Utah/Idaho Border January 29, 1863 BEAR RIVER MASSACRE Utah/Idaho Border January 29, 1863

What Happened? Although there is much disagreement over the incident, including who was to blame for the confrontation, there are a few things that most historians agree on. The settlement of the Cache Valley region by Mormons reduced the resources of the Shoshone. The Mormon’s grazing cattle ate the native grasses the Shoshone relied upon for food. In desperation at times of conflict, the Shoshone turned to steeling cattle, attacking wagon trains, begging for food and hunting more. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, most soldiers stationed in Utah were pulled out of the west and relocated to help fight the war in the south. A group of adventure-seeking volunteer soldiers from California, led by Colonel Patrick Conner, were sent to Utah to keep an eye on the Mormons (whose loyalty to the US was being questioned) and to guard the emigrant trails. In January 1863 after months of violence, Colonel Conner lead 240 soldiers to Cache Valley to “stop” a group of Shoshone led by Bear Hunter. On January 29th, 1863 a clash occurred between about 200 soldiers and a large Shoshone village that resulted in the deaths of perhaps as many as 400 Shoshone men, women, and children and about 20 soldiers.