Men, women, and children looking to practice their religion in peace … viciously slaughtered. Surely,
that couldn't have happened in a country built on principles of freedom?
Many historians consider one horrific incident in 1857 to be one of the worst events not only
in the history of the Latter-day Saints, but it's also a pretty big stain on U.S. history,
too. Men, women, and children were left defenseless and caught off-guard during
a violent attack in Utah, leaving only the dead. What really triggered
the Mountain Meadows massacre, and what actually happened that day?
To understand that, there's some important groundwork that has to come first. In early 1857,
a group of about 150 people and about 900 cattle began a lengthy journey across America, traveling
from Arkansas to California, and stopping at settlements along the way to re-supply.
Meanwhile, in Utah, the Smithsonian Magazine says that the Latter-day Saint community was
becoming increasingly apprehensive to the idea that those outside their
faith were going to be crossing their land, and the fears weren't unfounded.
In April 1857, a polygamous church member from Arkansas named Parley P. Pratt was murdered by
the husband of one of his wives. When news of the murder traveled to Utah,
Latter-day Saints there were stunned and scared — they believed that Pratt had been killed
for religious reasons by Americans, a group the church viewed as threatening outsiders.
NPR says it led to religious leaders warning the community that American
soldiers were coming to get them in order to put a stop to their polygamous lifestyle,
and an intense panic set in for the Utah Latter-day Saints community.
"If we wish for our rightful place on earth, we must build it."
The Utah Education Network reports that the Utah Latter-day Saints
were becoming poised for nothing less than war, and in fact, on August 5,
the governor declared martial law. Suddenly, anyone who was traveling through Utah would
need permission — which the already-traveling Arkansas emigrants would have no idea about.
Completely unaware of the heightened tensions and a church militia that had recently formed,
the Arkansas wagon train arrived around August 10 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Utah residents were told not to sell goods to travelers who did not have a travel pass,
and instead to save it all for themselves in case war broke out. That was a major inconvenience for
the Arkansas emigrants, who were traveling by wagon and getting low on supplies for both the
humans and their livestock. The situation caused frustrations between the groups to grow even more.
Smithsonian Magazine adds that it is highly likely that Brigham Young, the Latter-day Saints church
president at that time, was involved in the planning of defensive maneuvers. For example,
he reportedly tried to get a nearby tribe of indigenous people, the Paiutes,
to join the Latter-day Saints in forming a defense against those he saw as invaders.
Church leaders like John D. Lee and George A. Smith told the nearby Paiute tribe that
the approaching Americans were going to try to poison their water supply or livestock,
and the Smithsonian says it helped cement an alliance against outsiders. The Utah
Education Network reports that around September 7, Paiutes joined with the
Utah Latter-day Saints to start attacking the Arkansas emigrants. On the first day,
seven people were killed, and 16 were injured. More bloody days would follow.
Over the next few days, they shot at each other, and the Arkansas wagon train members arranged
their wagons in a circle for protection. They also dug trenches. Still, with nowhere to escape
to and pinned in place, the emigrants were at a great disadvantage. They were very low on food,
water, and ammunition, and around September 11, 1857, the fight came to a horrific conclusion.
The Smithsonian says that William H. Dame, a Utah leader, instructed the militia group
to kill everyone, even children, and leave behind only those children who were so young
that they wouldn't understand what had happened. Waving a white flag,
John D. Lee and a group of other Utah Mormons went forward and interrogated the emigrants.
Although the Arkansas group insisted that they were just moving between states,
and weren't there to cause any trouble, Lee demanded that the group leave
all their possessions, including weapons, behind. The group agreed.
NPR recounts: The unarmed men in the Arkansas group agreed to walk side by side with the
fully armed Utah group. One of the Utah leaders suddenly shouted for his men to stop. Then, the
Utah men immediately turned and shot every single man from the wagon train, killing them instantly.
The group then targeted the women and children, who were killed with brutal obedience. Reportedly,
the travelers begged the Utah group to spare them, but according to The Los Angeles Star,
at least 25 families were killed. Not a single emigrant over the age of 7 made it
out of the Mountain Meadows alive, and only 17 infants and toddlers survived.
Those 17 children were then raised by the same Latter-day Saints families who
had killed their biological parents and siblings.
It's believed by some that the remains of the dozens of slaughtered people were
left to be consumed by animals, or were thrown into nearby ravines in order to
cover up the massacre. The Smithsonian, however, reports that the victims were quickly buried.
For quite a long time, Paiutes were blamed for the attack, but the most recent research shared
with NPR has revealed that some of the Utah militia were actually disguised as Paiutes.
The actual tribe was not as involved as the Latter-day Saints tried to claim.
In a tragic twist, the Utah Education Network reports that two days after the
massacre, the Utah Latter-day Saints received a hastily-written message from their leader,
Brigham Young. In the letter, he had urged the group not to attack the Arkansas wagon
train. But it was two days too late to stop the carnage at Mountain Meadows.
NPR reports that the Mountain Meadows massacre was so bloody that Latter-day Saints leaders
tried to destroy all the evidence, blame the Arkansas group, and scapegoat the Paiutes. It
wasn't until 2008 that church historians were able to reveal the whole story.
However, John D. Lee was punished for his role in the mass murder in 1877, when he was executed
near a monument dedicated to the Arkansas wagon train group. Reportedly, just before he died, Lee
claimed that he was being sacrificed by Latter-day Saints leaders, who had turned their backs on him.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially
recognized its role in the attack 150 years after, in 2007, saying,
"What was done here long ago by members of our Church represents
a terrible and inexcusable departure from Christian teaching and conduct."
"If there is no God, isn't this just all the more miraculous?"