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Mountain Meadows, small valley in extreme SW Utah, where in 1857 a party of some 140 emigrants bound for California were massacred. It was a period when friction between Mormons and non-Mormons was acute and Mormons bitterly resented the coming of U.S. troops to enforce federal laws in their territory. In Sept., 1857, a party of emigrants from Arkansas, with a few from Missouri and Illinois, led by Charles Fancher, encamped at Mountain Meadows, a well-known camp site on the Spanish Trail. They were attacked by a large band of that was a mix of Paiutes and Mormons, apparently led by John D. Lee. After three days (Sept. 8–11) of defending themselves behind their wagons, the emigrants were approached under a flag of truce by the Mormons, who offered to protect them in a retreat to Cedar City but instructed them to go unarmed and on foot to allay the suspicions of the Paiute, although it is unclear how many Paiutes actually remained in the attacking party at this point (some Mormons were disguised as Paiutes). While following these instructions, the entire party, with the exception of 18 young children, were massacred. The Mormons were charged with inciting and directing the attack, and anti-Mormon feeling was intensified; Mormons attempted to blame the attack on the Paiutes. Several investigations were made, but it was not until 1874 that Lee, a fanatical Mormon and adopted son of Brigham Young, was arrested. In 1875, Lee and three associates accused of complicity were excommunicated. Lee was convicted of murder and in 1877 was put to death on the site of the massacre.
See study by J. Brooks (2d ed. 1962, repr. 1970).
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