Isaac Haight—John D. Lee

Command and Local Authority

The account places Haight in several overlapping positions of power in Cedar City: civic mayor, stake president, and commander within the local military organization. On or around the day the Arkansan emigrants arrived in Cedar City, Lee says Haight ordered him to gather the Paiute chiefs who had met with Brigham Young, arm their warriors, and lead an attack on the Fancher train in the mountains south of town. Haight reportedly framed the instruction as the will of those in authority. Lee was therefore not acting alone or merely responding to events at the camp; he was assigned a specific role in an operation directed from Cedar City.

The order joined religious, civic, and military authority in a single local decision. The book describes Cedar City as consumed by rumors about the emigrants, including false claims that members of the train had taken part in earlier violence against Latter-day Saints. In this atmosphere, Haight’s directive transformed suspicion into a military plan. Lee’s role was operational: assemble the forces, reach the emigrants, and lead the attack. The distinction between Haight’s authority and Lee’s field command remains important throughout the episode, especially once the initial plan failed.

Lee’s Field Command and the Failed Ambush

Lee set out on September 5 with a large contingent of Latter-day Saints and Paiutes. They reached the hills above Mountain Meadows the following day and concealed themselves while the emigrants camped near a spring. Before dawn the next morning, the attackers moved toward the camp and took cover. Some of the Latter-day Saint participants had painted their faces to resemble Native people, making the attacking force a mixture of Paiutes and disguised Saints. Lee’s position as the commander of the ambush placed him at the center of the action Haight had ordered.

The plan relied on the expectation that surprise would quickly overwhelm the emigrants. Instead, the Fancher party formed a defensive circle around its wagons, dug in, and counterattacked. The assault did not deliver the swift victory Lee had anticipated. Paiute participants suffered casualties, and the force was driven back. Some Paiutes threatened to leave rather than continue the operation. Lee then ordered his men to maintain pressure on the emigrants while he rode away to seek reinforcements and advice from his superiors. The failed attack thus exposed the limits of Lee’s immediate command: he could keep the siege in place, but decisions about whether and how to escalate it depended on authorities beyond the camp.

Haight’s Consultation and the Changing Orders

Back in Cedar City, Haight learned that events at Mountain Meadows were not proceeding as planned. He wanted to send militiamen to finish the operation, but members of the community argued that such a serious action required explicit approval from Brigham Young. Haight sent a rider to Salt Lake City with a letter explaining that Lee had the emigrants surrounded and asking what should be done. The request shows Haight turning upward for direction while Lee, in the field, continued to hold the besieged party in place.

The reply from Brigham Young instructed the Saints not to interfere with the emigrants, but it did not reach Haight until after the massacre. In the interval, Haight sought guidance from William Dame, his immediate superior and commander of the southern Utah militias. Haight rode to Parowan and woke Dame during the night to ask what should be done. Dame directed that the emigrants be killed; Major John Higbee later carried that instruction to Lee along with reinforcements from Cedar City. The chain of communication therefore ran from Lee’s beleaguered position to Haight, from Haight to Dame, and back to Lee through Higbee. It was not a simple exchange between two men: Haight remained the crucial intermediary between the field commander and the regional military hierarchy.

From Siege to Surrender

As the siege continued, many Paiutes left, reducing the force available to overwhelm the emigrants by direct attack. The remaining Saints chose deception instead. On September 11, Lee sent William Bateman forward under a white flag with a proposal: the emigrants would surrender their weapons, and the Saints would escort them past the Paiutes to safety. Lee then approached the camp to arrange the surrender. After a prolonged effort to gain the emigrants’ confidence, he obtained their weapons and directed the group’s departure from the defensive position.

The removal of the emigrants followed an organized sequence. Young children and some wounded people were placed in a wagon; women and older children followed on foot; and the men were led separately, in single file, each accompanied by a Mormon guard. After the groups had moved away from the camp, Higbee gave a prearranged signal for the guards to kill the men. The women and children were also attacked. The account identifies Lee as the person who negotiated the surrender and set the movement in motion, while Haight’s earlier order and subsequent consultations form part of the command history that brought the operation to this point. It does not establish that Haight personally accompanied Lee at Mountain Meadows or describe him giving the final signal.

Significance of the Relationship

The relationship is marked by a division of responsibility across stages: Haight directed Lee to organize the ambush; Lee led it and managed the siege; Haight sought decisions from higher authorities when the first attack failed; and instructions returned through the local chain of command before Lee arranged the surrender. This sequence makes clear that Lee’s actions were not detached from Haight’s authority, while also distinguishing their documented roles. Haight initiated the local operation and acted as an intermediary; Lee exercised field command and negotiated the surrender.

The changing method—from an ambush expected to succeed quickly, to continued pressure, and then to a deceptive offer of protection—shows how the operation adapted without abandoning its objective. The relationship’s significance lies in this continuity across changing tactics and levels of authority. Even when the initial attack failed and Brigham Young’s response was delayed, the connection between Haight’s decisions in Cedar City and Lee’s actions at Mountain Meadows remained active. The resulting surrender was not a separate episode from the original order but the final turn in the operation the two men were connected through.