Book Review

At dawn on January 29, 1863 Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led a group of about 200 Union volunteer soldiers into an attack on a village of about 500 Shoshone men, women, and children. In retaliation for previous attacks on the United States Postal Service, the soldiers proceeded to raid the village, slaughter as many Indians as possible, and ravish numerous women, both dead and alive. The total death toll for the Unites States Union soldiers came to a total of about 25 men, while the Shoshone casualties totaled over 250 men, women, and children, including the Chief Bear Hunter. This vicious bloodshed is known as the Bear River Massacre, or the Massacre at Boa Ogoi. It is said that this massacre is one of the worst massacres of Native Americans in the history of the West. But what events lead to this cataclysmic outcome? Of course, the hundreds of years of white pressure on Indians to move onto smaller and smaller lands created tensions and violence all over the country. But what events immediately preceding the Bear River Massacre caused the whites to act as viciously and as quickly as they did? What enabled this Union victory to come so easily? The sources cited in this Pathfinder were used to answer these questions, and are available to anyone wishing to learn more about the Bear River Massacre.

Primary Sources

Beach, William. "View of the Battle field on Bear River Washington Territory, January 29th 1863 between California volunteers and Indians." Utah Historical Quarterly. 67 (1999): 304
This map was drawn by William Beach, who fought against the Shoshoni during the Bear River Massacre. It is featured in the article "The Bear River Massacre: New Historical Evidence" by Harold Schindler. It shows how the Shoshoni were cornered between the Bear River and hills behind them.

---. Manuscript of William Beach. 14 February 1863. Utah Historical Quarterly. 67 (1999): 302, 306-308
This manuscript provides a first hand account of the massacre. This manuscript also initiated a lot of skepticism on the fairness of the battle, as it was thought to be. The manuscript provides evidence that what happened at Bear River was a massacre.

“The Fight With the Indians.” The Deseret News. 4 February 1863: 5.
This article describes the Bear River Massacre. The newspaper is Mormon, and therefore a little biased.

Photo of General Patrick E. Connor. "The Bear River Massacre: New Historical Evidence." Utah Historical Quarterly. 67 (1999): 300
The date of this photo is unknown, but it is apparent that it was taken after the Bear River Massacre. Here, General Connor is decorated with many military medals. This reflects how many of the whites accepted the Bear River Massacre. Because the area was populated by Mormons, they were grateful to Connor.

Photo of Unidentified Shoshoni. "The Bear River Massacre: New Historical Evidence." Utah Historical Quarterly. 67 (1999): 300
Being able to put faces to both sides of the massacre helps sympathize with both parties. Dehumanizing the enemy makes violence and hostility easier.

Secondary Sources

Fleisher, Kass. The Bear River Massacre and the Making of History. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press: 2004
In this book, Fleisher concentrates on the aspect of rape in the Massacre. Many historians deny that it happened because it compromises the integrity of the whites. Fleisher makes in a point in her book to expose the secret victimization of the women of that Shoshoni village. It is an interesting read. It also provides a different perspective on the Massacre.

Hatch, Thom. The blue, the gray & the red: Indian campaigns of the Civil War. Mechanisburg, PA.: Stackpole Books, 2003.
This book told the story of the Bear River Massacre with enough detail and background information to make it possible to understand both sides of the story. Although it is evident that extensive research was done in order to write this account, the author still tends to impose his view on which side he sympathizes with.

Madsen, Brigham. Bear River Massacre. Utah History Encyclopedia. 15 April 2006. <http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/b/BEARRIVMASS.html>.
This website give a short overview of the events of the massacre. The account is short enough to gain a basic understanding, yet precise enough to understand the severity and ferociousness of the incident.

Schindler, Harold. "The Bear River Massacre: New Historical Evidence." Utah Historical Quarterly. 67 (1999): 300-308.
This article includes the first-hand account and hand-drawn map of the massacre site by William L. Beach, a white man who took part in the Bear River Massacre. Also, Schindler was one of the first people to recognize the Bear River Massacre as a massacre, and not just a battle.

Smith, Christopher. "Bear River Was Army Massacre." Salt Lake Tribune. 24 January 2000. A1.
This article sheds light onto the long-standing opinion of the Bear River Massacre. Before reading this article, I thought that the Bear River Massacre has always been identified as a massacre. The author, however, points out that previous thought of the massacre was that it was merely a battle and a victory for the United States Union army.

"Bear River Massacre at Boa Ogoi Idaho." American Civil War. 15 April 2006. <http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/id/id001.html>
This website is a useful tool because it breaks down the basic facts into into specific categories. This way the reader can understand what the overall occurance was. This website also has a link to a map of where in Idaho the massacre took place.

"The Bear River Massacre." Last of the Independents. 16 April 2006. <http://www.lastoftheindependents.com/bearriver.htm>
This website is not very informative. In comparison to other pages I've looked at, this one offers little pertinent information. There are almost no exact facts (dates, casualties, participants, etc.) to rely on. Basically, this article tells a vague overview of the massacre. One point of the article is obviously to extract disgust from the reader toward the actions of the whites.

Civil War Battle Summaries by Campaign. 13 January 1999. The American Battlefield Protection Program. 21 April 2006 <http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/ABPP/BATTLES/bycampgn.htm#East63>.
This website was helpful in that it gave a list of all of the battles happening in a certain year by campaign. This made is possible to put the Indian affairs into context with the rest of the United States.

Timeline. CivilWar.com. 20 April 2006 <http://www.civilwar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=66>.
This website provided a timeline of important dates during the Civil War. This made it possible to know other important events, rather than just battles, such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

Welcome to CivilWar.com. CivilWar.com. 20 April 2006 <http://www.civilwar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1>.
This website gave me small details about the casualties of the Civil War. This allowed me to compare the Bear River Massacre to the Civil War.

Jasmine Haghighatian