Historical Archeology
Coursework:
The Significance of Historic Pleasant Grove
Jonathen Green
Salt Lake Community College
ANTH 2530 Historical Archaeology
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D.
December 10, 2019
The Significance of Historic Pleasant Grove
Historical Background of the Site
Almost immediately after the Mormon people immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young set his sights upon exploiting the fertile Utah Valley to the south. In August 1847, Brigham Young sent a team of seven men south on horseback to explore the Utah Valley and report back on its future potential. Upon their return to Salt Lake, they spoke of a fertile country that was fit for farming communities. (Freeman, 1990) (West, 1934)
On July 19, 1850, Brigham Young sent three men, William H. Adams, John Mercer, and Philo T. Farnsworth, to the Utah Valley to locate settlements. They traveled east on “the old Indian trail” until they reached a grove of Cottonwood trees bordering Grove Creek. (Freeman, 1990)
According to pioneer Joseph H. Adams, Farnsworth and Mercer explored the two flowing mountain streams of Grove Creek and Battle Creek and found within their canyons game, timber, and brush for wood. Adams, who was a stonemason, located the Provo River to the south, where he reported tall and straight trees suitable for building log houses and abundant rocks for house foundations. They returned to Salt Lake City on July 24, 1850 (Freeman, 1990).
On September 8, they made their report to a special conference in Salt Lake, after which Brigham immediately ordered that the area should be settled. (Walker, 2000)
On the evening of September 13, the first seven settler families arrived in Pleasant Grove by wagon (Walker, 2000) and were followed shortly afterward by Adams, Farnsworth, and Mercer, who had previously staked claims when they had explored the area. (Freeman, 1990)
That first winter, they put their wagon boxes on top of logs and used them as makeshift bedrooms. (Walker, 2000) (Freeman, 1990) They then used their exposed running gears from the wagons to haul logs from the Provo River to begin constructing their log houses. They were not able to finish constructing the first houses until spring 1851. (Freeman, 1990) The William Henry Green family arrived at Pleasant Grove in the fall of 1851 or the spring of 1852. (Driggs, 1948)
The first homes were all one-room, 12-foot by 14-foot log cabins that they roofed with willows and dirt. All of the cabins were oriented to face the west. (Walker, 2000) They called this first settlement “String Town” because all of the farms were located along the “Old Indian Trail” in the shape of a string. (School. n.d.)
They kept their water in their cellars in crockery jars made by the town potter, Horace Roberts. The townspeople sprinkled water across the dirt floors of their cellars in the mornings to lower the room temperature through evaporation. They did this so that they could keep their milk, butter, and water supply cool throughout the day. (Water, n.d.)
In March of 1851, George S. Clark wrote a progress report letter to the Mormon High Council. He titled the letter “Pleasant Grove,” after the grove of cottonwood trees that grew near Grove Creek. This name was later chosen as the name of the city when it was incorporated in January 1855. (Overlade, 1965) (Walker, 2000) (Overlade, 1965) (West, 1934)
In those first years, the people of Pleasant Grove did not have much trouble with the Indians because they took advice from Brigham Young, who had told them to make friends with “the Little Chief” and his band. (Freeman, 1990) However, in 1853, Chief Walker was on the warpath, and the Indians had become troublesome. (West, 1934) (School. n.d.) Brigham Young ordered the people all over Utah to construct forts to protect themselves. (School. n.d.) (West, 1934) (History of, n.d.) (Hayes et al. n.d.)
Because of its shape, String Town was vulnerable to attack. (School, n.d.) So in July 1853, the townspeople began construction of their fort under the direction of George S. Clark. They disassembled their buildings, tore down the “old schoolhouse” and then reconstructed them within the confines of the fort. (Hayes et al. n.d.) (History of, n.d.) The site was chosen near the grove of Cottonwood trees, and was therefore called “Grove Fort.” (Overlade, 1965)
The fort was constructed in the shape of a square. It had a rock wall that was 2 ½ feet thick and 3-5 ft high. (History of, n.d.) Within its confines was a public corral for livestock. It is said that when they were constructing the fort, some Indians stole twenty-three horses from the corral. (Freeman, 1990)
They built a covered wooden water flume that carried water into the fort. Outside of each house, there was an opening in the top of the flume with a lid. Whenever the settlers needed water, they opened the lid and dipped out what they needed. This water was reserved for culinary use only, and livestock was restricted to drinking from ditches that they created outside of the fort. (Water, n.d.)
The location of the public corral is what now encompasses the four blocks containing Pleasant Grove’s main public buildings, including the High School, City Hall, School House, Order Hall, Football Field, and City Park. (Driggs, 1948) .
The central location of the fort was at the address of Center Street and First South on First East. At this place, in 1864, they later built the 3rd iteration of their school after the second schoolhouse burned down. The first portion of the “Old Bell School” building is the west wing and was used as the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum. (School. n.d.)
There are no traces of the wall left, but the stones were later used in other buildings and in the chimney of the replica pioneer cabin that the Daughters of Utah Pioneers created in the park. (Hayes et al. n.d.)
Ten years after the construction of the fort, the Green family was involved in an event at Pleasant Grove. In the afternoon of Saturday, April 11, 1863, a small detachment of U.S. Army troops camped outside of the Grove Fort. They were about six to eight of Col. Patrick Edward Connor’s United States 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry, which were sent to Utah at the onset of the Civil War to protect overland routes (Balance, 2017) . The site of the camp was about one block south of 490 S. and 100 E. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
At about one hour before sundown, the troops saw a group of about forty-three Indians jump over the east wall of the Grove Fort and then move to the south wall just north of where a battle monument now stands. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Connor’s troops engaged with the Indians first by firing a cannon over the heads of the Indians. They then retreated for cover and commandeered the John Green Family home. They ordered Mrs. Sarah Green and her nurse to leave the house. At the time, Mrs. Green had an eight-day-old baby. The baby was Mary Melissa Green, who was born on April 3, 1863, in Pleasant Grove. (Birth Data from the United States 1870 Census and the Provo Daily Herald Obituary.) (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
The Troops pulled up the floorboards of the house to create a defensive trench from which they fired their cannon and their guns at the Indians. The Indians returned fire with their guns and arrows back at the soldiers. The fighting continued for about an hour until it was dark. During the night, the Indians took six of the soldier’s mules and loaded them with baggage from the army supply wagon. They then left. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Although no one was killed in the exchange, many of the furnishings of the house were shredded. Colonel Connor blamed the supply losses and damage on the townspeople of Pleasant Grove because they did not join in on the side of the troops during the skirmish. Connor is quoted as saying that he “wished he had the privilege of laying the town to ashes.” (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
The site of the Indian battle in the John Green home is marked with a monument that is erected at 490 South and 100 East. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Although local oral history and news accounts have described the skirmish at Pleasant Grove in isolation, as if it was but a random and unexpected event, the historian Howard Driggs connects it in context to a broader campaign against the Indians.
“Not until the Spring of 1863 — when the Civil War was at its height — and Indian fighting was going on generally all over the west — did Pleasant Grove get another taste of such conflicts. In this case, it was a part of the war that was being waged between soldiers and red tribes wherever these came in contact. More specifically, the fight that occurred in Pleasant Grove during 1863 was a direct aftermath of what happened on Battle Creek near Preston Idaho on January 29, 1863.” (Driggs, 1948)
The event that Driggs refers to here is the Bear River Massacre near the Utah Idaho border. At this place, there is a creek (also now nicknamed Battle Creek) that drains into the Bear River. Here, on January 9, 1863, only three months before the skirmish in Pleasant Grove, Colonel Connor’s United States Army Troops raided a Shoshone village and indiscriminately killed hundreds of men, women, and children there. (NPS, 1996)
Site Name and Location
This site is the Pleasant Grove Historic District. It includes the square made by the streets 100 North, 500 South, 300 East, and 100 West of the city of Pleasant Grove, Utah. Coincidentally, this location approximately bounds where the "Grove Fort" once used to stand. (NPS, 1995)
Current Condition of the Site
This site is both privately owned and publicly owned and is currently in use as busy and growing city. Although the site is on the register, as it is an active city and is constantly changing. Many of its buildings and houses have been remodeled and had additions. Many properties were subdivided and are now new construction since the founding of the city.
Why does this site matter for investigation?
The Historic district is already accounted for in the National Register of Historic Places. It is identified by the number: 95001434. It was made into a Historic District on November 6, 1995.
Although the location includes where Pleasant Grove's "Grove Fort" used to be, the fort was not the reason that this site was selected for the register. After the fort was constructed, the settlers established their earliest community buildings and homes within its boundaries.
Therefore, this location includes many of early Utah's architecturally significant structures, all within a very dense location. They are representative of the Late Victorian, Middle 19th Century Revival, Late 19th Century Revival, and 20th Century Revival architectural styles. Therefore, that site was chosen for the register in 1995 because of its pretty buildings. (NPS, 1995)
Although Historic Pleasant Grove was found to be eligible for the NRHP under the criteria of Significant Architecture, I believe that it should also be eligible for the register under additional expanded criteria. The Pleasant Grove Historic District is also associated with at least two events that are significant to Utah’s history. Additional research into these events may be able to yield additional data about the settlement of our western American frontier.
The construction of the Utah forts represents a unique event in western U.S. settlement when civilians, under the direction of their religious leaders, chose to make and live within forts to protect themselves. Within their walls, often but not always, they then organized their communities in a somewhat equal grid structure according to a common communal code. It has been said that they chose to locate their towns within one day's horse ride of one another. The Mormon people had an abundant awareness of their dependence on one another for survival. Perhaps it was not only rugged individualism that won us the West. Additional research into this behavior may be able to show us that it was this Mormon communal system of cooperation that may have uniquely enabled them to rapidly settle and expand the otherwise difficult and often hostile "Mormon Corridor."
The site of Historic Pleasant Grove also played host to a mostly forgotten Indian skirmish in 1863, that happened during the American Civil War. Although battles with Indian people are certainly not uncommon from this time, I believe that this particular fight may represent something special in our history. The fight occurred within the town but did not include its townspeople. Rather, it was United States Union soldiers that had camped outside of the town, who engaged with a band of Indians at the site. The Indians then took shelter within the Fort, not the townspeople, and the soldiers commandeered a civilian's home. During the skirmish, the townspeople remained neutral. They chose not to assist the soldiers. Oral family history goes even further and suggests that the townspeople may have even sided with the Indians. For example, it is said that the Indian fighters chose to withhold fire while the woman of the commandeered home, Mrs. Green, returned back to the house to retrieve her infant daughter. After the skirmish, it is said that her husband, Mr. Green, was furious with the soldiers, and sought restitution from the Army for the damages against his home. U.S. General Patrick Connor said that he wished he could "lay the town to ashes." Why would Connor say such violent words if he believed his charge was to protect the people from Indians? It is this Mormon defiance, I believe, that may be able to show us something of special historical significance.
I wonder about the Mormon's construction of Grove Fort, its purpose, and the townspeople’s lack of cooperation with the Union soldiers when the fort was tested. What could the Grove Fort tell us about this special time in U.S. history?
When I imagine the described structure of the Grove Fort, I am surprised by its design. If the fort’s purpose was protection from Indians, then why did they construct such a thick wall of stone, and yet leave the wall so short? To me, its thickness seemed to be overkill, and yet its height seemed to be grossly inadequate. Outside the walls of the fort, they dug motes and used them as irrigation ditches to water their cattle. If they were concerned about Indians raiding their livestock, then why would they water them outside of its security?
History tells us that the Grove Fort was not actually much good at dissuading the Indians. They successfully stole horses from it, seemingly easily scaled its short walls, and even fought U.S. soldiers from within its protection. I read several accounts saying that these same Indians had good relations with the settlers and commonly came into the town and peacefully traded with them. If the Mormons were so terrified of the Indians, why would they invite them into their forts as neighbors?
Perhaps the Union Soldiers were not in the Utah Territory only to protect the overland routes from Indian attacks. Maybe they were stationed here to observe, control, and possibly intimidate the Mormons and therefore prevent a Mormon rebellion against the United States.
Maybe the fort’s purpose was not only to protect from arrows, but instead to also guard against bullets and cannon fire? When looked at through that lens, it seems to me that the wall height may have actually been ideal for supporting a Mormon rebellion. It would have provided excellent cover to farmers with rifles who were not trained soldiers, who could have used it to kneel behind while they reloaded their weapons, then quickly stood up and shot at an unprotected army.
The settlers also constructed a specialized water system to bring water directly into their fort. The Mormon people are still known today for their policy of storing up emergency supplies. I wonder if the forts of Utah may have actually been constructed to protect against more than just Walker and Blackhawk. In addition to fighting Indians, were the forts of Utah also designed to counter additional perceived threats such as siege warfare launched by larger states?
The Mormon people chose to make an exodus from the United States deep into what was Mexican territory inhabited by indigenous people they regarded as savages. Here they planned to establish a new Zion in what they hoped would later become their self-sufficient and independent State of Deseret. They had their own private Militia, the Nauvoo Legion, and allegedly a secret police of assassins commonly called the Danites. In addition to being a communal people, the Mormons were also ruggedly independent people. I believe that the Grove Fort and its Indian skirmish of 1863 may be able to reveal to us some of that ruggedly independent spirit of the Mormon people, and their unique and fluid relationship with their neighbors.
Research Questions
Methods
Remnants of the Grove Fort would be difficult to locate. Boy Scouts of America and Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected monuments at its corner boundaries. It is believed that its rock walls were disassembled and then incorporated into many of Pleasant Grove’s buildings. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers claimed that they used stones from the wall to construct the chimney of a replica of a String Town pioneer cabin in Pioneer Park. (Hayes, 1933) As the park and some of the ball fields are still undeveloped and publicly owned, they might be good candidates for archaeological survey or excavation.
I do not know if any of the earliest buildings still exist. If any do, I might be able to measure their distances from one another to discern any patterns possibly. For example, if they are proportional, that might reveal that they had equidistant spacing.
The location of the 1863 skirmish is marked with a placard. I believe the John Green home is gone, but perhaps there are still material remains from the battle in the soil of that location.
Summary
I believe that the site of Historic Pleasant Grove is significant for more than only its special architecture. I think that it represents, and may even be able to speak to, the heritage of the Mormon Pioneers, and the struggles that they have overcome in order to settle the towns of Utah County.
References
Balance, Captain Jim.
2017. Californians and the Military: Major General Patrick Edward Connor. California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve. http://www.militarymuseum.org/Conner.html (accessed November 29, 2019)
Driggs, Howard R.
1948. Timpanogos Town The Story of Old Battle Creek and Pleasant Grove Utah. The Clark Press, Manchester, N.H.
Freeman, Alice P.
1990. Pleasant Grove Beginnings. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove/Battle Creek. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Hayes, Rose Brown.
1933. Log Cabin Monument: A Tribute to the Pioneers and Early Settlers of Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Hayes, Rose Brown. Waker, Lucile Harvey.
No Date. Locality History of Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Historic Architecture.
No Date. Historic Architecture & Sites of Pleasant Grove Walking Tour Guide. Site #51 and Site #52. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
History of.
No Date. History of Pleasant Grove. Pg. 2 Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
NPS (National Park Service).
1995. National Register of Historic Places. National Parks Service, United States Department of the Interior, National Register, Digital Assets. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=a601b042-a039-4780-94df-57f1c5e7ce1 (accessed December 8, 2019)
NPS (National Park Service).
1996. Bear River Massacre Site: Idaho, United States Department of the Interior, http://npshistory.com/publications/srs/bear-river-massacre-srs-ea.pdf (accessed November 29, 2019)
Overlade, Emma Weeks.
1965. Merchandising in Pleasant Grove, Utah. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
School.
No Date. A Short History of Old Bell School 1864 - 1986. Utah History Archives; Utah County; Pleasant Grove; A Short History of Old Bell School. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
Walker, Joyce Clark.
2000. George Sheffer Clark - 1847 - filed Pioneer Home on State Historical Register. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Water.
No Date. Water (Utah). Utah History Archives; Utah County; Pleasant Grove; Water (Utah). International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
West, Viola.
1934. Know Your Utah. The Deseret News, Saturday Issue, October 13, 1934.
Jonathen Green
Salt Lake Community College
ANTH 2530 Historical Archaeology
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D.
December 10, 2019
The Significance of Historic Pleasant Grove
Historical Background of the Site
Almost immediately after the Mormon people immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young set his sights upon exploiting the fertile Utah Valley to the south. In August 1847, Brigham Young sent a team of seven men south on horseback to explore the Utah Valley and report back on its future potential. Upon their return to Salt Lake, they spoke of a fertile country that was fit for farming communities. (Freeman, 1990) (West, 1934)
On July 19, 1850, Brigham Young sent three men, William H. Adams, John Mercer, and Philo T. Farnsworth, to the Utah Valley to locate settlements. They traveled east on “the old Indian trail” until they reached a grove of Cottonwood trees bordering Grove Creek. (Freeman, 1990)
According to pioneer Joseph H. Adams, Farnsworth and Mercer explored the two flowing mountain streams of Grove Creek and Battle Creek and found within their canyons game, timber, and brush for wood. Adams, who was a stonemason, located the Provo River to the south, where he reported tall and straight trees suitable for building log houses and abundant rocks for house foundations. They returned to Salt Lake City on July 24, 1850 (Freeman, 1990).
On September 8, they made their report to a special conference in Salt Lake, after which Brigham immediately ordered that the area should be settled. (Walker, 2000)
On the evening of September 13, the first seven settler families arrived in Pleasant Grove by wagon (Walker, 2000) and were followed shortly afterward by Adams, Farnsworth, and Mercer, who had previously staked claims when they had explored the area. (Freeman, 1990)
That first winter, they put their wagon boxes on top of logs and used them as makeshift bedrooms. (Walker, 2000) (Freeman, 1990) They then used their exposed running gears from the wagons to haul logs from the Provo River to begin constructing their log houses. They were not able to finish constructing the first houses until spring 1851. (Freeman, 1990) The William Henry Green family arrived at Pleasant Grove in the fall of 1851 or the spring of 1852. (Driggs, 1948)
The first homes were all one-room, 12-foot by 14-foot log cabins that they roofed with willows and dirt. All of the cabins were oriented to face the west. (Walker, 2000) They called this first settlement “String Town” because all of the farms were located along the “Old Indian Trail” in the shape of a string. (School. n.d.)
They kept their water in their cellars in crockery jars made by the town potter, Horace Roberts. The townspeople sprinkled water across the dirt floors of their cellars in the mornings to lower the room temperature through evaporation. They did this so that they could keep their milk, butter, and water supply cool throughout the day. (Water, n.d.)
In March of 1851, George S. Clark wrote a progress report letter to the Mormon High Council. He titled the letter “Pleasant Grove,” after the grove of cottonwood trees that grew near Grove Creek. This name was later chosen as the name of the city when it was incorporated in January 1855. (Overlade, 1965) (Walker, 2000) (Overlade, 1965) (West, 1934)
In those first years, the people of Pleasant Grove did not have much trouble with the Indians because they took advice from Brigham Young, who had told them to make friends with “the Little Chief” and his band. (Freeman, 1990) However, in 1853, Chief Walker was on the warpath, and the Indians had become troublesome. (West, 1934) (School. n.d.) Brigham Young ordered the people all over Utah to construct forts to protect themselves. (School. n.d.) (West, 1934) (History of, n.d.) (Hayes et al. n.d.)
Because of its shape, String Town was vulnerable to attack. (School, n.d.) So in July 1853, the townspeople began construction of their fort under the direction of George S. Clark. They disassembled their buildings, tore down the “old schoolhouse” and then reconstructed them within the confines of the fort. (Hayes et al. n.d.) (History of, n.d.) The site was chosen near the grove of Cottonwood trees, and was therefore called “Grove Fort.” (Overlade, 1965)
The fort was constructed in the shape of a square. It had a rock wall that was 2 ½ feet thick and 3-5 ft high. (History of, n.d.) Within its confines was a public corral for livestock. It is said that when they were constructing the fort, some Indians stole twenty-three horses from the corral. (Freeman, 1990)
They built a covered wooden water flume that carried water into the fort. Outside of each house, there was an opening in the top of the flume with a lid. Whenever the settlers needed water, they opened the lid and dipped out what they needed. This water was reserved for culinary use only, and livestock was restricted to drinking from ditches that they created outside of the fort. (Water, n.d.)
The location of the public corral is what now encompasses the four blocks containing Pleasant Grove’s main public buildings, including the High School, City Hall, School House, Order Hall, Football Field, and City Park. (Driggs, 1948) .
The central location of the fort was at the address of Center Street and First South on First East. At this place, in 1864, they later built the 3rd iteration of their school after the second schoolhouse burned down. The first portion of the “Old Bell School” building is the west wing and was used as the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum. (School. n.d.)
There are no traces of the wall left, but the stones were later used in other buildings and in the chimney of the replica pioneer cabin that the Daughters of Utah Pioneers created in the park. (Hayes et al. n.d.)
Ten years after the construction of the fort, the Green family was involved in an event at Pleasant Grove. In the afternoon of Saturday, April 11, 1863, a small detachment of U.S. Army troops camped outside of the Grove Fort. They were about six to eight of Col. Patrick Edward Connor’s United States 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry, which were sent to Utah at the onset of the Civil War to protect overland routes (Balance, 2017) . The site of the camp was about one block south of 490 S. and 100 E. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
At about one hour before sundown, the troops saw a group of about forty-three Indians jump over the east wall of the Grove Fort and then move to the south wall just north of where a battle monument now stands. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Connor’s troops engaged with the Indians first by firing a cannon over the heads of the Indians. They then retreated for cover and commandeered the John Green Family home. They ordered Mrs. Sarah Green and her nurse to leave the house. At the time, Mrs. Green had an eight-day-old baby. The baby was Mary Melissa Green, who was born on April 3, 1863, in Pleasant Grove. (Birth Data from the United States 1870 Census and the Provo Daily Herald Obituary.) (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
The Troops pulled up the floorboards of the house to create a defensive trench from which they fired their cannon and their guns at the Indians. The Indians returned fire with their guns and arrows back at the soldiers. The fighting continued for about an hour until it was dark. During the night, the Indians took six of the soldier’s mules and loaded them with baggage from the army supply wagon. They then left. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Although no one was killed in the exchange, many of the furnishings of the house were shredded. Colonel Connor blamed the supply losses and damage on the townspeople of Pleasant Grove because they did not join in on the side of the troops during the skirmish. Connor is quoted as saying that he “wished he had the privilege of laying the town to ashes.” (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
The site of the Indian battle in the John Green home is marked with a monument that is erected at 490 South and 100 East. (Historic Architecture, n.d.)
Although local oral history and news accounts have described the skirmish at Pleasant Grove in isolation, as if it was but a random and unexpected event, the historian Howard Driggs connects it in context to a broader campaign against the Indians.
“Not until the Spring of 1863 — when the Civil War was at its height — and Indian fighting was going on generally all over the west — did Pleasant Grove get another taste of such conflicts. In this case, it was a part of the war that was being waged between soldiers and red tribes wherever these came in contact. More specifically, the fight that occurred in Pleasant Grove during 1863 was a direct aftermath of what happened on Battle Creek near Preston Idaho on January 29, 1863.” (Driggs, 1948)
The event that Driggs refers to here is the Bear River Massacre near the Utah Idaho border. At this place, there is a creek (also now nicknamed Battle Creek) that drains into the Bear River. Here, on January 9, 1863, only three months before the skirmish in Pleasant Grove, Colonel Connor’s United States Army Troops raided a Shoshone village and indiscriminately killed hundreds of men, women, and children there. (NPS, 1996)
Site Name and Location
This site is the Pleasant Grove Historic District. It includes the square made by the streets 100 North, 500 South, 300 East, and 100 West of the city of Pleasant Grove, Utah. Coincidentally, this location approximately bounds where the "Grove Fort" once used to stand. (NPS, 1995)
Current Condition of the Site
This site is both privately owned and publicly owned and is currently in use as busy and growing city. Although the site is on the register, as it is an active city and is constantly changing. Many of its buildings and houses have been remodeled and had additions. Many properties were subdivided and are now new construction since the founding of the city.
Why does this site matter for investigation?
The Historic district is already accounted for in the National Register of Historic Places. It is identified by the number: 95001434. It was made into a Historic District on November 6, 1995.
Although the location includes where Pleasant Grove's "Grove Fort" used to be, the fort was not the reason that this site was selected for the register. After the fort was constructed, the settlers established their earliest community buildings and homes within its boundaries.
Therefore, this location includes many of early Utah's architecturally significant structures, all within a very dense location. They are representative of the Late Victorian, Middle 19th Century Revival, Late 19th Century Revival, and 20th Century Revival architectural styles. Therefore, that site was chosen for the register in 1995 because of its pretty buildings. (NPS, 1995)
Although Historic Pleasant Grove was found to be eligible for the NRHP under the criteria of Significant Architecture, I believe that it should also be eligible for the register under additional expanded criteria. The Pleasant Grove Historic District is also associated with at least two events that are significant to Utah’s history. Additional research into these events may be able to yield additional data about the settlement of our western American frontier.
The construction of the Utah forts represents a unique event in western U.S. settlement when civilians, under the direction of their religious leaders, chose to make and live within forts to protect themselves. Within their walls, often but not always, they then organized their communities in a somewhat equal grid structure according to a common communal code. It has been said that they chose to locate their towns within one day's horse ride of one another. The Mormon people had an abundant awareness of their dependence on one another for survival. Perhaps it was not only rugged individualism that won us the West. Additional research into this behavior may be able to show us that it was this Mormon communal system of cooperation that may have uniquely enabled them to rapidly settle and expand the otherwise difficult and often hostile "Mormon Corridor."
The site of Historic Pleasant Grove also played host to a mostly forgotten Indian skirmish in 1863, that happened during the American Civil War. Although battles with Indian people are certainly not uncommon from this time, I believe that this particular fight may represent something special in our history. The fight occurred within the town but did not include its townspeople. Rather, it was United States Union soldiers that had camped outside of the town, who engaged with a band of Indians at the site. The Indians then took shelter within the Fort, not the townspeople, and the soldiers commandeered a civilian's home. During the skirmish, the townspeople remained neutral. They chose not to assist the soldiers. Oral family history goes even further and suggests that the townspeople may have even sided with the Indians. For example, it is said that the Indian fighters chose to withhold fire while the woman of the commandeered home, Mrs. Green, returned back to the house to retrieve her infant daughter. After the skirmish, it is said that her husband, Mr. Green, was furious with the soldiers, and sought restitution from the Army for the damages against his home. U.S. General Patrick Connor said that he wished he could "lay the town to ashes." Why would Connor say such violent words if he believed his charge was to protect the people from Indians? It is this Mormon defiance, I believe, that may be able to show us something of special historical significance.
I wonder about the Mormon's construction of Grove Fort, its purpose, and the townspeople’s lack of cooperation with the Union soldiers when the fort was tested. What could the Grove Fort tell us about this special time in U.S. history?
When I imagine the described structure of the Grove Fort, I am surprised by its design. If the fort’s purpose was protection from Indians, then why did they construct such a thick wall of stone, and yet leave the wall so short? To me, its thickness seemed to be overkill, and yet its height seemed to be grossly inadequate. Outside the walls of the fort, they dug motes and used them as irrigation ditches to water their cattle. If they were concerned about Indians raiding their livestock, then why would they water them outside of its security?
History tells us that the Grove Fort was not actually much good at dissuading the Indians. They successfully stole horses from it, seemingly easily scaled its short walls, and even fought U.S. soldiers from within its protection. I read several accounts saying that these same Indians had good relations with the settlers and commonly came into the town and peacefully traded with them. If the Mormons were so terrified of the Indians, why would they invite them into their forts as neighbors?
Perhaps the Union Soldiers were not in the Utah Territory only to protect the overland routes from Indian attacks. Maybe they were stationed here to observe, control, and possibly intimidate the Mormons and therefore prevent a Mormon rebellion against the United States.
Maybe the fort’s purpose was not only to protect from arrows, but instead to also guard against bullets and cannon fire? When looked at through that lens, it seems to me that the wall height may have actually been ideal for supporting a Mormon rebellion. It would have provided excellent cover to farmers with rifles who were not trained soldiers, who could have used it to kneel behind while they reloaded their weapons, then quickly stood up and shot at an unprotected army.
The settlers also constructed a specialized water system to bring water directly into their fort. The Mormon people are still known today for their policy of storing up emergency supplies. I wonder if the forts of Utah may have actually been constructed to protect against more than just Walker and Blackhawk. In addition to fighting Indians, were the forts of Utah also designed to counter additional perceived threats such as siege warfare launched by larger states?
The Mormon people chose to make an exodus from the United States deep into what was Mexican territory inhabited by indigenous people they regarded as savages. Here they planned to establish a new Zion in what they hoped would later become their self-sufficient and independent State of Deseret. They had their own private Militia, the Nauvoo Legion, and allegedly a secret police of assassins commonly called the Danites. In addition to being a communal people, the Mormons were also ruggedly independent people. I believe that the Grove Fort and its Indian skirmish of 1863 may be able to reveal to us some of that ruggedly independent spirit of the Mormon people, and their unique and fluid relationship with their neighbors.
Research Questions
- Why were the Mormon people so successful at settling the Mormon Corridor? How did they expand so rapidly, and what advantages or disadvantages did their belief system afford them in this endeavor?
- How were Mormon fortifications designed? What might this design reveal about their purpose or the beliefs of the people who made them?
- How was the fort organized? Where were its walls? Were the residential homes inside of the walls or outside of them? How was property shaped? Did each member of the town have the same lots? Were their homes similar, or did some have grander homes than others? If so, who and why? Where did they locate their public places and which were built first? How were these constructed and used by the people? How were the livestock managed in relation to the fort? Did they keep munitions or rations? If so, where were these stored?
- What was the Mormon people’s relationship with their neighbors? What was their relationship with the indigenous people? How did that relationship change over time? How did the Mormon people regard the U.S. Army and its presence at Camp Douglas? How did the Army feel about being stationed in Utah, instead of fighting in the East during the War? Did the federal government fear a Mormon rebellion? If so, was that fear justified?
Methods
Remnants of the Grove Fort would be difficult to locate. Boy Scouts of America and Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected monuments at its corner boundaries. It is believed that its rock walls were disassembled and then incorporated into many of Pleasant Grove’s buildings. The Daughters of Utah Pioneers claimed that they used stones from the wall to construct the chimney of a replica of a String Town pioneer cabin in Pioneer Park. (Hayes, 1933) As the park and some of the ball fields are still undeveloped and publicly owned, they might be good candidates for archaeological survey or excavation.
I do not know if any of the earliest buildings still exist. If any do, I might be able to measure their distances from one another to discern any patterns possibly. For example, if they are proportional, that might reveal that they had equidistant spacing.
The location of the 1863 skirmish is marked with a placard. I believe the John Green home is gone, but perhaps there are still material remains from the battle in the soil of that location.
Summary
I believe that the site of Historic Pleasant Grove is significant for more than only its special architecture. I think that it represents, and may even be able to speak to, the heritage of the Mormon Pioneers, and the struggles that they have overcome in order to settle the towns of Utah County.
References
Balance, Captain Jim.
2017. Californians and the Military: Major General Patrick Edward Connor. California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve. http://www.militarymuseum.org/Conner.html (accessed November 29, 2019)
Driggs, Howard R.
1948. Timpanogos Town The Story of Old Battle Creek and Pleasant Grove Utah. The Clark Press, Manchester, N.H.
Freeman, Alice P.
1990. Pleasant Grove Beginnings. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove/Battle Creek. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Hayes, Rose Brown.
1933. Log Cabin Monument: A Tribute to the Pioneers and Early Settlers of Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Hayes, Rose Brown. Waker, Lucile Harvey.
No Date. Locality History of Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Historic Architecture.
No Date. Historic Architecture & Sites of Pleasant Grove Walking Tour Guide. Site #51 and Site #52. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
History of.
No Date. History of Pleasant Grove. Pg. 2 Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
NPS (National Park Service).
1995. National Register of Historic Places. National Parks Service, United States Department of the Interior, National Register, Digital Assets. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=a601b042-a039-4780-94df-57f1c5e7ce1 (accessed December 8, 2019)
NPS (National Park Service).
1996. Bear River Massacre Site: Idaho, United States Department of the Interior, http://npshistory.com/publications/srs/bear-river-massacre-srs-ea.pdf (accessed November 29, 2019)
Overlade, Emma Weeks.
1965. Merchandising in Pleasant Grove, Utah. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
School.
No Date. A Short History of Old Bell School 1864 - 1986. Utah History Archives; Utah County; Pleasant Grove; A Short History of Old Bell School. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
Walker, Joyce Clark.
2000. George Sheffer Clark - 1847 - filed Pioneer Home on State Historical Register. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Water.
No Date. Water (Utah). Utah History Archives; Utah County; Pleasant Grove; Water (Utah). International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Unknown Author. Unknown Date.
West, Viola.
1934. Know Your Utah. The Deseret News, Saturday Issue, October 13, 1934.
The Massacre of Battle Creek
Jonathen Green
Salt Lake Community College
ANTH 2530 Historical Archaeology
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D.
December 10, 2019
The Indian Massacre at Battle Creek Canyon
A year after the Mormon immigration, the Indian fight at Battle Creek canyon became the first Mormon and Indian conflict in Utah. It was the inciting event of what would later escalate into the Blackhawk Indian Wars. (Driggs, 1948)
On the evening of Wednesday, February 28, 1849, Daniel Spencer, president of the Salt Lake City Stake of the LDS Church, called for an expedition of fifty men to go to Utah Valley against some Indians. Spencer accused the Indians of stealing horses from Brigham Young’s herd. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948) (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) (Walker, 2000) (West, 1934)
The next day, Spencer ordered about a hundred horses driven down from the North to use for the expedition. (Stout, 1889)
“In this case, the law imposing a fine of 25 dollars, for driving a horse from his range without leave from his owner was suspended by the President because the emergency of the case was such that the oweners could not be seen in time.” (Stout, 1889)
That day, however, they could only raise thirty-one men for the expedition. At noon, Spencer ordered the team out under the command of Captain John Scott (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889), who was a former bodyguard of Joseph Smith and Lt. Colonel of the Mormon’s private Militia, the Nauvoo Legion. (Scott, 2018)
“his orders were simply to take such measures as would put a final end to their depredations in the future.” (Stout, 1889)
That night they camped at Cottonwood Canyon near what is now Sandy, Utah. Lt. Col. Scott was able to recruit four more volunteers. The company total was thirty-five men. At about nine-o-clock, a courier informed them that the horses had not been stolen. Later at about midnight, the company received a letter from President Spencer telling them that because the horses were not stolen, they should not waste any time looking for the horses. Instead, they should continue their pursuit because the Indians had now been accused of killing cattle. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948) (Stout, 1889) (West, 1934)
“...but to proceed with the Indians for killing cattle as had been before directed so that the nature of our expedition was not in the least changed.” (Stout, 1889)
That morning they moved on to camp at the Orr & West cattle herd at Willow Creek, which is now Draper Utah. There they received word again from a herd boy, confirming that Brigham’s horses had not been stolen but instead had been found and then returned to Brigham’s herd. At Willow Creek, the men had become very hungry and therefore voted unanimously to kill and eat one of Parley P. Pratt’s cattle without his permission. (Stout, 1889)
“Thus suspending the law as did president Spencer & for the same reason to wit that the expedition should not fail while means were in our reach to carry it on.” (Stout, 1889)
On Saturday, they split into three groups. They traveled all day across the Utah Valley, searching for Indians, but not finding any. (Stout, 1889)
On Sunday, they continued south to the Provo River. On each side of the Provo River, there were two villages. "Little Chief" was the leader of one village, and "Stick-in-the-Head," was the leader of the other (Carter, 2003).
They went to Little Chief’s Village of about two-hundred friendly Indians that they called the “Utahs.” (Driggs, 1948) (Gottfredson, 1969) (West, 1934). Stout and Huntington say that the people in the village were “wonderfully frightened to see our martial array and order on horseback.” (Carter, 2003) They spent about an hour talking with Little Chief,
“When Dimick B. Huntington, the interpreter, told the Chief the purpose of the visit, the Indian leader stoutly denied that any of his followers were guilty of cattle stealing. It was a band of renegades over whom he had no control. They were bad Indians, he further asserted, and deserved to be killed.” (Driggs, 1948)
Little Chief agreed to send his two sons to guide the expedition north to a camp of Indians that Little Chief said they pursued. Hosea Stout believed the Utahs had banished the group. (Stout, 1889)
“This little band had separated themselves from the rest because they were determined to live by stealing from the whites while the rest were friendly and would not suffer it. They had for some time been very insolent, and some of them had even shot at some of the whites. I suppose that the women were afraid of the Utahs.” (Stout, 1889)
Little Chief’s two sons insisted that the company should travel to the camp immediately that night before anybody could go and warn them and if they did not, that they would go themselves (presumably to warn them). (Stout, 1889)
“We all concluded to go forthwith according to their plan & so we was soon on the move again, traveling up the Provo. The night was clear & a bright moon shone beautifully as we traveled along.” (Stout, 1889)
That night they followed their guides several miles north along the Utah County benchlands until, at about two hours before the dawn, they reached “the first creek North of the Provo River.” There they found a camp of Indians. (Stout, 1889)
They camped near the mouth of what is now called Battle Creek Canyon, east of Pleasant Grove. The creek ran amid willows and dense brushwood in a deep ravine. The Indians had pitched willow-and-hide lodges in an open area on the north side of the creek in one of its former channels. (Carter, 2003)
The camp consisted of seventeen people, four men, a teenage boy, and twelve women and children. (Carter, 2003) (Stout, 1889) They had two lodges under the leadership of Kone, whom the Mormons called “Roman Nose,” and another man that they called “Blue Shirt.” (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889)
“All things being ready now, we only waited the dawn of day to attack them.” (Stout, 1889)
On Monday morning, March 5, 1849, at twilight, they divided their company into four parts and quietly surrounded the Indian camp. At dawn, after they had surrounded the camp, the Indians discovered their situation. (Carter, 2003) They packed up their baggage and tried every way to escape, but could not. (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) The Mormon interpreters and the Indians shouted back and forth for a long time but were unable to come to negotiations. (Carter, 2003) (Stout, 1889)
“Huntington, the interpreter, then called to them to come out. The white men, he told the surprised encampment, were not there to fight, but to find out about the cattle the band had stolen. At this, their leader, a large brave called Roman Nose, appeared gun in hand, yelling that it was a lie. They had stolen no cattle.” (Driggs, 1948)
Hosea Stout claimed that the Indians then fired upon the company first, and then the Mormon company returned fire. (Stout, 1889)
“The battle now commenced in good earnest, and in a few moments, one of the Indians was killed and several wounded.” (Stout, 1889)
The leader Kone “Roman Nose” was the first to die. The Mormons shot an overwhelming volley at Roman Nose. One of the shots passed through his neck, and another shot blew off the top of his head. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948)
“Blue Shirt” picked up Roman Nose’s gun and returned fire. (Driggs, 1948) The Indians then retreated into cover in the willows below their camp, in the freezing creek. (Carter,2003) From there, the fighting continued on and off for two hours. (Stout, 1889)
In order to figure out where the Indians were hiding, the Mormon Militia gathered stones, formed a tight circle, and hurled the rocks into the bushes at them. (Stout, 1889)
"We could hear the women and men talk and knew just where they were located, and when the circle was sufficiently contracted, the order was given for every man to shower the rocks upon them. They soon cried for quarters, and all the women and children came out. That was a new mode of war, a very unexpected and unpleasant way of being killed, but the men preferred the old method." - Oliver B. Huntington (Carter, 2003)
The women were bruised and bleeding.
“Two of the women were wounded on the head with stones which we had thrown into the brush to ascertain where they were hid.” (Stout, 1889)
During the fight, another band of Timpanogos Indians, led by “Stick-in-the-Head,” heard the noises and came to the camp. They took a position on an elevation and vainly urged the besieged Indians to come that way. (Carter, 2003) (Gottfredson, 1969)
The women, who had been hiding in the creek, had nearly frozen to death. (Stout, 1889)
“Some of the Squaws were at length found couch in the water under the thick brush & were induced to come out. They were in a most deplorable situation. Having been in the water about an hour & a half, they were nearley froze. We kindled up a fire for them, which rendered them more comfortable. By sending these back, we soon prevailed on the rest to come out also, and soon 13 women & children came out, among the rest, a lad about sixteen gave up. He had fought manfully during the engagement.” (Stout, 1889)
One of these women, a girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, told the interpreter that her beloved brother was hiding in the ravine and pleaded to save him. They told her that if she brought him out, they would let him live. She retrieved him and brought him to the interpreter Dimick B. Huntington. (Carter, 2003)
Last to appear was a boy, about eighteen years of age. He trembled with fear as he approached the men, expecting death at their hands. (Driggs, 1948)
The boy said to the interpreter. "Go away; what you here for? Go way. You kill my father, my brother — what for? Go way; let us alone. What you here for? (Carter, 2003)
Huntington answered him, "We are here to open your ears so that you will hear. We said to you long time ago, don't kill our cattle. You kill them all the time now — you will hear good. How many guns Indians got down there in the brush?" (Carter, 2003)
The boy told him that they had only one gun. Dimick told him to go retrieve it, but the boy replied, "No, you go get it if you want it." (Carter, 2003)
"Dimick took the young brave by the ear, thinking, no doubt, that it was easier to scare him into getting the gun than to get it some other way, and much safer. So he gave the ear a vicious pull, and bringing a revolver into prominent position, said: 'You have no good ears to hear. Get me that gun or I will open your ears and you will hear.'" - Oliver Huntington (Carter, 2003)
The boy returned to the ravine, and after some conversation with the remaining Indian men, he returned with the gun, where he defiantly threw it to the ground where its stock broke off. (Carter, 2003)
Shortly after they had surrendered their gun, the remaining men then attempted to flee up the hill toward "Stick-in-the-Head’s" group of Timpanogos, who were gathered there yelling encouragement to them. There, as the Timpanogos watched from above, the Mormons shot the three men down as they fled. (Carter, 2003)
Oliver Huntington said that "Blue Shirt was running at the speed of a horse [when he] fell from a shot which unjointed his neck." The Mormons later counted eighteen bullet holes in his body. (Carter, 2003)
“Thus ended the battle without one of our men even being hurt although they shot hundreds of arrows at us sometimes at only a few yards distance.” (Stout, 1889)
They claimed that they later found thirteen or fifteen hides of beef in the Indian’s camp as proof of the Indian’s “depredations.”(Gottfredson, 1969) The party then piled up the bodies. (Carter, 2003)
Little Chief came up to the battlefield on his horse that was soaked with sweat when he arrived. There he was overcome with guilt and grief when he saw the scene. (Carter, 2003)
"The old man howled, cried, moaned, hollowed, screamed, and smote his breast in the greatest agony of mind he came to us. He blamed himself and cursed the whites." - Oliver Huntington (Carter, 2003)
In his agony, Little Chief gave them men a warning about the teenaged boy they had spared.
"He also said we did wrong in not killing the lad, for he would kill a white man yet for revenge." (Stout, 1889)
Accounts differ on what happened to the teenage boy whose life had been spared, but at least one account suggests that he went on to become one of the most prominent Indian leaders in all of Utah History. According to historian Howard Driggs,
“Joshua Terry, a pioneer of 1847, and a mountain man who married into an Indian tribe, once told the writer (Howard Driggs) that this Indian boy became the warring Chief Blackhawk. When peace came, after the Blackhawk War of the later eighteen sixties, this Chief, Terry declared, told him that he was this same boy taken after the fight on Battle Creek. He could never understand why the white men had shot down his people. It put bitterness in his heart; and though he lived for some time with the white people, his mind was ever set on avenging the wrong. That is why he later made war against them.” (Driggs, 1948)
On March 6, the expedition returned to Salt Lake City. (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) A month later, In April 1849, Brigham Young sent out a party to create a settlement at Provo, and Fort Utah was founded. (Gottfredson, 1969)
Oliver Huntington said that the objective of their campaign to Battle Creek was to "teach all the Indians around us a lasting lesson," and he believed that they were successful in that mission. Historian Robert Carter, on the other hand, suggests that they did not teach the Indians the lesson that they had intended. In his book, Founding Fort Utah, he says that Stick-in-the-Head, Old Elk, and the other Timpanogos who had helplessly watched the fray from the hillside had instead learned to carry a "smoldering and enduring hatred for white men." Carter believes that this hatred was one of the critical factors that lead to the Timpanogos resistance at Fort Utah, where a year later, the ugliest Indian battle in all of Utah occurred. (Carter, 2003)
References
Carter, Robert D.
2003. Founding Fort Utah: Provo’s Native Inhabitants, Early Explorers, and First Year of Settlement. Provo City Corporation.
Driggs, Howard R.
1948. Timpanogos Town The Story of Old Battle Creek and Pleasant Grove Utah. The Clark Press, Manchester, N.H.
Gottfredson, Peter.
1969. Indian Depredations in Utah. 2nd Edition. Private Printing 1969. Salt Lake City Utah.
Scott, Kent D.
2018. Lt. Colonel John Scott. Geni.com https://www.geni.com/people/Lt-Colonel-John-Scott/6000000007287183172 (accessed November 23, 2019).
Stout, Hosea.
1889. On the Mormon Frontier The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844-1889. Edited By Jaunita Brooks. The University of Utah Press. Utah State State Historical Society. Salt Lake City Utah. 2009.
Walker, Joyce Clark.
2000. George Sheffer Clark - 1847 - filed Pioneer Home on State Historical Register. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
West, Viola.
1934. Know Your Utah. The Deseret News, Saturday Issue, October 13, 1934.
Jonathen Green
Salt Lake Community College
ANTH 2530 Historical Archaeology
Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D.
December 10, 2019
The Indian Massacre at Battle Creek Canyon
A year after the Mormon immigration, the Indian fight at Battle Creek canyon became the first Mormon and Indian conflict in Utah. It was the inciting event of what would later escalate into the Blackhawk Indian Wars. (Driggs, 1948)
On the evening of Wednesday, February 28, 1849, Daniel Spencer, president of the Salt Lake City Stake of the LDS Church, called for an expedition of fifty men to go to Utah Valley against some Indians. Spencer accused the Indians of stealing horses from Brigham Young’s herd. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948) (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) (Walker, 2000) (West, 1934)
The next day, Spencer ordered about a hundred horses driven down from the North to use for the expedition. (Stout, 1889)
“In this case, the law imposing a fine of 25 dollars, for driving a horse from his range without leave from his owner was suspended by the President because the emergency of the case was such that the oweners could not be seen in time.” (Stout, 1889)
That day, however, they could only raise thirty-one men for the expedition. At noon, Spencer ordered the team out under the command of Captain John Scott (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889), who was a former bodyguard of Joseph Smith and Lt. Colonel of the Mormon’s private Militia, the Nauvoo Legion. (Scott, 2018)
“his orders were simply to take such measures as would put a final end to their depredations in the future.” (Stout, 1889)
That night they camped at Cottonwood Canyon near what is now Sandy, Utah. Lt. Col. Scott was able to recruit four more volunteers. The company total was thirty-five men. At about nine-o-clock, a courier informed them that the horses had not been stolen. Later at about midnight, the company received a letter from President Spencer telling them that because the horses were not stolen, they should not waste any time looking for the horses. Instead, they should continue their pursuit because the Indians had now been accused of killing cattle. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948) (Stout, 1889) (West, 1934)
“...but to proceed with the Indians for killing cattle as had been before directed so that the nature of our expedition was not in the least changed.” (Stout, 1889)
That morning they moved on to camp at the Orr & West cattle herd at Willow Creek, which is now Draper Utah. There they received word again from a herd boy, confirming that Brigham’s horses had not been stolen but instead had been found and then returned to Brigham’s herd. At Willow Creek, the men had become very hungry and therefore voted unanimously to kill and eat one of Parley P. Pratt’s cattle without his permission. (Stout, 1889)
“Thus suspending the law as did president Spencer & for the same reason to wit that the expedition should not fail while means were in our reach to carry it on.” (Stout, 1889)
On Saturday, they split into three groups. They traveled all day across the Utah Valley, searching for Indians, but not finding any. (Stout, 1889)
On Sunday, they continued south to the Provo River. On each side of the Provo River, there were two villages. "Little Chief" was the leader of one village, and "Stick-in-the-Head," was the leader of the other (Carter, 2003).
They went to Little Chief’s Village of about two-hundred friendly Indians that they called the “Utahs.” (Driggs, 1948) (Gottfredson, 1969) (West, 1934). Stout and Huntington say that the people in the village were “wonderfully frightened to see our martial array and order on horseback.” (Carter, 2003) They spent about an hour talking with Little Chief,
“When Dimick B. Huntington, the interpreter, told the Chief the purpose of the visit, the Indian leader stoutly denied that any of his followers were guilty of cattle stealing. It was a band of renegades over whom he had no control. They were bad Indians, he further asserted, and deserved to be killed.” (Driggs, 1948)
Little Chief agreed to send his two sons to guide the expedition north to a camp of Indians that Little Chief said they pursued. Hosea Stout believed the Utahs had banished the group. (Stout, 1889)
“This little band had separated themselves from the rest because they were determined to live by stealing from the whites while the rest were friendly and would not suffer it. They had for some time been very insolent, and some of them had even shot at some of the whites. I suppose that the women were afraid of the Utahs.” (Stout, 1889)
Little Chief’s two sons insisted that the company should travel to the camp immediately that night before anybody could go and warn them and if they did not, that they would go themselves (presumably to warn them). (Stout, 1889)
“We all concluded to go forthwith according to their plan & so we was soon on the move again, traveling up the Provo. The night was clear & a bright moon shone beautifully as we traveled along.” (Stout, 1889)
That night they followed their guides several miles north along the Utah County benchlands until, at about two hours before the dawn, they reached “the first creek North of the Provo River.” There they found a camp of Indians. (Stout, 1889)
They camped near the mouth of what is now called Battle Creek Canyon, east of Pleasant Grove. The creek ran amid willows and dense brushwood in a deep ravine. The Indians had pitched willow-and-hide lodges in an open area on the north side of the creek in one of its former channels. (Carter, 2003)
The camp consisted of seventeen people, four men, a teenage boy, and twelve women and children. (Carter, 2003) (Stout, 1889) They had two lodges under the leadership of Kone, whom the Mormons called “Roman Nose,” and another man that they called “Blue Shirt.” (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889)
“All things being ready now, we only waited the dawn of day to attack them.” (Stout, 1889)
On Monday morning, March 5, 1849, at twilight, they divided their company into four parts and quietly surrounded the Indian camp. At dawn, after they had surrounded the camp, the Indians discovered their situation. (Carter, 2003) They packed up their baggage and tried every way to escape, but could not. (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) The Mormon interpreters and the Indians shouted back and forth for a long time but were unable to come to negotiations. (Carter, 2003) (Stout, 1889)
“Huntington, the interpreter, then called to them to come out. The white men, he told the surprised encampment, were not there to fight, but to find out about the cattle the band had stolen. At this, their leader, a large brave called Roman Nose, appeared gun in hand, yelling that it was a lie. They had stolen no cattle.” (Driggs, 1948)
Hosea Stout claimed that the Indians then fired upon the company first, and then the Mormon company returned fire. (Stout, 1889)
“The battle now commenced in good earnest, and in a few moments, one of the Indians was killed and several wounded.” (Stout, 1889)
The leader Kone “Roman Nose” was the first to die. The Mormons shot an overwhelming volley at Roman Nose. One of the shots passed through his neck, and another shot blew off the top of his head. (Carter, 2003) (Driggs, 1948)
“Blue Shirt” picked up Roman Nose’s gun and returned fire. (Driggs, 1948) The Indians then retreated into cover in the willows below their camp, in the freezing creek. (Carter,2003) From there, the fighting continued on and off for two hours. (Stout, 1889)
In order to figure out where the Indians were hiding, the Mormon Militia gathered stones, formed a tight circle, and hurled the rocks into the bushes at them. (Stout, 1889)
"We could hear the women and men talk and knew just where they were located, and when the circle was sufficiently contracted, the order was given for every man to shower the rocks upon them. They soon cried for quarters, and all the women and children came out. That was a new mode of war, a very unexpected and unpleasant way of being killed, but the men preferred the old method." - Oliver B. Huntington (Carter, 2003)
The women were bruised and bleeding.
“Two of the women were wounded on the head with stones which we had thrown into the brush to ascertain where they were hid.” (Stout, 1889)
During the fight, another band of Timpanogos Indians, led by “Stick-in-the-Head,” heard the noises and came to the camp. They took a position on an elevation and vainly urged the besieged Indians to come that way. (Carter, 2003) (Gottfredson, 1969)
The women, who had been hiding in the creek, had nearly frozen to death. (Stout, 1889)
“Some of the Squaws were at length found couch in the water under the thick brush & were induced to come out. They were in a most deplorable situation. Having been in the water about an hour & a half, they were nearley froze. We kindled up a fire for them, which rendered them more comfortable. By sending these back, we soon prevailed on the rest to come out also, and soon 13 women & children came out, among the rest, a lad about sixteen gave up. He had fought manfully during the engagement.” (Stout, 1889)
One of these women, a girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, told the interpreter that her beloved brother was hiding in the ravine and pleaded to save him. They told her that if she brought him out, they would let him live. She retrieved him and brought him to the interpreter Dimick B. Huntington. (Carter, 2003)
Last to appear was a boy, about eighteen years of age. He trembled with fear as he approached the men, expecting death at their hands. (Driggs, 1948)
The boy said to the interpreter. "Go away; what you here for? Go way. You kill my father, my brother — what for? Go way; let us alone. What you here for? (Carter, 2003)
Huntington answered him, "We are here to open your ears so that you will hear. We said to you long time ago, don't kill our cattle. You kill them all the time now — you will hear good. How many guns Indians got down there in the brush?" (Carter, 2003)
The boy told him that they had only one gun. Dimick told him to go retrieve it, but the boy replied, "No, you go get it if you want it." (Carter, 2003)
"Dimick took the young brave by the ear, thinking, no doubt, that it was easier to scare him into getting the gun than to get it some other way, and much safer. So he gave the ear a vicious pull, and bringing a revolver into prominent position, said: 'You have no good ears to hear. Get me that gun or I will open your ears and you will hear.'" - Oliver Huntington (Carter, 2003)
The boy returned to the ravine, and after some conversation with the remaining Indian men, he returned with the gun, where he defiantly threw it to the ground where its stock broke off. (Carter, 2003)
Shortly after they had surrendered their gun, the remaining men then attempted to flee up the hill toward "Stick-in-the-Head’s" group of Timpanogos, who were gathered there yelling encouragement to them. There, as the Timpanogos watched from above, the Mormons shot the three men down as they fled. (Carter, 2003)
Oliver Huntington said that "Blue Shirt was running at the speed of a horse [when he] fell from a shot which unjointed his neck." The Mormons later counted eighteen bullet holes in his body. (Carter, 2003)
“Thus ended the battle without one of our men even being hurt although they shot hundreds of arrows at us sometimes at only a few yards distance.” (Stout, 1889)
They claimed that they later found thirteen or fifteen hides of beef in the Indian’s camp as proof of the Indian’s “depredations.”(Gottfredson, 1969) The party then piled up the bodies. (Carter, 2003)
Little Chief came up to the battlefield on his horse that was soaked with sweat when he arrived. There he was overcome with guilt and grief when he saw the scene. (Carter, 2003)
"The old man howled, cried, moaned, hollowed, screamed, and smote his breast in the greatest agony of mind he came to us. He blamed himself and cursed the whites." - Oliver Huntington (Carter, 2003)
In his agony, Little Chief gave them men a warning about the teenaged boy they had spared.
"He also said we did wrong in not killing the lad, for he would kill a white man yet for revenge." (Stout, 1889)
Accounts differ on what happened to the teenage boy whose life had been spared, but at least one account suggests that he went on to become one of the most prominent Indian leaders in all of Utah History. According to historian Howard Driggs,
“Joshua Terry, a pioneer of 1847, and a mountain man who married into an Indian tribe, once told the writer (Howard Driggs) that this Indian boy became the warring Chief Blackhawk. When peace came, after the Blackhawk War of the later eighteen sixties, this Chief, Terry declared, told him that he was this same boy taken after the fight on Battle Creek. He could never understand why the white men had shot down his people. It put bitterness in his heart; and though he lived for some time with the white people, his mind was ever set on avenging the wrong. That is why he later made war against them.” (Driggs, 1948)
On March 6, the expedition returned to Salt Lake City. (Gottfredson, 1969) (Stout, 1889) A month later, In April 1849, Brigham Young sent out a party to create a settlement at Provo, and Fort Utah was founded. (Gottfredson, 1969)
Oliver Huntington said that the objective of their campaign to Battle Creek was to "teach all the Indians around us a lasting lesson," and he believed that they were successful in that mission. Historian Robert Carter, on the other hand, suggests that they did not teach the Indians the lesson that they had intended. In his book, Founding Fort Utah, he says that Stick-in-the-Head, Old Elk, and the other Timpanogos who had helplessly watched the fray from the hillside had instead learned to carry a "smoldering and enduring hatred for white men." Carter believes that this hatred was one of the critical factors that lead to the Timpanogos resistance at Fort Utah, where a year later, the ugliest Indian battle in all of Utah occurred. (Carter, 2003)
References
Carter, Robert D.
2003. Founding Fort Utah: Provo’s Native Inhabitants, Early Explorers, and First Year of Settlement. Provo City Corporation.
Driggs, Howard R.
1948. Timpanogos Town The Story of Old Battle Creek and Pleasant Grove Utah. The Clark Press, Manchester, N.H.
Gottfredson, Peter.
1969. Indian Depredations in Utah. 2nd Edition. Private Printing 1969. Salt Lake City Utah.
Scott, Kent D.
2018. Lt. Colonel John Scott. Geni.com https://www.geni.com/people/Lt-Colonel-John-Scott/6000000007287183172 (accessed November 23, 2019).
Stout, Hosea.
1889. On the Mormon Frontier The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844-1889. Edited By Jaunita Brooks. The University of Utah Press. Utah State State Historical Society. Salt Lake City Utah. 2009.
Walker, Joyce Clark.
2000. George Sheffer Clark - 1847 - filed Pioneer Home on State Historical Register. Locality History; Utah; Pleasant Grove. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
West, Viola.
1934. Know Your Utah. The Deseret News, Saturday Issue, October 13, 1934.