Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857: the first 9/11 Quiz

Answer: Mormons vs. United States Army

It was also called the Mormon War. The Mormons of Utah desired to have their own, independent state. Utah was a haven after the violent conflicts that had resulted in the death of their prophet Joseph Smith. So the Mormons formed a militia, naming themselves the Nauvoo Legion and took up defensive positions against the U.S. Army.

But the two forces never actually met in battle; so all casualties were non-Mormon civilians. The bulk of the casualties would have resulted from the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

Answer: California

The party of men, women and children were traveling through the area when they were spotted by the Mormon militia.

Answer: True

The motive for the incident may never be known, but it can be inferred that the militia wanted future west-bound pioneers to fear the Utah region's native peoples and steer clear. So they armed a few Native Americans from a neighboring tribe, the Paiute, and dressed themselves similarly.

Answer: The militia had raised the white flag.

The party was low on supplies, and, I'm sure, desperately wanted the fighting to end. Wagon-trains would defend themselves by forming a circle, chaining the wheels together and filling the space under the wagons with dirt. This made a formidable defense.

In this way the party fought the Mormons for five days. Until the 11th, when they allowed a few bearing the white flag to enter, requiring the wagons to be unchained.

Answer: They feared that the victims had seen a white man.

They wanted to eliminate any threat of being connected to the massacre. So they killed all members of the party: men, women, and all children older than seven or eight years. Afterwards, out of about 150 people, only seventeen children remained.

Answer: Auctioned to Mormons from within the Tithing House.

The children did eventually go home to Arkansas, but I'm not sure exactly when. There are a few videos of ceremonies done in remembrance to the surviving children of the massacre. They can be found by searching youtube.com for "children of Mountain Meadows."

Answer: Brigham Young

Brigham, and other church leadership, were not indicted in the crimes, as no evidence of their guilt was ever presented.

Answer: Only one.

Yes, despite how many participated, only nine indictments were issued, and of those, only one person was convicted: John D. Lee. He led the opening attack, was one of the men who entered bearing the white flag, and a key figure in planning the massacre.

He was also a constable, judge, and an "Indian Agent" (a person who dealt with Native American tribes as an authorized government representative).

Answer: Executed

He chose to be shot rather than hanged for his crimes.

Answer: False

Finally, on Sept. 12th, 2007, the 150th anniversary of the massacre, a representative of the church named Elder Eyring issued a formal, public apology. He expressed deep regret and sorrow for the horrific crimes. His statements can be found easily by a Google search for "2007 Mormon apology Mountain Meadows."