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Government or official record

Mountain Meadows Massacre National Historic Landmark documentation

U.S. National Park Service

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.

  1. Historic crimes & investigations · 7–11 September 1857

    The Mountain Meadows Massacre

    Mountain Meadows massacre and memorial landscape · United States

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    Why editors use it here

    Landmark documentation for the massacre landscape, Utah War setting, victim total, and Lee proceedings.

    1. 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
    2. Trigger and conditions

      The wagon train camped at Mountain Meadows, an established stopping place on the route to California.

      Reviewed 26 July 2026
    3. Uncertainty

      The approximate victim total and seventeen-child survivor count are well supported, but lists and ages vary at the margins.

      Reviewed 26 July 2026
    4. 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