The harrowing true story behind American Primeval: A real-life Mormon massacre in 1857

Many of the characters were real historical figures

36 seconds ago

Netflix’s American Primeval has landed straight onto the top 10 charts. The show takes its viewers right back to the Wild West of America in the year 1857 and explores the hefty violence between Natives, pioneers, Mormon soldiers and the U.S. government. It’s a conflict which makes a safe passage almost impossible for Sara Rowell and her son Devin. Sara’s husband is 1,000 miles away waiting for them, but it’s basically impossible without an escort. That’s where Isaac comes in, and the chaos begins. However, did you know American Primeval is based on a true story of a Mormon massacre in 1857?

Director Peter Berg explained to Tudum how he found the inspiration for American Primeval after reading about its harrowing true story in 2020.

“I read an article on something called the Mountain Meadows Massacre,” Berg told Netflix. “[It] was something that interested me, and I started doing a lot of research on it.”

Why was there a conflict between the Mormons, military and Native tribes?

via Netflix

Peter Berg had a great explanation for this, but pressed that there were no winners or losers, just people “trying to survive.”

“Brigham Young and the Mormons feel as though the military is about to attack them at any point in time, so they’ve started their own army called the Nauvoo Legion,” he explained.

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“The American Army is concerned with getting the Mormons out of Utah territory, so they’re nervous that they’re going to die fighting the Mormons. The Shoshone and the Paiute tribes are being squeezed from their lands by both sides, so they feel like they’re getting ready to die. The miners and the trappers at Fort Bridger are all seeing their lives extinguished by larger trapper companies who are coming in and squeezing them out. Everybody is anxious from the get-go and everyone is truly fighting to stay alive.”

The Mountain Meadows Massacre was a true event

The first episode shows Sara and Devin running away from fiery arrows while Mormons dressed as Natives attack a group of pioneers. It’s inspired by real events!

“We chose that because there was this intersection between a few different Native nations, the US government, the Mormons, and the American citizens who felt they had the right to move through this area,” Eric explained. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre did happen … and it became, for our narrative purposes, an inciting incident of conflict for our cast of characters.”

Mark said that they wanted to keep it as historically accurate as possible. “It was driven by the Nauvoo Legion, but we have to understand that they perceived it as a threat,” he said. “They were coming in to defend their world. It is just another step — a very violent step — in the lengths that they went to.”

Was Fort Bridger a real place?

via Netflix

In short, yes, Fort Bridger was a trading post for those looking to migrate West.

“It was used by all the pioneers [and] the Mormons. It was the stopping ground,” Mark Smith said. “When President Buchanan decided he wanted to get control of Brigham Young and what was growing in Utah, he stationed his military there. Fort Bridger was the gathering point for everyone.”

What about Abish’s story?

Abish’s story was inspired by old historical accounts of women who were kidnapped by Natives in what is now Utah. “We wanted to explore the idea of this young Mormon woman who’s being kind of pushed into a life and a marriage that she did not ask for, and through fate, ends up in a much different world and never fully assimilates,” Berg says. Heartbreaking.

Many of the characters are based on real people

via Netflix

Jim Bridger was a real pioneer who found himself in between warring factions, including Natives, Mormons, and the US government, after building Fort Bridger into a small city on the edge of civilization.

Brigham Young was the real leader of the Mormon church with his own army called the Nauvoo Legion. “For this type of story, it was very important that we stayed authentic,” said executive producer Mark Smith. “Even for all the Brigham Young sermons and speeches, a lot of his dialogue I took directly from text — real sermons that he had given — and used his exact words.”

Although the Shoshone tribal chief is a made-up character in the show who didn’t really exist, she is based on a real chief who “was purported to be a lesbian [and had] multiple wives,” Berg explained.

Bill Hickman was a real-life lawman and also a member of the Nauvoo Legion.

James Wolsey is inspired by a man who “was actually executed for his role in the Meadows Massacre,” executive producer Eric Newman explained. “There’s always some air of inspiration [and] authenticity to each character. There’s no one in the show that feels like a construct that would not have been a part of the real story.”

American Primeval is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.