Item Detail
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3389
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17
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4
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English
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The Circleville Massacre : A Brutal Incident in Utah's Black Hawk War
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Utah Historical Quarterly
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Winter 1987
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55
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4-21
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'In April 1866 the white settlers of Circleville annihilated a band of captive Paiute Indians, including helpless women and children. This incident of the Black Hawk War of 1865-68 was the largest massacre of Indians in Utah's history. The mass murder seemed necessary to those who were anxious about possibly continuing Indian hostilities. The whites of Circleville had suffered dearly in a previous Indian raid and wanted to prevent a similar tradedy. Their concern was increased by defenses inadequate for the realities of war. In addition, brutal responses by other whites ot Indian disturbances had set a precedent for the settlers of Circleville.' (p. 4-5) This article goes into great detail on the background for the massacre, as well as the massacre itself. The author concludes that white brutality early in the war suggests they were unprepared to face the realities of an Indian uprising. At Circleville the local militia simply was not read, and town fortifications were built too late to give settlers adequate feeling of security. A disastrous raid had helped establish fear and hatred among the whites. 'Such emotions were exaggerated by the confusing nature of a war in which there was no easy way of telling peaceful Indians from renegades. Because legal authorities were too weak to control the brutal activities of the war and instances of savage behavior went unpunished, a dangerous precedent was set. By late April 1866 it was clear that whites needed to concern themselves little with legal action when Indians were mishandled. When it wa feared that a local group of Indians could no longer be trusted, war hysteria took hold of at least some whites of Circleville and innocent people were killed.
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Being Different : Stories of Utah Minorities
Blood of the Prophets : Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows
Brigham Young : Pioneer Prophet
Captivity, Adoption, Marriage and Identity : Native American Children in Mormon Homes, 1847-1900
Caught In Between : Jacob Hamblin and the Southern Paiutes During the Black Hawk-Navajo Wars of the Late 1860s
Forgotten Kingdom : The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896
Justice in the Black Hawk War : The Trial of Thomas Jose
Mormon cinema : Origins to 1956
Mormonism and Violence : The Battles of Zion
One Side By Himself : The Life and Times of Lewis Barney 1808-1894
Saints or Sinners? The Evolving Perceptions of Mormon-Indian Relations in Utah Historiography
Saints : The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. No Unhallowed Hand 1846–1893.
The Gathering Place : An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City
The Mormon Military Experience: 1838 to the Cold War
The Proper Edge of the Sky : High Plateau Country of Utah
The Ute Mode of War in the Conflict of 1865-68
Toward a Reconstruction of Mormon and Indian Relations, 1847-1877