The Mountain Meadows Massacre

The Mountain Meadows Massacre. . In early April 1857, a large wagon train known as the Fancher-Baker train left Caravan Spring (south of Harrison) and headed for California. They camped at this site en route to intercept the Cherokee trail at the Grand Saline in Indian territory. Months later, the wagon train came under siege by the Mormons and Indians in southwest Utah at a place called Mountain Meadows. On September 11, 1857 the Mormons brutally murdered 121 men, women, and children after assuring their protection. Only 17 small children were spared from the massacre., The dead were left exposed to the elements until 18 months later when U.S. Army troops led by Major James H. Carleton buried the remains in several mass graves. A cross and stone were placed over one such gravesite containing 34 of the victims. This is a scaled replica of Carleton's original cairn., The surviving children were brought back to Arkansas and spent their first night at the site of the Old Yell Lodge. On September 25, 1859, the orphaned children were reunited with relatives in the Carrollton town square., In 1861, Brigham Young and his entourage visited the Utah gravesite. He read the words on the cross and said, “Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little.” Then Young raised his arm in the Danite signal of the square and within minutes his followers completely destroyed the monument. Presently, the LDS Church owns the grave at Mountain Meadows in Utah. They control the interpretation of the massacre. This replica of the original grave marker allows Arkansas relatives to memorialize the victims and interpret the massacre in their home state.