Academic research
Problems with Mountain Meadows Massacre Sources
BYU Studies · Richard E. Turley Jr.
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Historic crimes & investigations · 7–11 September 1857Open article references →
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Mountain Meadows massacre and memorial landscape · United States
Why editors use it herePeer-reviewed source criticism explaining conflicts and limitations in trial records, reports, and memoirs.
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Quick read
In September 1857, southern Utah militia members, aided to a disputed extent by Native participants, attacked the Baker–Fancher emigrant train at Mountain Meadows.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Trigger and conditions
The wagon train camped at Mountain Meadows, an established stopping place on the route to California.
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Uncertainty
The approximate victim total and seventeen-child survivor count are well supported, but lists and ages vary at the margins.
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Why it matters
Mountain Meadows shows how siege mentality, rumor, obedience, local command, and a plan to eliminate witnesses can transform fear into organized mass killing.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Quick read