Warning: this article contains spoilers for Episode 1 of American Primeval.
American Primeval boasts a talented cast, who bring the complex characters to life. It is hard to look away as they each fight for survival and fortune, with danger at every turn.
While some of the characters and events in the series are fabricated for dramatic effect, American Primeval is based on real events that helped shape the course of American history. In particular, just after a group of Mormons along with Sara Rowell and her young son, Devin, set out from Fort Bridger, their party is massacred by Mormons wearing disguises. This event, the real-life Mountain Meadows Massacre, serves as the catalyst for many of the major events of the series, including the stories of Jacob and Abish Pratt and Sara and her son's journey West.
Who Was Behind The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Mormon Militia Perpetrated The Murders
While many of the characters in American Primeval were made up for the purposes of the series, the Mountain Meadows Massacre and several of the people portrayed in the series were actually real. As the series shows, the people killed were part of a wagon train ing through on their way towards California and the perpetrators were Mormons. In real life, the victims, the Baker-Fancher party, were made up of various families from different locations in Arkansas, though they were not Mormon as the series suggests.
Along with the Mormon militia, which the show rightly refers to as the Nauvoo Legion, Mormon settlers also helped perpetrate the massacre of the travelers. While it is unclear the extent of his role, Mormon leader Brigham Young and his teachings may have also served as a motivating factor in the massacre, meaning that he may have been pulling the strings from a distance. As American Primeval shows, the Mormon attackers were also ed by some Southern Paiute Native Americans.
Why Did The Mountain Meadows Massacre Happen?
It Was Part Of The Larger Utah War Between The US Government And The Mormons
The largest part of the Mountain Meadows Massacre happened on September 11, 1857, but it was preceded by several days of attacks and killings. While American Primeval shows several Nauvoo Legion men approaching the travelers prior to the massacre to ask them to leave, in reality, the Mormon men attacked and killed several of the party on September 7 dressed as Native Americans. Then, fearing they had been recognized, they returned to massacre the rest of the Baker-Fancher party several days later (via Utah History Encyclopedia).
The initial attack on the party was deliberately planned by the Mormons because of their hysteria surrounding the Utah War and potential attacks on land that they viewed as theirs.
While the reason for the large massacre was due to the Mormons' fear of recognition by the surviving immigrants, the Mountain Meadows Massacre was preceded by a lot of hostility and unpleasant interactions between the Baker-Fancher party and the local Mormon settlers. The initial attack on the party was deliberately planned by the Mormons because of their hysteria surrounding the Utah War and potential attacks on land that they viewed as theirs. Though Brigham Young condemned the people involved in the massacre, his involvement in the Utah War makes him connected as well.
How Many People Were Killed
The Massacre Left Upwards Of 120 People Dead
While the exact number of people killed in the Mountain Meadows Massacre is unknown, it is estimated that around 120 people were killed in the event (via UHE). American Primeval shows Jacob Pratt and his wife, Abish, surviving along with Sara Rowell and her son, Devin, but, in real life, the only survivors of the event were 17 young children. The Mormons who committed the atrocity believed that the children would be too young to and tell US officials who was behind the attack. The 17 children were also taken in by Mormon settlers and only returned to relatives in Arkansas several years later.
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To put the event in context, throughout the entirety of the real-life Utah War it is estimated that around 150 people died, meaning that the majority of the deaths were the civilian casualties of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. This horrifying number is a haunting reminder of the violence that regularly occurred throughout the settlement of the American West by white immigrants. It also shows that, while the scenes portrayed in American Primeval may seem shocking to viewers, the real-life event was even more dramatic.
What Happened After The Massacre
Only One Man Was Found Guilty
Though now there is evidence and testimony linking several individuals in the Mormon church to the murders, only one man was actually convicted at the time, and even then it was 20 years later. That man was John D. Lee, and he was found guilty and executed in 1877. Before his death, the Mormon militia officer claimed that other people were involved as well and even alleged that Brigham Young had directly ordered the massacre. John D. Lee was executed in the same spot that the Mountain Meadows Massacre had occurred 20 years earlier.
On September 11, 2007, an Apostle of the Mormon church spoke at the massacre memorial, putting full blame for the event on Mormon militia and settlers.
Sadly, it was not until 150 years later that the Mormon church fully took responsibility for the atrocious event. On September 11, 2007, an Apostle of the Mormon church spoke at the massacre memorial, putting full blame for the event on Mormon militia and settlers. He also apologized to the Paiute people for the church's long-running narrative that they were solely responsible for the attack, attempting to make good on a century and a half of misinformation (via Smithsonian Magazine).
How Accurate Is American Primeval's Version Of The Mountain Meadows Massacre?
The Series Takes Some Liberties To Fits Its Narrative
American Primeval makes several changes to the Mountain Meadows Massacre in order to make the event work for its main characters. Most notably, the series changes the duration of the attack and the survivors. While the real massacre occurred over several days, American Primeval combined the disguises of the Mormons with the larger massacre that happened on September 11 to simplify the narrative. Additionally, the show depicts several adults surviving the attack, though only children were spared in real life, to give its main characters a fitting survival story.
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While American Primeval's portrayal of the Mountain Meadows Massacre does take some liberties, the bones of the real event are present. The series accurately depicts the different groups involved in the massacre, namely the Mormons and Paiute Native Americans, and the subsequent investigation into the killings. Additionally, the series manages to convey to audiences the horror of the event through its graphic images, creating a sense of the real fear that the Baker-Fancher party would have experienced and giving American Primeval a sense of historical reality.
Source: Utah History Encyclopedia & Smithsonian Magazine
American Primeval
- Release Date
- 2025 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Netflix
- Directors
- Peter Berg
Cast
Taylor KitschIsaac
Jai CourtneySara Rowell
WHERE TO WATCH
American Primeval is a Netflix limited series that follows the lives of several men and women in the middle of the expansion of the American West. Social dynamics clash as men and women battle for a piece of the new world against rivals and each other.
- Writers
- Peter Berg, Eric Newman, Mark L. Smith
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