Parowan stake president, district militia commander
William H. Dame
1819–1884
1 topic · 4 dated events
Their part in each topic
The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Parowan stake president, district militia commander
As the senior militia officer in the Iron Military District, Dame first refused Haight's request to move against the company, writing that 'words are but wind.' After a private conversation with Haight on 9 September he reversed his council's decision and authorized an attack. He was later indicted but never brought to trial, and the record of what he authorized and when remains one of the sharpest points of dispute.
In the timeline
4 events across 1 topics, chronological. Only events this person was actually part of — present at, responsible for, or the subject of — not every event where the name comes up.
Dame refuses the militia: 'Words are but wind'
Haight sent an express to William Dame at Parowan asking permission to call out the militia against the emigrants. Dame convened a council, which judged the company probably harmless, and wrote back: 'Do not notice their threats. Words are but wind—they injure no one; but if they commit acts of violence against citizens inform me by express.' Dissatisfied, Haight sent for John D. Lee.
Dame authorizes an attack
Haight rode to Parowan. Dame and his council, still believing the emigrants were victims of an Indian attack, wanted to send the militia to protect them. In a private meeting Haight told Dame that settlers were involved and that the emigrants knew it. Dame set aside his council's decision and authorized the militia to act.
The children at the Hamblin ranch
Klingensmith gathered seventeen small children and carried them to Jacob Hamblin's house at the north end of the valley, where Rachel Hamblin took them in; one one-year-old girl had been shot through the arm. Lee wanted to separate the wounded Dunlap girl from her sisters and Rachel persuaded him not to. The next morning Haight and Dame came to the ranch and, at the massacre site, quarrelled over who had ordered what.
A territorial grand jury indicts nine men
Nine men were indicted for the massacre. Most were eventually arrested. Only Lee was tried, convicted and executed; one indicted man turned state's evidence and others spent years as fugitives. William Dame's case was severed and postponed and never came to trial.
Appears alongside
People who share the most dated events with William H. Dame.
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