The Bear River Massacre

You're about to learn about the Bear River Massacre - probably the largest massacre of Indigenous people in American history. It occurred near Preston, Idaho.

First, we should put the massacre within its historic context. It occurred in the middle of the Civil War, when the eastern U.S. was embroiled within that contest.

The Perpetrator: Colonel Patrick Edward Connor

To understand the massacre, you need to understand a little about those who perpetrated it.

The massacre was perpetrated by a group of soldiers from California. They had volunteered to go and fight in the Civil War. But instead of going east and joining in the battles there, the volunteers were stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah. Their leader was a man named Patrick Edward Connor (pictured at left).

When they received their orders, Connor said the men under his commanded wanted to "serve their country by shooting traitors instead of freezing to death around sage brush fires."

A full 21% of Connor's men simply deserted.

Some of their anger over the posting came because they wanted to gain glory by fighting in the Civil War. 

Some of it was a deep seated hatred of Indigenous Americans.

And some of it was because they hated the Latter-day Saints.

In a 1862 letter to his superiors, Connor wrote: "[The Mormons are] a community of traitors, murders, fanatics, and whores."

The feeling was more or less mutual. Peter Maughan, a Latter-day Saint leader in Cache Valley, wrote to Brigham Young: "[Connor's men] manifested the most filthy and disgusting code of Civilization I have ever heard."1

In summary, Connor was a glory-hungry man, heading other glory-hungry men, who hated everything about the location where they were serving. In fact, historian Brigham Madsen's biography of Connor is entitled Glory Hunter.

Causes

Besides Connor's dreams of winning fame on the battlefield, several key events preceded the massacre.

Indigneous peoples along the Oregon Trail were suffering because of the westward migration of the United States. The trail itself eliminated many native grasses, causing problems with bison migrations. Overhunting by those headed west further decimated the herds, causing many Shoshones to go hungry.

This hunger led to a fight in Smithfield, Utah, where Chief Pagnap was killed.

In retaliation, Shoshones killed two Mormon settlers.

The conflict resulted in frequent skirmishes between the two groups, resulting in both parties posting guards to keep the peace.

Two other events led to increased tensions. First, Shoshones attacked emigrants near the Humboldt River in September of 1862. Connor sent his second-in-command,  Major Edward McGarry, to assassinate every male Indian in the vicinity of the massacre. Second, November of the same year saw McGarry and Chief Bear Hunter fighting over a ten-year-old white boy. Both sides claimed they were related. McGarry's troops were ultimately successful in seizing the boy, leading Bear Hunter and his followers to harass local settlers. To calm them, local settlers gave the Shoshones food.2 

Ultimately, attacks on the Oregon Trail (attributed to Pocatello's Band by Bear Hunter's clan) and skirmishes with local settlers led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Chiefs Sagwitch, Sanpitch, and Bear Hunter.

The Massacre

The Shoshones camped in a valley near Preston, Idaho. Warm springs there kept the water liquid year round. They also provided warmth during the cold winters.

Connor's men arrived on the morning of January 23, 1863. They attacked the camp. At first, the Shoshones fought back, but they quickly ran out of bullets.

Connor's men moved in. They found Chief Bear Hunter attempt to cast more bullets in the fire. One soldier heated their bayonet blade in the fire and ran it through Bear Hunter's skull.

The soldiers gave no quarter. They raped, tortured, and killed the women left behind. They massacred the children. The only chance for escape was to float down the semi-frozen river. Sagwitch, another chief mentioned in the warrant, escaped on a horse (his wife, not nearly as lucky, was shot in the attempt).

Historical Memory

What actually happened and how that event was remembered were very different. We want to examine the primary documents and see how this event changed over time.

Click on this page to continue the story.

Works Cited