Utah's Black Hawk War (1865-72) is the name of the estimated 150 battles between Mormon settlers in Sanpete County, central Utah, and members of the Ute, Paiute and Navajo tribes, led by a local Ute chief, Antonga Black Hawk.^[1] The conflict resulted in the abandonment of some settlements and homes, and postponed Mormon expansion in the region. Sanpete County is a county located in the state of Utah. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,876 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... The Utes (/juːts/; yoots) are an ethnically related group of American Indians now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. ... Paiute women and children in Yosemite Valley 1891. ... Navajo (pronounced and sometimes written in English, Navaho), or Diné (pronounced , meaning The People in Navajo) refers or relates to the Navajo people, currently the largest Native American tribe in North America, with about 300,000 members. ... Antonga Black Hawk was a Ute Indian born in Spring Lake, Utah around 1830. ...

The years 1865 to 1867 were by far the most intense of the conflict. Latter-day Saints considered themselves in a state of open warfare. They built scores of forts and deserted dozens of settlements while hundreds of Mormon militiamen chased their illusive adversaries through the wilderness with little success. Requests for federal troops went unheeded for eight years. Unable to distinguish "guilty" from "friendly" tribesmen, frustrated Mormons at times indiscriminately killed Indians, including women and children.^[2]

On April 21 1866, Mormon settlers at the chapel of Circleville, Utah executed 16 Paiute men, women and children by slitting their throats. Paul Reeve described the execution as the worst massacre of the Black Hawk War.^[3] The incident occurred after members of the local Piede band of Paiutes being held as prisoners tried to escape, and the militia panicked. Circleville is a town located in Piute County, Utah. ... Paiute women and children in Yosemite Valley 1891. ... Photographs of the My Lai massacre provoked world outrage and made it an international scandal. ... Lexington Minuteman representing militia minuteman John Parker. ...

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History of Utah's Black Hawk War