American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857

by Sally Denton

In September 1857, a wagon train passing through Utah laden with gold was attacked. Approximately 140 people were slaughtered; only 17 children under the age of eight were spared. This incident in an open field called Mountain Meadows has ever since been the focus of passionate Is it possible that official Mormon dignitaries were responsible for the massacre? In her riveting book, Sally Denton makes a fiercely convincing argument that they were.

The author–herself of Mormon descent–first traces the extraordinary emergence of the Mormons and the little-known nineteenth-century intrigues and tensions between their leaders and the U.S. government, fueled by the Mormons’ zealotry and exclusionary practices. We see how by 1857 they were unique as a religious group in ruling an entire American territory, Utah, and commanding their own exclusive government and army.

Denton makes clear that in the immediate aftermath of the massacre, the church began placing the blame on a discredited Mormon, John D. Lee, and on various Native Americans. She cites contemporaneous records and newly discovered documents to support her argument that, in fact, the Mormon leader, Brigham Young, bore significant responsibility–that Young, impelled by the church’s financial crises, facing increasingly intense scrutiny and condemnation by the federal government, incited the crime by both word and deed.

Finally, Denton explains how the rapidly expanding and enormously rich Mormon church of today still struggles to absolve itself of responsibility for what may well be an act of religious fanaticism unparalleled in the annals of American history. American Massacre is totally absorbing in its narrative as it brings to life a tragic moment in our history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion, True Crime, American History, Mormonism, Crime

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 17, 2003

Reviews

[Katherine Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book I've read about the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the first one by a non-Mormon. In September 1857, not quite a year after the handcart disaster kicked into high gear, a wagon train of non-Mormons was massacred at Mountain Meadows, men, women, and all children over 8. Children under 8 were allowed to survive, and adopted into Mormon households, both under the assumption that they were too young to remember and under a Mormon theory about the innocence of small children. The Mormon books I've read basically sum up the wagon train as "nobody knows who they were because when they died there was nobody left to identify them"; Denton goes hunting. She can't find information about everyone, but she certainly provides biographical information that makes a mockery of the official story at the time, that these immigrants had been rude and offensive, had said they were the people who murdered Joseph Smith, that they poisoned the bodies of dead cattle, thus killing Indians (and maybe, as the story ballooned, killing Mormons, too). Denton goes one farther than the Mormon historians, who agree that the poisoning story was nonsense, and says the whole thing was nonsense, that the men leading this train had come through Utah before and knew what they were doing. The hostility in their encounters with the Mormons came from the Mormon side.

Denton also follows what happened to the surviving children as best she can, interviewing living relatives and finding family stories. She is less interested in the Mormons playing pin-the-blame-on-the-donkey, although she agrees that John Doyle Lee was betrayed and scapegoated by his surrogate father Brigham Young; although he was one of the men responsible for the massacre, he was not the only man responsible, and Brigham Young, the master of plausible deniability and the innocent air of "Who, me?", knew what was going on and did not lift a finger to stop it. Rather like Henry II, he may never have said outright that he wanted the wagon train massacred, but the people around him were adept at interpreting "will no one rid me of this turbulent priest" to "I want him dead."

(I am not a fan of Brigham Young.)

Denton is fascinating as a parallax view of what was going on in Utah in 1857, a much more skeptical eye than even Juanita Brooks. The massacre at Mountain Meadows is never going to make sense, but I think she makes as much sense out of it as can be made.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest - if I didn't hate to put down a book once started so badly, I probably would have quit reading within the first 100 pages. While towards the end of the book, Sally Denton's depiction of events began like true historical non-fiction, the vast majority of her writing was very obviously tainted by a strong distaste for Mormonism. I'm not a Mormon, and while I live in Utah, am neither a defender of accuser of the religion. Ms. Denton, very obviously sways strongly in one direction. Much of her information is tainted by a venom rarely experienced in books packaged as a study of fact.

For a much better, and more balanced book on this horrible event in US and Utah history - I'd recommend Juanita Brooks' "The Mountain Meadows Massacre".

[Martha Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched. Unimaginable. No clean hands here.

[Pz4real · Rating 4 out of 5]

Religion or in this case false religion is a dangerous thing. The sway, influence and authority that the leaders of the Mormon church, specifically Brigham Young used as a way to con masses of people financially and morally is deplorable. An unbelievable massacre enacted against Americans, by a false religion cult that is still in existence and holding major sway. Terrible read in the sense of the heinousness of the actions, but a necessary read to educate and encourage justice for the victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and against the Mormon Church!

[Jennifer Royan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terribly written with no narrative. Biased view Mormon murder amongst their own.

[Joe Reads Sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, and then again in Benjamin Park’s American Zion. Neither included such exhaustive evidence and confessed detail as Sally Denton’s American Massacre. Even Krakauer’s account, and he carries no love for the Mormon faith, and in fact examines it as a case study in religious-inspired murder, fails to provide the gut-level revulsion that Denton’s does. Maybe that is because Krakauer devotes a chapter to the massacre; Denton’s whole study is on Mountain Meadows. The accumulating detail is absolutely damning. Even her tangential accounts, such as the details of the shooting of John Williams Gunnison, add to the inevitable tragic terror released when a leader fails his people. Some followers subsume their very souls to human voices they believe are blessed, and the Lord knows the horror that can result when the appointed leader preaches retribution. Gunnison himself underestimated Young’s influence: “Gunnison thought Young a rhetorical bully but nothing more threatening than that.” And yet the bullets that killed him were fired from Young’s rhetoric. Though courts in Utah were unable to establish it, Denton implies with evidence that Young’s slavishly devoted Danites organized the attack.

The state of Utah has certain insular ways that baffle even Mississippi or South Carolina. In fact, Erik Larsen’s The Demon of Unrest would have been a more effective history of coastal South Carolina had it focused as tightly on the utterly damning facts without asserting a current corollary: the corollary is clear enough, and the history is more digestible to pride when it simply stands witness.

In recent years, southern states have sometimes removed their statuary to reflect changes in the regard of those who led the fight for slavery. Buildings named for slave owners have been renamed, and debates have raged and snuffed out over others. Military bases have been renamed and reverted back again. And yet the undisputed pride of LDS academics is Brigham Young University - named for a religious leader, the prophet of a church of JESUS CHRIST, who fanned fears and hatred among his people against the United States and ordered the slaying of 150 Arkansans, the stealing of their property right down to their dresses and jewelry, and the leaving of the naked bodies for wolves to scatter the bones. Fifteen recovered children under the age of eight, who had been kidnapped into local homes of Cedar City and Parowan, ultimately identified their mothers’ dresses and jewelry on the local women. Certain of the perpetrators even tried to defraud the US of money for expenses of recovering the children from Indians, even though the Indians never had them. During this time, Brigham Young was the territorial governor, an agent of the United States, and yet he persisted in a state of agitation for war against the US.

Denton’s moral outrage simmers in these historically dispassionate pages, not only for the horrifying actions taken in God’s name through Brigham Young but for the LDS church’s long standing denials, blames, and silences. For a church that preaches the salvation of the Lamanites as a prerequisite for the Kingdom of Heaven and holds sacred the Biblical command not to bear false witness, the church bore false witness against the Indians of southern Utah in official records for decades. Its official historian wrote it up and stamped it. When finally the truth became undeniable, scapegoating and deal-making seemed to work.

Denton points out that there are still relatives of the Arkansas Fancher party who want the issue formally settled and charges brought to bear for the airing of history. Denton helps take us in that direction. Utah and the United States have yet to work out the rest, having arranged a plea deal in the trial of John D. Lee to keep the church hierarchy clean.

I live in Utah. And as you can see, this book of superbly reasoned and arranged facts and voices left me with a clear sense of anger. I would hope every American could read it, and that every Utahn and LDS member would come face to face with it and what it means for their faith and how it squares with the life and teachings of Christ.

Hey, all have fallen short. But you can only move forward with acknowledgement and forgiveness - not through justifications, equivocations, and explanations. Own it. Apologize. Reveal the truth.

[Just Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sally Denton begins her Prologue with an introduction to the place called Mountain Meadows as it was in 1857, pristine, and green with vegetation. Paiute Indians move unseen on the shadowed slopes facing the side of a mountain. The pasture is a few hundred yards wide and less than five miles long, north to south. The grasses are fed by three strong and clear springs. Mountain Meadows is one of the best grazing tracts in Utah Territory. It has long been a place for renewal for man and beast, and the last stopping place before facing the wide expanse known as the Mojave Desert in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains–the road to California.
Mormon Bishop Jacob Hamblin had been granted ten square miles of land situated against the foothills of the north slope of the meadows. This day, there had been a lot of movement off that lone road. Jacob was out of town but his wife, Rachel, heard the sound of movement in the distance. Cattle brayed, and forty prairie schooners rolled and rattled. All of nature, it seemed, was announcing the deed was not left undone.
Two regimental baggage wagons left the chaos behind and turned up the road leading to the Hamblin Ranch. You could hear the cries of children, some very young. Seventeen of them, all under the age of eight. Two were wounded. Neighbors offered assistance. The children were hysterical and could not be calmed. Many were aware of the slaughter of their family that had just taken place and spent the entire night screaming.
I turn to the next page and find the story of a cairn placed at the Mountain Meadows Massacre site on August 3, 1999. It would be the third or fourth cairn. The first was built in the spring of 1859 by Major Carleton and his troops. It was fifty feet in circumference and piled with loose rocks twelve feet high. It was topped by a twenty-four foot tall red cedar cross that carried an inscription: “Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Brigham Young visited the site two years later with Wilford Woodruff and sixty of the faithful. Some reports describe Brigham Young bending and raising his arm, thereby giving the silent signal to pull down the cross and redistribute the rocks. Wilford writes that Brigham Young read the inscription and added his own words: “Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little.” Whatever words or gestures President Young may have made, the cairn was laid to waste. Three years later, in 1864, a new stone monument was built by the California Calvary. Since then, the cairn has suffered vandalism, the aging effects of the passing of decades and has been periodically improved.
Sally Denton takes us on a brief step through the beginnings of Mormonism: the visions, the plates of gold, the digging for treasures. She writes of Joseph dressed in black, seated upon a borrowed sleigh, pulled by a black horse as he approached the scene where he expected to meet a heavenly messenger and receive some golden plates for translation. This varies from my knowledge of these events. I would say, Josiah Stowell, who was visiting the Smith family, had a long-term, healthy relationship with Joseph and his parents. On this night, Joseph and Emma both arose before the roosters crowed and took Stowell’s wagon. Joseph’s mother, Lucy, was fretful when her visitor went out in search of his wagon. Then, Joseph and Emma rolled in, pulled by a well-worn and well-lathered (possibly) black horse. Lucy records her sense of relief, but Josiah Stowell wasn’t worried about his wagon or his horse. Joseph was like Josiah’s second son.
In Chapter Seven, we meet Alexander Fancher having a conversation with his brother, John. Alexander is enticed by the stories of pieces of gold lying on the earth waiting to be picked up, but he knows the real gold lay in the lush green fields and wide-open ranges, not to mention the ready cattle market known to California.
As a war veteran, Alexander was entitled to a free land grant in the new frontier. The promise of year-round grazing, ideal weather conditions for growing hay, and the high prices miners were willing to pay for beef, all added up to a call to ‘go west’. John was pleased Alexander agreed to go. The urge to explore quickly took hold of the Fancher family, and then other families. Soon, two hundred people, mostly women and children, were riding in or walking beside forty creaking, lumbering wagons, listening to the bellowing, snorting, and grunting of several hundred head of cattle. The men rode a dozen or more fine horses.
Meet the Bakers: George and Manerva, and their four children ranging from seven years to nine months. They joined the Fancher party as did Manerva’s two teenage siblings, Melissa and David. The Cameron’s, a group of twenty family members, ranging from infancy to old-age, were the wealthiest in the party.
The Dunlaps and the Mitchells were well stocked with guns, pistols, Bowie knives, camping gear, livestock and horses for riding. Before parting, John Milan Jones and his younger brother, Newton, joined the group. John and his wife, Eloah Angeline Tackitt, had two small children, plus Eloah’s five siblings, and their widowed mother, Cynthia. Pleasant and Armilda Tackitt traveled with their four year old and nineteen month old sons. They drove sixty head of beef cattle.
Alexander Fancher made a deep impression with his five hundred cattle, Egyptian Arabian stallions, and his collection of two hundred horses of varying pedigrees. Alexander and his wife, Eliza, had nine children. Both Tilghman Cameron and nineteen year old Hampton Fancher would function as scouts. Two of Alexander’s cousins, James and Robert, would travel with the group, plus an unknown number of single men and teenagers who signed on as riflemen, wranglers, bull-whackers, and drovers. It took fifteen days to assemble the company, practice defensive maneuvers, and assign wagon placements.
The wagons rolled out on May seventh from Baker’s Prairie, Arkansas, a land of tall grass prairie in Northwest Arkansas. The train started out slowly, headed northwest and then shifted to the northeast along the Arkansas River. Eventually, they headed north, paralleling the front range of the Rocky Mountains, linking the Arkansas and Platte River systems, and also connecting the Santa Fe Trail with the California Trail to the north.
The Fancher wagon did not feel rushed and was content to amble along at ten or twelve miles a day, giving a friendly wave to wagons traveling fifteen or more miles each day. Along the trial, there were innumerable hastily dug graves and many carcasses lying in the open. One day, while still in Wyoming, totally unexpectedly, Peter Huff died of a spider bite. The grave was dug, prayers were said, shovels were stored, and the miles progressed. Many travelers looked forward to seeing Salt Lake City and taking advantage of time to fatten up their livestock and supplement their own diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.
This was not the Fancher’s first trip to and from California, nor was it their first trip through Salt Lake City. It was the first time they encountered animosity and downright unfriendly attitudes. There were several factors causing these changes.
Word was President Buchanan had assembled a huge invading force making its way to Salt Lake City intent on disposing Brigham Young as governor. For those who had traveled across the prairie from Illinois to the Great Basin, the expectation was the troops intended to oust, or possibly murder, the Saints. Many had lived through the 1838 extermination order issued by Missouri’s Governor Boggs. After their first prophet’s murder (while under government protection) in 1844, the Saints left Illinois in the dead of winter even though the original agreement had been that their removal should take place in the spring when the water flowed and the ice had been melted. In fact, the Saints were ousted from their homes in the dead of winter. They had little reason to believe they would be treated fairly now.
Rumors, many unfounded, preceded the troops adding to the insecurities of the Saints in Salt Lake City. Brigham Young was adamant that no troops would enter his city while it was inhabited by the Saints. He issued an order prohibiting emigrants from passing through the territory and prohibiting the Saints from selling supplies to the travelers.
The Baker/Fancher party arrived in the area on August third and encamped six miles outside of Salt Lake City on the Jordan River. So far, at each livery barn or feed store, they were met with negativity. There were no supplies available for them. When Apostle Charles C. Rich rode in with an order for them to break-up camp, he encouraged them to follow the southern route where they would be able to refresh their livestock before heading toward one of the most dreaded of the American deserts, the Mojave.
Sally Denton tells us, “Once the Fancher party left Salt Lake City, it disappeared into a historical maze built of lies, folklore, popular myth, justifications and a few facts.” Let’s see if we can sort through some of the myths invented during the month it took to reach the southern settlements.
Some told stories intended to vilify the Fancher party: they carried a gun that was used to kill the first Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith. They were rude and disorderly. The women were prostitutes. They poisoned the water the Indians drank and several savages died. They poisoned a cow and presented it to the Indians and several died. The party was unaware of the stories that preceded them and were offended when setting-up camp in a large grass field west of Provo they were told to keep moving.
Along the road, they were joined by a young artist from Tennessee, William Aden, who was eager to leave Utah in the safety of a wagon train. Somewhere around Springville, an unknown number of backouts joined the train. As the Fancher party continued, they found that none of the locals wanted to speak or trade with them. The leaders had heard enough disconcerting stories from the backouts to proceed with wariness, drawing their wagons in a circle each night, chaining the wheels, and posting sentries.
Daytime temperatures were scorching and the sun unrelenting. As they neared the Juab Valley on the western slope of the San Pitch mountains, they were out of supplies and living off the slaughter of their own beef or what game they could kill. Their luck changed in Cedar City, the most populous town in the southern territory. They purchased fifty pounds of wheat and found a man willing to grind it. The Bishop of the area sent a man to stop the grinding process, but the grinder, a man with a conscience, refused to obey the bishop.
The wagon train rested the night outside Cedar City. The next morning, they began to exit Mormon territory where they had been told by local Mormons they would be able to purchase supplies. On Friday, September 4th, they crossed the rim of the Great Basin and, the following day, moved into the five mile long valley known as Mountain Meadows. They set-up camp near a large spring at the southern end and began to relax. They planned a leisurely month of grazing and recuperating their strength, as well as that of their animals.
On Monday morning, the camp arose to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and the smell of roasting rabbit and quail. All was peace and contentment until a shot cracked loudly and young Sarah Baker toppled over, blood oozing onto her clothing. In the next few moments, seven men fell dead. More than twenty had been wounded. These men were accustomed to Indian skirmishes, and adept with the use of a rifle. They quickly corralled their wagons into a circular barricade and began shoveling trenches in order to sink the wagon’s wheels down to the axletrees. They threw up earthen mounds in front of the wagons while the women dragged the wounded and dying into the center of their newly created fort. The children were in a panic.
The firing ceased soon after daybreak. On Tuesday, they were greeted with a halfhearted round of sniper fire. From their wagon-fort, they could see the stream of clean, clear water, but every attempt to get close to it was met with gunfire. The following day, more wounded died and there was an odor of decaying corpses and carcasses that was almost unbearable.
A bullet tore the lobe from the left ear of three year old Sarah Baker while she was sitting on her father’s knee. Still, the travelers fought well and bravely, while their thirst went unassuaged. In an act of desperation, two little girls were dressed in white and sent to the spring carrying buckets. They were immediately gunned down.
William Aden suggested he would leave the camp and backtrack to where the rest of the party which had split from them would likely be. Aden, along with a companion named Dutchman, slipped out of camp in the quiet of the night. Days later, Dutchman returned to the train wounded with tales of how Aden had been ruthlessly gunned down as he approached the campsite he thought belonged to Duke’s train.
On Thursday morning the attack resumed, but not until two men managed to make it to the stream and fill a couple of buckets before returning to the fort. Later that afternoon, the children spied a white man crossing the valley. The men quickly made a white flag and raised it up high. The boys went out to find the white man they had seen. Unsuccessful, they returned to camp.
Thursday evening, the severely wounded Alexander Fancher implored three of the groups healthiest, most skilled and experienced scouts to make the trip across the Mojave Desert and to California where they could share their tale of woe. The camp gathered together, drew up a petition wherein they beseeched immediate rescue and begged for justice to be brought to the attackers. They included a list of the names of all the emigrants as well as a tally of their possessions. These men did not slip-out unnoticed and never saw the Mojave.
All was quiet Friday morning. There was no food or water, and their ammunition stores were nearing depletion. Mid-morning, a large body of white men was seen coming up the road, carrying a white flag as well as the American flag. In response, eight year old Mary Dunlap was dressed in a white dress and sent out waving a white handkerchief. When a white man on a horse approached waving his own white flag, Matt Fancher met the rider in the field. He was informed that another Mormon, John D. Lee, wanted to enter the emigrant’s camp and negotiate a treaty. Matt, fully aware of the hopelessness of the situation and their inability to continue to defend themselves, agreed.
Lee entered the emigrants camp around noon. He introduced himself as a Federal Indian Agent and a Major in the Mormon Militia. Still, it took Lee three or four hours to coax the emigrants to give up their arms and place themselves under his protection. Once an agreement was reached and the emigrants' weapons were collected, John D. separated the travelers into three separate groups. The wounded were loaded into a wagon, while the women and children were separated from their husbands and fathers. The wounded were placed in one of two wagons, along with the firearms that had been collected. Once they were a good way out, the men followed single-file, about ten feet apart, each walking next to an armed Mormon guard. As the men came to a smooth open patch surrounded by oak brush, a shot was fired into the air and then each Mormon male shot the unarmed emigrant walking beside him. They say it took only a matter of minutes before all the adults were dead. Children under eight were saved. As Mormons, there was an intent not to take innocent lives.
When the wagons reached Jacob Hamblin’s ranch, they found that Jacob was in Salt Lake City, but Rachel and her farm assistant, Albert, were at home. Soon, there would be neighbors to help calm the traumatized youngsters, but no sense of calm could be reached.
The men returned to the killing fields looking for valuables. Before the night was over, fifty grim, silent men listened as their leaders made speeches, then the group took a most binding oath to stand by each other with sealed lips. That night, John D. Lee slept soundly under a tree on Hamblin’s property.
Sally Denton has done a wonderful job of sharing the details of the tragedy still known to many today: Mountain Meadows Massacre. In the pages of her books are many particular that give light to the events of the past. Walking through this period of time is heart-breaking, but informative. Sally Denton clearly has an ability to make the unknown, known.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The battle for control over the site and the protection of unmarked graves remains volatile, with man descendants of the Fancher Train pushing the U.S. Park Service for a memorial similar to that built for the victims of the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. Until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Mountain Meadows had been the largest civilian atrocity to occur on American soil." (241)

[Lukas Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting book

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched and written. I have read some about Mountain Meadows, but now I want to find as much information as I can. Sets up the background atmosphere, the players, and held my interest the entire time. I seldom give 5 stars but I devoured this book. FYI, if you are Mormon, you should be aware the book is not flattering toward the early church. I have an early Mormon pioneer in my family tree, who was in the area at the exact time these events were happening and now I'm wondering if I will ever be able to find out the extent of his knowledge (if any).

[Steve Courson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a 20/20 murder that ends with someone getting indicted, but maybe not the accomplices. What shouldn’t surprise us is that Mormons, Christians, Muslims and other religious zealots have always killed “for God”. Not to absolve atheists and agnostics and nations for having their own reason for indiscriminately killing innocent people. They still do with impunity. School children continue to be victims of AK-15s as recent as last week. It’s a sick world. This book is a reminder that this sickness is not a recent invention of warped minds.

[Jim Dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most gruesome event in North American history

I am a distant relative of Alexander Fancher and found this book to be fascinating. Read about the massacre years ago but didn't know about my relation to Rancher until recently. I can't imagine committing these acts under any circumstance. I know I can kill under certain circumstances but not under these. Fascinating book and understand the confusion that exists today.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's hard to tell what is fact and what is anger based bias from Denton. I am a firm believer in knowing what happened in history, no matter how unpleasant or gruesome, but Denton fails to leave her personal hatred from Mormon's behind when reporting on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I am on the hunt for a non biased and honest report of what happened. Still, this book brings to light a past that is well hidden from history.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read about this massacre (Under the Banner of Heaven) before, but read about it again for a book club. This history is very carefully documented and is fascinating. It is also another look into people doing terrible thing to people (like the Nazis) in the name of religion or "under orders". This massacre was unbelievable!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the largest domestic killing in U.S. history, a massacre of more than 115 Arkansas settlers in Utah who were on their way to California. I had not previously heard about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The coverup by the church and lack of any semblance of justice for years for the victims and their families were disquieting. I think Sally Denton for her work.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a clear, concise history of the Mountain Meadows Massacre for an audience who, perhaps, read Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven and wanted more. That being said, some of the language about Native Americans in it is dated to the point of offensiveness even by early 2000s standards, so I’m knocking a star off for that.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I date the emergence of my morbidity to the Bloody Pond of Shiloh, a Civil War national park in West Tennessee. Use your imagination about that one. Morbidity definitely comes from my dad, who lent me this book about a very awful and senseless murder of whole families in Utah in 1857.

[Paul E. Norwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and believable account of tragic massacre in the mid-nineteenth century. Hopefully, our government will one day place the blame where it should have been placed so many years ago.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must read this book... Ever wonder about the Mormon's and where they came from? Joseph Smith and Brigham were just just historical figures to me. The Angel Moroni, the golden tablets and all the crazy stories I'd heard of polygamy etc. meant little and if not for the well documented and broadly accepted story about the events told in this account by Denton among other investigative reporters and historians the LDS might not be the powerhouse it is today.

The location of the title, Mountain Meadows is a valley in the Mormon stronghold of southern Utah. After being run out of Illinois and Missouri and migrating west the nascent "church" for lack of a better word lead by Brigham Young settled in what was then the Utah Territories. Seeing the federal government's effort to map the the vast territory as an invasion of what Young considered his kingdom the Mormon's formed militias to protect against incursions by the feds as well as anyone else that might cross or covet their land. This sets the stage for the horrors that ensued in 1857 when the so called Fancher wagon train with ~120 men, women, children and their cattle made the I'll fated decision to take a short cut through southern Utah on their way from Arkansas enroute to California. The slaughter perpetrated by the Mormon militia's masquerading as Paiute Indians native to the area is horrendous; the dissembling and scapegoating of one of the Mormon faithful who spelled out the role leaders up to and including Brigham Young is surreal. To this day the story of the incident at Mountain Meadows is covered up by LDS leaders and historians who do their best to portray the faithful as a peaceful and caring lot, which I'm sure they are among followers in good standing. You must read this book...

A brief funny story: The geography in much of Utah is unique and in some cases stunning. Park City, Utah
is one of the best places for skiing in North America and after enjoying a hike or a day on the slopes who doesn't want a beer or three? Only problem is the laws that control alcohol consumption are severe i e., beer is limited to 5% ABV. Seriously??? So when Wasatch Brewing opened in Park City it was a big hit and being in Mormon controlled Utah the owner decided to have a little fun with it - the advertising campaign for Polygamy Porter showed a traditional looking Mormon male surrounded by several equally traditionally dressed women with the tag line: "Take some home to the wives!" And "Why have just one?" He wanted to put this on a billboard leading into Park City but none of the of the sign builders would do it because they knew they'd be run out of town, so he opted for putting the bit on T shirts sold at the brewery :-0)

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book for me was hard to read. Why? My ancestors are from Southern Utah and some (not direct lineage) were involved in the massacre. Growing up 'Mountain Meadows' was a hush-hush topic. It was something that was not talked about, mentioned, or even recognized. Growing up I heard that the Fancher-Baker wagon train boasted of being involved in the killing of Joseph Smith and that they were totally disrespectful to the Mormons living in Utah territory as they were passing through. This book, that is very well documented, proves that was not the case.

Even though the book is well documented, there are still some positions taken in the book that (for me) was a large leap in logic. For example, this book really wants to place the blame of the massacre at the feet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and more specifically on Brigham Young. This book also recognizes the far-reaching vision and leadership that Brigham Young had. So here is the disconnect that I don't accept that the book is pushing. If Brigham Young is so visionary would he NOT recognize that your can't totally wipe out a wagon train of 120+ people and expect the world not to notice. No.....a visionary man would understand that and would not wipe out a wagon train.

I admit that Brigham Young did not role out the 'red carpet' for this Gentile Wagon Train rolling though the territory with the United States Army quickly approaching to put down the Mormon rebellion. And the wagon train did say somethings in Cedar City when they could not get the badly needed supplies that offended the locals......and hot heads, under stress, made extremely stupid decisions, under the banner of 'doing their duty to God'.

In all, this is a very painful event that occurred and my heart breaks thinking of all the pain and suffering that occurred on both sides of the equation.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished reading "American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857" by Sally Denton, and I am thoroughly impressed by the depth and detail with which Denton explores this harrowing event in American history.

Sally Denton crafts a compelling narrative that pulls readers into the complexities surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Her meticulous research is evident throughout the book, as she weaves together a comprehensive account that is both informative and engaging. Denton's approach to this historical tragedy is both sensitive and insightful, allowing readers to grasp the broader implications of the event without losing sight of the personal stories involved.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is Denton’s ability to provide context. She delves into the political, social, and religious tensions of the time, painting a vivid picture of the environment that led to this tragic massacre. Her attention to detail and commitment to uncovering the truth behind the events give the narrative a gripping authenticity.

Denton's writing style is clear and engaging, making a complex historical event accessible to all readers, whether they are history buffs or newcomers to the subject. Her balanced portrayal of the various parties involved offers a nuanced perspective that encourages readers to think critically about the motivations and decisions that contributed to the tragedy.

In conclusion, "American Massacre" is a remarkable book that shines a light on a dark chapter in American history. Sally Denton’s thorough research and compelling narrative make this book a must-read for anyone interested in American history, particularly those seeking to understand the complexities of this often-overlooked event. I highly recommend this book for its depth, insight, and narrative strength.

[Jill Miclean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never heard of this tragedy although I've driven through this area of Utah many times. The fact that it was a nationally known event in the 1850's and during the trial in the 1870's yet I'd never heard of it is not all that surprising now that I've read the book and how the Mormon's have spent the past 150 years trying to suppress the shocking event. And what an event it was! The author does an excellent job explaining what the Mormons went through prior to settling in Utah, their aspirations of having their own state and own government aside from the United States and why their leaders, mainly Brigham Young, would have made such a horrific decision to slaughter 120 emigrants (women & children included) in a misguided effort to keep outsiders out of Utah.

The story ensues into one of those stranger than fiction type of tales with them leaving some young survivors that seems on the surface an act of piety only to treat those children poorly. Protecting some church members while threatening others, blaming the easy target local Native American tribe, distributing the victims property and then wearing or using those items and good old fashioned gossip. What is amazing is the sheer fact they thought they could get away with this - especially since their story certainly did not add up. But, factor in politics, a freezing, starving army and the American Civil War and no adult survivors to push the issue, momentum to investigate and prosecute the Mormon's for the massacre waned. However, it was revamped after the war by the survivors families and a trial was held with a scapegoat, John D. Lee, who was ultimately the only one tried and convicted for the entire massacre.

[Derek Karten · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The attack began again with a fury, and it was clear their enemies had received a significant bolstering of troops. "Still the beleaguered Arkansans fought well and bravely," according to a nineteenth-century newspaper account, "but at this time, on the third day of the battle, the pangs of unassuaged thirst drove them almost to the verge of despair." In a forlorn move, hoping to appeal to the humanity of their enemies, the emigrants dressed two little girls in "spotless white" and sent them with a bucket toward the spring. Both were shot dead in an instant." American Massacre-Sally Denton.
This little passage summed it up for me regarding this horrible atrocity by the Mormons at Mountain Meadows. There was no humanity from the Mormons that day. They had their orders and they carried them out. Killing everyone except the 17 children. The book is well written. Well researched and covered the history of our country's expansion west during a time of Utah's history where it was born from the blood of innocents.
While I can say I enjoyed reading it. I found my thoughts of this part of history moving me to a prejudicial perspective. Hypocritical even. But I cannot shake the feeling I have toward the Mormon religion based on this and some personal history I have had.
A good read.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a horrifying event. I had never heard of the Mountain Meadows Massacre until we visited Utah in 2015 and turned off the highway because of the US history marker. We studied all the monuments and history boards. These were a gentle entree to this devastating event which Sally Denton outlines in riveting, horrifying detail: the murder by Mormons of every person over the age of 6 on a large wagon train, going from Missouri to California. The 17 babies and young children were distributed among Mormon homes. The other 140 people were brutally murdered, clubbed, stabbed, shot.

The horror was compounded by the complete lie perpetrated by the Mormons, the church, the leaders. They blamed the ambush on Indians and denied any culpability until federal investigation in 2002. Even then the full truth of the incident was not known until forensic study of scattered remains that still littered the site after all that time. The history boards we saw in 2015 were the result of that study.

This book will remain in my personal library. 5 stars

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching American Primeval I was intrigued by the Utah wars. I asked a friend who knew more on the subject for some book suggestions and this was one. I had wanted more knowledge about Mormonism as a whole and so when I saw this was on one specific event I was unsure it fit my ideal. Completely fulfilled everything I wanted. It starts with a background look into the beginning of the Mormon church, the ideology and the main characters. The massacre itself is well researched and gives the details known and assumed as they are uncovered. There is also a lot of details about everyone involved which I appreciated, their background, beliefs, their involvement. I would have liked more about the survivors in their later years but that’s possibly not known and didn’t take away from the book as a whole. I didn’t read the book as anti Mormon, the author herself condemns those responsible as individuals and sources plenty of Mormons who were against their crimes. Religion, as is seen even today, is often used by men to create division and cause terrible harm to others.

[Ned · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was following orders

The famous refrain used by cruel despots to justify their crimes must have been repeated ad nauseam throughout history. "ACTING UNDER ORDERS from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The horrid deeds then committed were done as a duty which we believed we owed to God and our Church." - J.D. Lee.

It so important to keep the memory of atrocities like this alive. I am indebted to the author for disabusing me of my ignorance, having never heard the sordid tale of the Mountain Meadows massacre. May the names of Brigham Young and Thomas Kane, among the others involved, forever live in ignominy.

[Dennis Winge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous read of the gruesome massacre of an emigrant wagon train headed to California via Utah. Mormon militia under the orders of Brigham Young lured the emigrants south to the Mountain Meadow area where the massacre occurred. Young tried to pin blame of the massacre on the Paiute Indians but enough witnesses survived to reveal the ugly truth that the red-painted faces were white Mormons. The Mormon coverup was widespread but the truth emerged with time. The details of the treachery makes a mockery of the Mormon claim to be a God-fearing lot. This is a well-researched history that should be widely known.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

American Massacre is a standalone book that tells the tale of a tragedy back in the mid-1800s. I got this book to read because history fascinates me and I had never heard of this incident. Beware though, the author doesn't really get into the details of the massacre until the second half of the book. The first half of the book is all about the Mormon religion. It is clear that the author is biased against that church. I'm not a Mormon, nor do I know a lot about them, but she definitely seems to have done her research.

[Avis Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author portrays Joseph Smith as a crystal-and-herb New Age flimflam man, who adopted every silly idea he ever came across, and Brigham Young as a cross between Mao Tse-Tung and Kate Bender. Denton is good on the evidence, and the actual massacre of the hapless Baker–Fancher party by the Mormons is pretty blood curdling. The Mormons of that era had a doctrine called Blood Atonement, in which if A has been done a wrong by B, then it's perfectly okay for A to go out and kill C in revenge, hence their justification for the massacre.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read

Sally Denton deserves to award for this book. It's so well researched and written. She gives enough background for those of us without much knowledge about the start of mormonism to understand without going overboard. She also does a great job capturing the feeling of the time from both sides of the argument. You can tell She was a great journalist before she became an author. Will be reading more from her for sure