September 11th

The date was September 11, 1857 Mountain Meadows, Utah.

A large band of settlers, bound for California, rolled in to the Utah Territory (then Mexico) plateau of Mountain Meadows. Weary from the months of hard travel in the wagon trains, they settled in for the night. At sun-up, just after breakfast, all hell broke loose. Paiute Indians rode in showering gunfire and arrows upon the settlers....but there were others...Mormons. Quickly circling their wagons, the settlers from Arkansas put forth more resistance than expected and fought off their would-be attackers. Stunned, they began to care for the dead and wounded.
Several hours later, Mormon's returned with a white flag of peace, asking that all the Arkansans lay down their arms, load up their wounded, and be escorted to Cedar City for medical treatment and safe passage. As the men walked along in compliance, a signal was given, and the Mormon "assistants" turned, shooting and killing every man, woman, and injured person from the party. The only people left alive were children under eight years old, because their "souls hadn't been around long enough to be corrupted yet." These surviving children were assimilated into Mormon homes and were raised into the faith.

Several things came together during this period that help to explain why this happened, but I'll just point out a few of the major ones. Mormon persecution along the edge of the known U.S. borders was growing. Missouri had imprisoned and killed the founder of the Mormon church Joseph Smith, and his brother (along with fifteen others). They had passed legislation banning them from the State. In the dead of winter in 1839, the Mormon's were led by Brigham Young out of the U.S. Territory and headed for Mexico (what is now Salt Lake City). Hundreds died in the largest mass migration in United States history. Finally making it to a place that NO ONE wanted, far from the U.S. Government, they settled in and began to build.
Making peace with the local Native population, they worked together to "manage" all traffic in and around the Great Salt lake basin. Mormon officials, whether through lust or "divine right," began to take additional wives. This practice was forced on the rest of the church, and obediance was mandatory. As news of plural marriage spread to the East Coast, Washington began to grow wary of a rising Theocracy in the West. The LDS Church was claiming land from Utah to present day California and beyond, and President Buchanan had no choice but to dispatch the U.S. Army to crush the impending rebellion. Twenty percent of the Army left for Utah, and at the same time, so did the Arkansans' wagon train.
Shortly before the Arkansas group departed, a Mormon man was imprisoned and then murdered for his religious beliefs in an Arkansas prison. This was not uncommon, and as plural marriage grew, so did the prison populations of the border states. The LDS militia in Utah grew angry, and very strong. Sending settlers of their own out to populate "Zion," they grew increasingly vulnerable.
The Paiute scouts saw them first. Riding in to John D. Lee's office in Cedar, they warned of the approaching Arkansas wagon train. Concerned that they would reach California and return with the Army, and mad at the murders in Arkansas, they would not be shown safe passage as promised. John D. Lee told the Indians they could have the cattle if they attacked. The Mormon Militia did also, but after it failed, Mr. Lee decided that since they had been seen there, everyone had to die. That morning on the meadow is still a stain on the LDS Church, and a park and historical museum stands on the site today. Militia leader John D. Lee is believed to have given the order, and was later hanged by the Army.
We drive right past the building where John D. Lee gave this order each year on our way to Brian Head and Navajo Lake for the NCS race and the Utah mtb tour. It's in Cedar City, right downtown, just off the 15 freeway.