and then retraced their steps to take the southern route.
Their arrival in Utah could not have been at a more critical time. The
once friendly Mormons, usually eager to trade agricultural commodities for
manufactured goods, were now hostile and reluctant to trade. War hysteria
permeated the area. President Buchanan had secretly dispatched an
expedition to Utah to suppress what he believed was a rebellion. Governor
Brigham Young subsequently issued a proclamation of martial law on 5
August (reissued on 15 September) which, among other things, forbade
people from traveling through the territory without a pass. The citizens
of Utah were discouraged from selling food to immigrants, especially for
animal use.
The territorial militia (affectionately, the Nauvoo Legion), which
included every able-bodied man between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five, was on full alert. Staff officers, who were also church and
civic officials, were dispatched to every settlement under their command
to explain and enforce militia decisions. George A. Smith, who commanded
all of the southern militia units, arrived in Parowan on 8 August and
began the task of preparing the people psychologically, militarily, and
materially for war. The units of the Tenth Regiment of the territorial
militia were mustered and drilled, and the impending battle plan was
explained. Smith, an effective orator and founder of Iron and Washington
counties, made several impassioned speeches and apparently accomplished
his purpose. The people were convinced that they were in a state of war
and were ready to take action.
As the Fancher train moved south without a pass from the Mormons, contact
with the local settlers became more abrasive. Stories of both fact and
fancy were embellished with each telling. By the time the wagon train
reached Cedar City, reports of gross misconduct were believed. The old
troubles in Missouri and Illinois were rehashed. The murder of beloved
apostle Parley P. Pratt in May of that year in northwest Arkansas was also
remembered.
Several meetings were held in Cedar City and Parowan to determine how the
"War Orders" should be implemented. The militia decided that the
Fancher train should be eliminated. Cooler heads prevailed temporarily and
an express rider was sent to Salt Lake City to solicit Brigham Young's
advice. The round trip--more than 500 miles--took six days. In the
meantime, things got completely out of hand. Orders and counterorders were
misinterpreted, deliberately or otherwise.
The Fancher train moved westward from Cedar City with hungry bellies,
injured feelings, and jaded stock to Mountain Meadows, a well-known and
much-needed campsite on the old Spanish Trail/California Road used by
travelers to and from California until well into the present century. It
was on the edge of the much-feared desert area between Utah and
California. It is located in the southwest corner of Utah, about
thirty-five miles southwest of Cedar City via the old pioneer road
(fifty-four miles via the current paved highway), and thirty-two miles
northwest of St. George. The shape of the meadows area resembles an
elongated diamond, approximately six miles long and one and one-half miles
wide; it is divided into northern and southern halves by a low bald ridge,
which John C. Fémont identified as the south rim of the Great Basin and
measured at 5,280 feet above sea level. This ridge is almost imperceptible
and divides the drainage area--the south half of which eventually reaches
the Pacific Ocean via the Colorado River. Mountains surround the meadows.
At that time, the Meadows were covered with a variety of grasses fed by
numerous springs of clear water, and the area was considered by Parley P.
Pratt to be one of the most delightful places on the entire route. The
Fancher train, and other travelers who may have joined or followed them,
arrived there the first week in September, anticipating a few days of
recuperation. Some of the emigrants probably continued another four and
one-half miles south to Cane Springs, the site of present-day Central. At
dawn the following Monday, 7 September, the Fancher train was brought
under siege by Indians and militiamen disguised as Indians. Those camped
at Cane Springs were also attacked and evidently retreated to the Mountain
Meadows. The wagons were drawn into a circle with their wheels chained
together, and then were lowered to the ground; firing pits were dug and
the dirt thrown under and into the wagons, making a strong defensive
barrier. Seven were killed and sixteen wounded in the first assault;
however, the party resisted the siege for five days although they were
pinned down and isolated from firewood, water, game food, and outside
help. By Friday, 11 September, low on water and ammunition, they were in a
helpless condition.
Under a flag of truce and led to believe the militiamen had arrived to
save them, the emigrants were made an offer to leave all of their
possessions to the Indians and be conducted safely back to Cedar City.
They accepted the conditions and began their trek. Seventeen children too
small to walk to Cedar City, some mothers, and the wounded were placed in
the wagons. These wagons were followed by the women and older children
walking in a group; they were followed by the men, walking alongside their
armed militia protectors.
After traveling approximately 1.5 miles, strung out and separated by a
small rise in the ground and shrubbery, isolating each group from the
others, the emigrants were massacred by Indians and militiamen. The only
known survivors were the seventeen small children, who were taken into
Mormon homes. The remains of the victims were hurriedly thrown into
shallow depressions and ravines and covered with whatever was available.
These remains were subsequently scattered over the immediate area by
storms and wild animals.
The messenger so urgently sent to Salt Lake City for Young's advice
returned on Sunday, two days after the massacre, with Young's advice to
let the wagon train pass and not molest them. The estimated number of
victims ranged from 100 to 150; the exact number may never be known.
Appalled by what had been done, and in fear of possible repercussions, an
effective cover-up plan was put into force. It blamed the entire episode
on the Indians, and continued to be maintained for the next few years in
the face of outside outrage and investigation.
Eighteen months after the massacre, prompted by relatives in Arkansas
demanding an investigation, an army payroll escort passed through the area
and reinterred the remains of the victims that could be found and erected
stone cairns over the mass graves--at least two at the massacre site and
one at the siege site. The U.S. Army forces at Camp Floyd helped return
the seventeen small children to relatives in Arkansas; the children
arrived in Carroll County on 15 September 1859, two years after the
massacre. The federal government prosecuted only one man, John D. Lee,
major of the Fourth Battalion of the militia at Harmony. He was convicted,
some say unjustly, and executed at the siege site on 23 March 1877 for his
role in the affair. The Mormon Church earlier excommunicated Lee and a few
others believed to have been responsible.
Unsuccessful attempts were made by various groups and individuals to erect
a more suitable monument at Mountain Meadows but no one assumed
maintenance responsibility. The most enduring was a wall which still
stands at the siege site. It was erected in 1932 and surrounds the 1859
cairn. On 23 July 1988 a bipartisan meeting was held at the siege site to
discuss the possibility of erecting a more adequate memorial to those who
lost their lives. Two independent and parallel efforts resulted--one by
people in southern Utah and one by Francher party and John D. Lee
descendants. Eventually these two groups merged and cooperatively
completed a new granite memorial. It was financed by the state of Utah and
by contributions from private sources. It is situated near the highway
(U-19) and overlooks the siege and massacre sites; and it was dedicated 15
September 1990. The Utah State Division of Parks and Recreation is now
responsible for its maintenance. 
New
Granite Memorial Taken
By Utah Outdoor Activities Click
For Larger Picture
See: Nels Anderson, Desert Saints (1966); Juanita Brooks, Mountain
Meadow Massacre (1950); Norman F. Furniss, The Mormon Conflict,
1850-59 (1960); John D. Lee, Mormonism Unveiled and
Confessions of John D. Lee (1892).
Morris A. Shirts
Information
Provided by Utah
History Encyclopedia
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