Description

"In September 1857, a wagon train passing through an area of Utah called Mountain Meadows was brutally attacked and 140 men, women, and children were slaughtered. In the immediate aftermath, the Mormon church placed blame for the massacre on a discredited Mormon and various Native Americans, but the issue of who was actually responsible has since been the focus of passionate debate.

"Investigative journalist Sally Denton draws on newly discovered materials, ranging from personal diaries to government documents, to make a fiercely convincing argument that Mormon dignitaries were responsible, that guilt lay at the highest levels of the church and that Brigham Young himself incited the crime in both word and deed. In this riveting tale of religious fanaticism, paranoia, and greed, Denton traces the extraordinary history of the Mormons up to the crime and explains how the Mormon church still struggles to absolve itself today. Written with a brilliant calm that renders the story all the more engrossing, American Massacre is a provocative tale that sheds startling new light on one of the worst atrocities in American history." (From back cover.)

Table of Contents

Author's Note
Map

Prologue:
Jacob Hamblin's Ranch, September 11, 1857
The Cairn, August 3, 1999

Part One: The Gathering

1. Palmyra, 1823
2. Kirtland/Far West, 1831
3. Nauvoo, 1840
4. Winter Quarters—Council Bluffs, 1846
5. Salt Lake City, August 24, 1849
6. Sevier River, October 26, 1853

Part Two: The Passage

7. Harrison, March 29, 1857
8. Deseret, August 3, 1857
9. The Southern Trail, August 8-September 4, 1857
10. Mountain Meadows, September 7-11, 1857
11. Deseret, September 12, 1857
12. Camp Scott, November 16, 1857
13. Cedar City, April 7, 1859
14. Mountain Meadows, May 25, 1861
15. Mountain Meadows, March 23, 1877

Epilogue:
Mountain Meadows Aftermath
Lonely Dell, January 22, 2002