The Mountain Meadows Massacre was an infamous incident in 1857 in which a Mormon militia in southwestern Utah Territory, initially disguised as Native Americans, attacked a group of Arkansas emigrants headed to California with their cattle, leading to a siege and, upon the revelation of the identity of the militia, an order from a Mormon militia colonel to annihilate the migrant party after securing their surrender. This work, by incorporating a large body of documentary materials within its text, gives an account of the events surrounding the massacre and also provides significant context in terms of the millennial religious doctrine of the Mormons, who believed that they and the Native Americans were charged with establishing a sovereign political entity in North America's Great Basin as a condition of the second coming of Christ, and the conflict that such a belief had led to with the federal government. It also provides a look at differing contemporary views of the massacre. Annotation 2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
