September 11, 1857
On this day members of a Mormon militia murdered a wagon train of emigrants. The crime and the cover-up became one of the most widely disputed events in the history of the West.
Events that turned a tranquil valley into a killing field began with 
Washington’s concern over Brigham Young (right) and the growing “theocracy” in Utah. Citing the religious leader’s support for polygamy and slavery, President James Buchannan’s decision to dispatch federal troops during the so-called “Utah Expedition” touched off fear among the Mormon settlers. Utah’s Mormon population had faced years of violence and discrimination at the hands of Easterners.
Young added to his follower’s anxiety by urging them to stock pile grain, declaring what amounted to martial law in preparation for a possible confrontation with federal troops.
Amid this atmosphere of heightened tension, the 120 members of the Baker–Fancher party, most from Arkansas, left Salt Lake City in late 
August after receiving a chilly reception there. They chose Mountain Meadows, a popular stopping place on the Old Spanish Trail, to rest and graze stock.
But on September 7, the group came under siege by members of the so-called Nauvoo Militia led by Isaac C. Haight (left) and his Native American allies, the Paiutes. He’d debated with other Mormons in southern Utah over just how best to enforce Brigham Young’s edicts. Reportedly a messenger was dispatched to Salt Lake City for guidance but Height and company didn’t wait to hear back.
The Arkansans put up a fight, however. After a five-day stand-off, Haight began to fear his militia’s involvement would be discovered. Chosing to turn a terrible situation into a travesty, he decided to eliminate the witnesses.
Under a white flag, militia members approached the party’s make-shift fortification. They’d escort them safely out of Paiute territory, Haight said. Grateful for the help, the emigrants were led out of their stronghold. The 
men were shot first, while the women and older children were ambushed from the underbrush. Just 17 children under the age of 7 were spared and placed with Mormon families in the area.
Christopher “Kit” Fancher, (right) the 5-year-old son of Alexander Fancher, one of the wagon train’s organizers, was among the 17 children. Always troubled by the events he had witnessed, he committed suicide at 21.
A year after the massacre, Brigham Young sent a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs claiming the murders were the work of Native Americans. But the federal government launched an investigation in 1859. Led by Major James Henry Carlton, (left) it concluded that Haight’s militia was at least complicit. Federal judge John Cradlebaugh convened a grand jury in Provo but the jury refused to indict Mormon and militia leaders.
The 17 children who survived the event were located and returned to relatives in Arkansas. Further inquiry stalled during the Civil War. But in 
1871 militia member Phillip Klingsensmith (right) turned state’s evidence, claiming Young had known about plans for the attack. One militiaman, John D. Lee, was eventually convicted in a second trial and was executed.
Modern history hands Young a split decision. Mormon historians absolved him of the slayings, saying he wrote a letter admonishing the militia. It just arrived too late to stop the massacre A majority of other historians, however, concluded that Young bore some responsibility for the murders.
In the rear view mirror, most agree the tragic events at Mountain Meadows resulted from the Mormon leadership’s hysteria and their early strident teachings brought on by the past abuses they had suffered.
It took more than a century but in 1990 the Mountain Meadows Association made up of descendants of both Baker-Fancher victims and the Nauvoo Militia, placed a monument at Mountain Meadows. It is maintained by the Utah Sate Division of Parks and Recreation. And in 1999 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added new construction, replacing a makeshift marker placed by Major Carlton and a memorial wall that was built in 1932.
LDS 1999 new construction
In 1955 members of the Baker-Fancher party were memorialized with a monument in Harrison, Arkansas, where most members of the wagon train had begun their ill-fated journey.
The site of the Mountain Meadows massacre was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
The Mountain Meadows Massacre Site in Washington County, Utah, includes the 1990 monument on Dan Sill Hill, above Mountain Meadows Valley, the first memorial built at the site and the LDS Grave Site installed in 1999. The newest tribute, The Men and Boys Memorial, dedicated on September 10, 2011, is located on Utah Route 18 at mile post 31, about 1/2 mile north of the other Mountain Meadows Monuments.
The site is a National Historic Landmark, on the National Historic Register and open to the public. The land surrounding the monuments is privately owned, however, and visitors are asked to avoid trespassing on private property. For more information go to mtn-meadows-assoc.com.
© Text Only – 2018 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain or fair use.
♦ Head On West strives for historic accuracy and uses a number of sources considered reliable. When research differs on significant facts, the various points of view will be cited.