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Posted on 09/11/2003 12:00:34 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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The years of 1855-56 had been particularly harsh on the Mormon settlements around the Great Salt Lake. Through their difficulties were due to normal things like drought and insect infestation, the Mormons believed they were being punished by God for their sins. All people were called upon to confess and represent. For some sins, the only way of achieving forgiveness was the doctrine of "blood-atonement." This meant that one had to shed their own blood. Unfortunately, things got out of control when some Mormons extended the shedding of blood to others to save themselves. At the same time, they claimed, they were "saving" the person who was sacrificed.  The atrocities reached the ears of leaders in the east. President Buchanan sent troops to Utah to return order. The Mormons heard about it in advance and prepared for a long siege. They stockpiled grain. They found places to hide. They got ready to leave at a moment’s notice. They burned down Fort Bridger and Fort Supply so they could not provide shelter to U.S. troops. Brigham Young declared that army troops would not be allowed to enter the Salt Lake Valley for any reason. He declared that all citizens must be ready to bare arms against them. Before the troops could reach Utah, the Fancher emigrant train had reached Salt Lake City from Arkansas. They had received a hostile reception there so left as soon as possible. In their way south, they were unable to buy or trade with any of the settlers. They traveled as fast as they could to get out of Utah. They stopped at Mountain Meadows, in the southwest corner of the territory, to rest their animals. The meadows were a final resting and refueling stop before crossing the ninety miles of desert west of them. There were two springs in the valley and lush grass. Around the valley were steep hillsides.  This 1870s T.B.H. Stenhouse sketch depicts the horrors at Mountain Meadows On the eastern edge of the valley lived Jacob Hamlin, a Mormon Indian agent for the Paiutes, and some other assistants. On the morning of September 7, 1857, seven emigrants fell dead from gunfire. Sixteen others were wounded. The emigrants were stunned, but the survivors raced to their wagons to arm themselves and get the women and children under cover. The Indians did not expect resistance and hesitated. But spurned on by their Mormon instigators John D. Lee, sub-agent, and Nephi Johnson, interpreter, they kept fighting. The Indians also ran off some of the cattle and shot the rest. Overall, there were 54 white men and 200 Indians in the attacking force. The settlers made a fortress out of their wagons and piled up earth. They sent out messengers for help. Two men reached Cedar City, but when they asked for help, one of them was killed on the spot. The other was wounded, but got away. Three men finally got out and headed toward California for help.  John D. Lee The Mormons were dismayed that the settlers weren’t so easy to dislodge. They held a council to decide what to do. They decided they must somehow be lured out of their stronghold and then killed. Lee and William Bateman approached the camp waving a white flag. They claimed that the Indians had agreed to leave them alone if they surrendered to the Mormons. They would have to make a show of it so the Indians would believe they were surrendering. They had to put their guns in the wagons and the men had to walk unarmed. The pioneers agreed, believing it was their only option. They started to march out of the valley, practically in single file. When they reached a certain spot, Major John Higbee gave a signal. All of a sudden the Indians erupted out of their hiding places and attacked the women. The Mormon militiamen bringing up the rear killed the men on foot that were closest to them. All of the men were killed in the first two or three volleys. The women were left to the Indians. All of them were scalped, stripped of their clothes, and killed.  Site of the Mountain Meadow Massacre Shortly afterward, Ira Hatch led some Indians after the three men who were heading to California. They caught up with them in the Santa Clara Mountains and killed them. In all, about 120 men, women, and children were killed including the five who had left the stronghold. Seventeen children survived and were taken to Hamlin’s agency and divided up among Mormon families. The Mormons took all the money that the settlers had on them. They gave much of the property to the Indians. The rest was taken and sold and donated to the Church. They took all the jewelry off the bodies, not caring if they mutilated fingers or ears in its removal. On October 2, eleven Mormon men fleeing Utah through the southern boundary stopped at the site of the massacre. They saw the nude, mutilated bodies still laying there, some partly eaten by wild animals. They told about what they saw when they reached Los Angeles. From there the news spread all over the country. A hue and cry went up to punish the Indians and Mormons responsible.  A Dr. Forney, Superintendent of Utah, investigated the matter. He found the missing children living with white families near Hamlin’s agency. Some of them were old enough to explain exactly what happened. He was amazed that the families who had taken in the children demanded money to repay them for what they had paid the Indians to free the children. He learned that the Indians that died had done so after eating an animal infected from eating a noxious weed, not from being deliberately poisoned by the emigrants. He also learned that this particular tribe had not even been involved in the fight. This contradicted the story that had been given by the Mormons for the Indian uprising. It wasn’t until the spring of 1859, that an army company went to the meadows and buried the remains. On June 29, fifteen of the seventeen children were sent east in a wagon train escorted by soldiers, John C. Miller and Milium Tackett were kept was witnesses. They testified in Washington D.C., then went home to Arkansas. No one was punished until 1876, when Lee and three others finally went on trial. In the first trial, Lee was acquitted, being as there were nine Mormon men on the jury. The U.S. government proclaimed the jury selection as invalid and declared a second trial. By then, the Mormon church decided that they should sacrifice Lee and the others to improve their own standing. The witnesses in the second trial all of a sudden remembered everything that happened. Lee was found guilty of murder. On March 23, 1877, he was executed at the scene of the massacre.  Below is a short history of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, as it appears on the memorial in Harrison, Arkansas. The Mountain Meadows Massacre In memory of 140 men, women and children, Northwest Arkansas emigrants to California in 1857 under leadership of Alexander Fancher (Piney Alex) left from Caravan Spring 4 miles south of here around May 1st - camped at Mountain Meadows, Utah in early September - attacked by Indians directed by Mormons - fought for several days until ammunition exhausted - approached by Mormons under flag of truce - promised protection - surrendered - all were then killed except 17 small children - found later in Mormon homes - rescued by Army in 1859 - taken to Arkansas - cared for by relatives - John D. Lee, Mormon bishop, tried - found guilty - executed in 1877 - confessed guilt and Mormon complicity - consult Russells Behind These Ozark Hills (1947) Goodspeeds History of Arkansas (1889) p. 346 - 350 in regional library Harrison. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19 Small children not killed Milum & William - children of Pleasant Tackett Angeline & George Ann - children of L. D. Dunlap Martha Elizabeth - Sarah F. - W. T. - children of G. W. Baker Rebecca J. - Sarah E. - Louisa - children of Jesse Dunlap John Calvin - Mary - Joseph - children of Josiah Miller Kit Carson & Tryphina - children of Alexander Fancher F. M. Jones - child of J. M. Jones Sophronia - child of Peter Huff  Below is the inscription of the back side of the monument at Harrison, Arkansas. It provides an incomplete list of the victims of the massacre. Those Killed From Carroll Co. Arkansas Alexander Fancher - Wife Eliza Ingram - Their children: Hampton - William - Mary - Thomas - Martha - Sarah G. - Margaret A. George W. Baker - Wife - Child John I. Baker - Abel Baker Milum Rush - Allen Deshazo David W. Beller - Jrs Mathew Fancher Robert T. Fancher - Melissa Ann Beller From Marion Co. Arkansas Chas R. Mitchell - Wife - Child Joel D. Mitchell - Lawson Mitchell Wm. Pruett - John Pruett Jesse Dunlap - Wife - 6 Children Rachel Dunlap - Ruth Dunlap L. D. Dunlap - 5 Children Wm. Wood - Solomon Wood Richard Wilson From Johnson Co. Arkansas J. Milum Jones - Wife - Child Pleasant Tackett - Wife - 2 Children Cintha Tackett - 3 Children Ambrose Tackett - Miriam Tackett William Cambron - Wife - 5 Children Josiah Miller - Wife - 5 Children Peter Huff - Wife - Their children: Angeline - Annie - Ephriam W. Wm. Eaton - Indiana - Wm. A. Aden - Tenn. Residence Unknown John Melvin Sorel - Mary Sorel Francis Horn - Joseph Miller - Wife Other Names in Caravan Mortons - Haydons - Hudsons - Hamiltons - Smiths - Laffoons OTHERS UNKNOWN
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 United States Army soldiers stand in front of the Stars and Stripes flag during a commemoration for the victims of attacks on New York's World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon two years ago, at a former palace in Baghdad of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein September 11, 2003. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh  United States Army soldiers and commander in Iraq Lt. Gen Ricardo Sanchez (L) stand with heads bowed during a commemoration for the victims of airborne attacks on New York's World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon two years ago, at a former palace in Baghdad of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, September 11, 2003. Soldiers from the 130,000-strong U.S. contingent held ceremonies at bases around the country, many of them declaring that the memory of the attacks two years ago kept them motivated as they faced daily postwar attacks. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh  US soldiers view the projected image of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during a slide show, part of the 9-11 Day of Commemoration Prayer Breakfast for US troops at Baghdad International Airport. The US military is holding a series of memorial services throughout Iraq to mark the second anniversary of terrorist attacks on US soil.(AFP/Robert Sullivan)  Sgt. First Class William Stephens holds an Ameican flag as he and fellow U.S. soldiers attend an evening vigil at the Al-Salam palace in Baghdad Thursday Sept. 11, 2003 to remember the victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)  U.S soldiers pray during the Sept.11 memorial ceremony in Bagram U.S base, some 45 kilometers (27 miles) north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept.11, 2003. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)  U.S. soldiers salute during a memorial service at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul on September 11, 2003. U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan held a memorial service on the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Thursday, Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters while a Taliban leader renewed a call for holy war on Washington. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood
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LOL!
LOL. Oh sure, and you don't remember a thing, right? Ha! Darksheare! *tsk, tsk*
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