Government or official record
Mountain Meadows Massacre in the Records
Utah Division of Archives and Records 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.
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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 hereState-archive account and digitized Lee trial record documenting the siege, false truce, victims, trials, and conviction.
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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