160 years ago today - Aug 6, 1858

[Mountain Meadows]
George A. Smith, one of the twelve apostles in the LDS Church, begins drafting an apostolic report on the massacre. The report blames the emigrants for inciting Indians. It also places John Lee at the scene, thus identifying him as the best possible Mormon scapegoat for the crime. (Historian Juanita Brooks believes [him] to be the person ultimately responsible for the massacre, having told Dame to issue the order that all the emigrants be killed.)

[Source: Linder, Douglas, The Mountain Meadows Massacre Trials, http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTRIALS/mountainmeadows/leechrono.html]

No comments:

Post a Comment