This book was the first to seriously attempt an honest investigation of the massacre, unflinchingly seeking the truth. Massacre at mountain meadows wins best book award, mormon history association, may 22, 2009. Part ii, the dilemma of blame, salt lake tribune, march 14, 2000 that which we have done here building a monument to victims of the m. That all changed with the darkest incident of the mormon war, the atrocity known as the mountain meadows. Special report on the mountain meadows massacre the first published federal report on the events of september 1857 in utah by brevet major j. The mountain meadows massacre is one of the most controversial moments in utah history. Our goal is to protect and preserve the graves of the victims, and the surrounding mountain meadows area, and to remember those who were killed in deference to the wishes of the descendant families. From haunss mill to the mountain meadows massacre to the gruey. This book was the first to seriously attempt an honest investigation of the massacre. This one was published in 2008 so, 58 years later by ronald walker a mormon historian in slc. In the fall of 1857, some 120 californiabound emigrants were killed in lonely mountain meadows in southern utah. Lee was shot at the site of and for the crime of instigating the mountain meadows massacre 20 years before as the only person ever prosecuted for this dreadful affair, which saw 120 californiabound settlers slaughtered by a mormon militia, lee was. Farnsworth, mormon pioneers sent by brigham young, arrived at the area now known as pleasant grove and staked out farms in what is now the southwest corner of the city.
Meadows in 1857, honor those who died, preserve the site, and build understanding with others. Scholars are praising a new book that offers an indepth look at one of the. As one who researched the mountain meadows massacre for 12 years, from 1977 to 1989, i can state unequivocally that bagley is a historian in the same vein as fawn brody. Statement of one of the few survivors, daily arkansas gazette, september 1, 1875, nancy sophrona huff cate. Book provides an unflinching look at mountain meadows massacre. The mountain meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the bakerfancher emigrant wagon train at mountain meadows in southern utah. Produced in cooperation with the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, it is the. The book concerns the 1857 mountain meadows massacre in southern utah, and is the latest study of the subject. A small community was established september, 1850, consisting of george s. Brigham young and the massacre at mountain meadows has generated considerable controversy since it was first published in 2002oct.
In this draft, national basketball association nba teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other firsttime eligible players, including international players from nonnorth american professional leagues. The mormon built monument at mountain meadows is the most obvious coverup. The leaders of the mormon church also counseled silence. The massacre at mountain meadows, harpers weekly, august 8, 1859. The mountain meadows massacre stands without a parallel amongst the crimes that stain the pages of american history. The monument lists the names of the arkansas immigrants killed here in 1857 and the names of the children who survived and were returned to relatives in 1859. First of all the monument at mountain meadows was built to appease the descendants of the victims of the wagon train. The mountain meadows massacre by juanita brooks, paperback. A new book, massacre at mountain meadows, tries to explain what happened that day and why. Mormon historians and subsidized writers have submerged the truth and endeavored to shift the burthen of the terrible crime to the indians. Visit our draft finder tool to search all drafts from 1947 until 2019 using custom criteria.
This church had its beginnings in western new york during the revivalist period of the early 1800s, when preachers stirred whole counties into frenzy with their lurid eloquence, and sporadic sects sprang up over the. Mormons and paiutes killed 123 men, women, and children who had put their lives in their. Mountain meadows massacre mormon roles and guilt and. The book is divided into three parts the history of the mormon church leading up to the massacre. Leonard was also the director of the museum of church history and art in salt lake city, utah. The truly horrific massacre in this book is the september 11, 1857 mountain meadows massacre. Special report from 1902 major carleton and his dragoons buried the remains from the massacre in 1859 and described the situation in detail. Frequentlyasked questions about the mountain meadows massacre.
Massacre at mountain meadows wins westerners international award for best nonfiction book of 2008 oct 27, 2009 at a westerners international breakfast held during the western history associations annual conference on october 10, 2009, in denver, colorado, massacre at mountain meadows received the cofounders best book award. Professional basketball players include threetime nba finals champion. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. If, in fact, they have found the graves, it would be a very important development, one that would be of great interest to many people, he said. The attacks began on september 7 and culminated on september 11, 1857, resulting in the mass slaughter of most in the emigrant party by members of the utah territorial militia from the iron county district, together with some southern paiute native americans. Throughout the book, the authors paint finely drawn portraits of the key players in the drama, their backgrounds, personalities, and roles in the unfolding story of misunderstanding, misinformation, indecision, and personal vendettas. From the beginning, accounts have been confused and muddled about why it happened, who ordered it, and what might have provoked it. The mountain meadows massacre was the first work to fully document mormon involvement in the massacre. Jun 25, 2009 a longawaited book on the infamous mountain meadows massacre has received the best book award from the mormon history association at its 44th annual conference in springfield, illinois. Massacre at mountain meadows this is the second book about moutain meadows massacre ive read. The mountain meadows massacre stands as one of the darkest events in mormon history. The monument at mountain meadows does not tell the true story and is a monument to the moron church and a coverup for the mormon participants.
The author includes the highly regarded work of juanita brooks, the devout mormon and stanford scholar. Her work was acclaimed by historians, however, leading to her recognition as an. A very sad book of the deaths of so many people at the mountain meadows massacre. A lds interpretive center for the site is surely in the works because as proven in the past president hinckley doesnt do anything that will not provide a. The aftermath of mountain meadows the massacre almost brought the united states to war against the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, but only one man was brought to trial. Carleton, special report on the mountain meadows massacre.
Stapley on september 11, 1857 a band of mormons in southern utah lured a large group of californiabound emigrants from their defensive coral under a white flagged pretense of protection. A history of the mountain meadows massacre that occurred in 1857. An episode on the road to zion, by sara frances sallie baker mitchell, the american weekly, september, 1940 note. Sessions said is demonstrably untrue, so i thought we might publish with minor embellishments my recollection of the events that led me to write the first serious study of the mountain meadows massacre in. Again and again, year after year, it stalks abroad to cast its shadow across.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the mountain meadows massacre. The mountain meadows massacre kindle edition by brooks, juanita, shipps, jan. The mountain meadows association mma is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that works to identify, remember, and honor those killed in the mountain meadows massacre of 1857. The details of the mountain meadows massacre have been repeatedly told. The mountain meadows massacre was a mass slaughter of the fancherbaker emigrant wagon train at mountain meadows, utah territory, by a local mormon militia and members of the paiute indian tribe on september 11, 1857. September 11, 1857, was the date of utahs darkest, most disturbing day. If cobb did refer to the mountain meadows massacre, then it is certainly the earliest written account of it found to date, predating huntingtons retroactive journal entry by several days, and wilford woodruffs journal entry by nine days. The mountain meadows massacre 1950 by juanita brooks was the first definitive study of the mountain meadows massacre juanita brooks, a mormon historian trained in historical methods, was discouraged from studying the incident, and she suffered some ostracism from fellow mormons after its publication. Carleton special report of the mountain meadow massacre by j. Words of this ballad were developed and sung by soldiers who buried the victims of the massacre in 1859.
Over one hundred and twenty men, women and children were surrounded by. Clark and his wife, susannah dalley clark, richard and ann elizabeth sheffer clark, john. If any miserable scoundrels come here, cut their throats. I was amazed to see the event took place on 9111857. Just like on september 11, 2001, religious zealots murdered innocent people in cold blood. Mountain meadows massacre, an 1889 account by hubert howe bancroft. In the book, brooks demonstrated convincingly that the mormon militia was responsible for the massacre, and that john d. The first was the seminal work by juanita brooks the mountain meadows massacre in 2016. She writes, the church leaders decided to sacrifice lee. This one was published in 2008 so, 58 years later by ronald walker a mormon historian in slc, richard e.
Embittered mormon apostates and greedy romancers have distorted the awful incidents. President hinckleys mountain meadows massacre 1857 massacre. On september 11, 1857, a wagon train of 120 immigrants bound for california were slaughtered under a white flag by utah mormons in one of the worst massacres in american history. Click the team for players drafted by that franchise. Program on the massacre at mountainmeadows, 4 august 2008 kuer. While these questions can only be partly answered by any book, they are the themes of our story. The new book, massacre at mountain meadows, published by oxford. Category iv related materials cds, dvds, videos, photos. Monument above the site of the mountain meadows massacre, erected september 1990. Leonardfor their book, massacre at mountain meadows, published in 2008. See more ideas about oregon trail, mountains and ex mormon. Juanita brooks, a mormon, gave the incident its first thorough treatment in decades with her book the mountain meadows massacre in 1962. In september 1857, a wagon train passing through utah laden with gold was attacked.
He is the recipient of the 2017 genealogyhistory achievement award from the american library association. To understand properly the mountain meadows massacre, one must know something of the stormy history of the mormon church. As a duty to myself, my family, and mankind at large, i propose to give a full and true statement of all that i know and all that i did in that unfortunate affair, which has cursed my existence, and made me a wanderer from place to place for the last nineteen years, and which is known to the world as the the mountain meadows massacre. Friends of the mountain meadows association home facebook. The incident began as an attack, quickly turned into a siege, and eventually culminated in the murder of. The men on the ground after the bloody deed took an oath that they would never mention the event again, either in public or in private. Lee remained a fugitive until november 1874 and went on trial for murder the next year. Lee spoken at his execution for the mountain meadows massacre march 23, 1877. On september 11, 1857, a band of mormon militia, under a flag of truce, lured unarmed members of a party of emigrants from their fortified encampment and, with their paiute allies, killed them.
Whether blood of the prophets can be classed as either antimormon or a polemic is a matter of opinion, but much of what dr. Mountain meadows massacre historical accounts legends of. Through the actual testimony of a young girl who survived, interviews with descendants, and forensic investigations. On september 10th, 1999, the remains recovered from that grave were reinterred in a burial vault inside the new wall, along with some soil from arkansas, during a private ceremony. Jul 03, 2008 for many years the mountain meadows massacre was a taboo subject among mormons. But the stain of the mountain meadows massacre was not so easily erased. The aftermath of mountain meadows history smithsonian. Gene sessions, mountain meadows association on august 3rd, 1999, workers excavating for the wall around the new monument accidently uncovered the 1859 carleton grave. More than 120 men, women, and children perished in the slaughter. To everyones surprise, it scooped up the bones of 28 massacre victims, and with it unearthed a new controversy see mountain meadows massacre, november 30, 1999. Baker reportedly found nothing relating to the massacre, clearing the way for the construction of the new monument. The book of mormon, which i dropped at the house of simeon carter, when taken by.
He concludes that brigham young knew that the attack was imminent and, according to legend, sent the message. Click the college for players drafted from that college. Drawn from documents previously not available to scholars and a careful rereading of traditional sources, this gripping narrative offers fascinating new insight into why mormons settlers in isolated southern utah deceived the emigrant party. Brigham young and the massacre at mountain meadows, by will bagley, university of oklahoma press, 2002, p. Mormon coverup mountain meadows massacre 1857 massacre. On august 3, 1999, a backhoe began digging the foundation. Lee, the only militiaman executed, was effectively a scapegoat. The earliest written account of the mountain meadows massacre. Brigham young 1 the mountain meadows massacre stands without a parallel amongst the crimes that stain the pages of american history. Massacre at mountain meadows offers the most thoroughly researched account of the massacre ever written. With marina atherton, david chambers, nick hamilton, john stewart. The 2008 nba draft was held on june 26, 2008 at the washington mutual theatre at madison square garden in new york city, new york. Until september 1857, the mormons had been the victims of violence more than its purveyors. Massacre at mountain meadows is a book by latterday saint historian richard e.
Mountain meadows massacre utah, united states 1857. It cleared up many misconceptions and stated the facts plainly. Mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts and 2008 and 2012. In her no man knows my history, it is easy to see that she is writing a novel, not a history book. After reading michael richan on the event in one of his river books i had to read the true story on the event. Mountain meadows references, maps, tables and photos. The group was encamped in an area commonly called the mountain meadows. On september 11, 1857 a group of mormons in southwestern utah brutally killed all the adult members of a nonmormon wagon train on its way to california. Sep 21, 2015 richard turley, assistant lds church historian and coauthor of the critically acclaimed 2008 book massacre at mountain meadows, said hes eager to see bassetts report.