Episode 154: Mountain Meadows Massacre, Pt. 2

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:27)
On the morning of August 3rd, 1857, George A. Smith began what would become one of the most consequential journeys in Mormon history. As a church apostle, cousin of founder Joseph Smith, and the father of Southern Utah settlements, Smith carried unique authority to implement Brigham Young's resistance strategy in the territory's most vulnerable region. His mission would directly prepare the ground for the tragedy that would unfold at Mountain Meadows less than six weeks later.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:05)
Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:08)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:09)
Bringing you the story of Mormonism from the shadow of the Everlasting Hills, straight out of Zion. This isn't your grandpa's Mormon history.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:37)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day. Saddle up.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:42)
Gird your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:50)
It's the Sunstone History Podcast.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:14)
Smith's mission had multiple interconnected objectives that revealed the sophisticated coordination behind Mormon resistance efforts. He was to deliver Young's circular letter and Wells' military orders to the southern settlements. He was to coordinate military preparations and conduct militia drills, secure Indian alliances as outlined in Young's August 2nd strategy, and assess the defensive capabilities of the region's scattered communities.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:40)
The systematic nature of his tour, visiting every significant settlement along the southern route, demonstrated the comprehensive planning behind Mormon resistance efforts. Smith's itinerary included Provo, Springville, Nephi, Fillmore, Beaver, Parawan, the Citadel, Cedar City, Harmony, Washington, Santa Clara, and numerous smaller settlements, creating a network of coordination that would prove crucial in subsequent events.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:07)
Southern Utah held critical strategic importance in Mormon defensive planning that extended far beyond its relatively small population. So the California road through this region was a major immigrant route and the most likely avenue for federal militia approached from the south or the west. And so controlling this corridor was essential for implementing Young's strategy of stopping immigration and demonstrating to Washington the consequences of attacking Utah.

**Bryan Buchanan** (3:35)
The settlements that George A. Smith visited formed a chain of communities that could serve as military outposts in the coming conflict. Each had its own militia unit under the command of veterans of previous Mormon conflicts, if not actual conflicts, and collectively they embodied a significant military force capable of controlling the southern approaches to Utah's main population centers. The integration of religious, civil, and military authority in these communities meant that Smith's ecclesiastical authority automatically translated into military command. Now, given the relative isolation of Utah and a pre-railroad world, this is a formidable setup they've got going here.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:13)
And, you know, Smith's approach in each settlement followed a consistent pattern that reveals the sophisticated coordination of Mormon resistance efforts. It was sort of baked in, so we've talked about this many times in the podcast, but this is a time in America, especially in Nauvoo, when you have new and emerging frontier settlements, they're allowed militia, local militias to organize. Of course, this is part of, you know, American lore. Local militias can be there to protect, and so Mormon settlements go out and form, like every stake has their own militia, basically. And that was also not just to rip off, like, American identity, but it was strategic to protect themselves against, you know, invading Native forces, I would say, I guess, or forces that they're invading. And so, yeah, the fact that they all had militias is strange for people to think about now, that your local ward would be like militia drills. But that's just how it was.
And Smith's methodology included private military briefings where George Smith meets with local military commanders to deliver Wells' orders and to coordinate defensive preparations, ensuring that commanders understood both their tactical rules and their place in the broader strategic framework. And as we'll keep talking about, you should know that their idea is to unite these Native American tribes. And you have in these meetings, reports coming back from people who are going out, you know, Jacob Hamlin's Indian agents, the people talking to him saying, they're not into this. They do not want to do this. They do not think this is a good idea.

**Bryan Buchanan** (5:44)
Because they, from their perspective, are thinking, what is the upside for us here? What are we? What is the benefit for us to get involved in y'all's conflicts?

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (5:55)
Just a couple of years ago, you killed my cousin in a massacre. Yeah, it was not like things were as... Brigham Young really wants the illusion that he's united with Native Americans. And that propaganda that he is deliberately architecting at the time is carried over into Mormon history because people see that, oh, we were friendly with the Indians. We were allies with the Indians. That was propaganda. That was propaganda that Brigham Young wanted to use.