The Bear River Massacre, which happened January 29, 1863 in present-day Franklin County, Idaho, is the largest massacre of Native Americans in US history. The Shoshone tribe occupied Cache Valley, where they farmed as well as hunted large and small game. Fur trapping was a successful venture, and trappers recommended Brigham Young to settle his Mormon pioneers there. Instead he chose Salt Lake Valley. Young encouraged his followers to establish friendly relations with the surrounding American tribes, saying they should help "feed them rather than fight them".
Despite this, the settlers consumed much of the game and food resources, which forced the Shoshone further away from their traditional hunting grounds. The Native Americans began to starve, and therefore out of desperation, they attacked farms and cattle ranches for food.
After years of skirmishes, Major McGarry and the 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry arrived at the Shoshone camp on the banks of the Bear River. Although he hoped for a surprise attack at dawn, the chief realized soldiers were nearby.
They tried a direct attack but the Shoshone overwhelmed them with gunfire, and the California Volunteers suffered their biggest lost during this first assault. Smaller groups retreated, regrouped, and attacked the camp from the sides and behind, blocking any attempt by the Shoshone to escape. Fortunately, some of them did.
The attack lasted about four hours. The California Volunteers suffered 14 deaths, but the Shoshone casualties numbered in the hundreds, most of them women and children. Estimates of death range from 224 to 493. Some Shoshone survived by hiding or playing dead.
The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation purchased the site in 2018 to protect it as a sacred burial ground.
The Bear River Massacre is little known since it occurred during the Civil War, when the nation's attention was directed elsewhere, and it took place in a remote area where locals wouldn't even talk about it.
