Battle at Fort Utah facts for kids
The Battle at Fort Utah (also known as Fort Utah War or Provo War) was a battle between the Timpanogos Tribe and remnants of the Nauvoo Legion at Fort Utah in modern-day Provo, Utah. The Timpanogos people initially tolerated the presence of the settlers, and the two groups enjoyed some moments of mutual friendship. However, after three Mormons murdered a Timpanogos man called Old Bishop and a hard winter where Timpanogos took around 50 Mormon cattle, settlers in Fort Utah petitioned to go to war with the Timpanogos. Isaac Higbee, Parley P. Pratt and Willard Richards convinced Brigham Young to exterminate any Timpanogos hostile to the Mormon settlement. Young sent the Nauvoo Legion down with Captain George D. Grant and later sent General Daniel H. Wells to lead the army. After the Timpanogos defended themselves from their village and an abandoned cabin, they fled their camp. The Mormons pursued the Timpanogos from Chief Old Elk's tribe and any other Timpanogos they found in the valley, killing Timpanogos from Chief Pareyarts or Para-yah (Old Elk)'s tribe and other tribes even if they had no history of attacking the Mormons. The Nauvoo Legion killed around 100 Timpanogos.
Aftermath
The prisoners, including those who sought shelter in the fort before the war, were left in the cold under the fort's cannon, some of whom were dying from exposure. William Potter, who was upset at the condition, petitioned for blankets for the prisoners, which were eventually given. More than forty prisoners, mostly women and children, were taken and placed with Mormon families "as servants" in Salt Lake City "for the purpose of weaning them from their savage pursuits, and bringing them up in the habits of civilized and Christian life". It did not go as planned, as many died and most escaped to live with other Ute bands, especially in the spring. News of the enslavement reached the US Government, and became one of the first priorities of Edward Cooper after he was appointed as Indian Agent of Utah later that year.
