Sand Creek Massacre - Colorado Militia Slaughters 150 Peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Under Protection Flag

A 675-man force of the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of U.S. Volunteers Colonel John Chivington attacks and destroys a peaceful village of approximately 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho people camped at Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory. The village, consisting of around 100 lodges under the leadership of Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle, believed they were not only at peace with the U.S. government but also under its protection—Black Kettle flew both an American flag and a white flag of truce over his lodge as the attack began. Chivington’s forces ignore these symbols of peace and protection, surrounding the village at dawn and opening fire indiscriminately on men, women, and children. Most sources estimate approximately 150 people were killed, with about two-thirds being women and children. Survivors report systematic atrocities including scalping, mutilation of bodies, killing of children and pregnant women, and desecration of corpses. The massacre represents one of the most brutal episodes of state-sanctioned violence against Indigenous peoples, shocking even by the standards of 19th-century frontier warfare.

Captain Silas Soule and officers under his command refuse to participate in the massacre, with Soule ordering his men to hold fire and later writing detailed accounts denouncing Chivington’s actions to his superior, Major Ned Wynkoop. Soule’s letter and subsequent testimony play pivotal roles in triggering three official investigations: a military commission, a congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, and a Special Joint Committee. All three investigations condemn the attack as a massacre rather than a legitimate military engagement, with General Curtis noting that the Army is so filled with “personal and political strife…it is almost impossible to get an honest, impartial determination of facts.” The congressional hearings transcend their original investigative purpose and become broader examinations of all U.S. Indian policy. Congress explicitly condemns Chivington and his men for the atrocities, finding Colonel Chivington and Colorado Territorial Governor John Evans (who condoned the attack) responsible for the massacre. Evans is asked to resign his governorship but soon wins a territorial senate seat, demonstrating how political power shields perpetrators from meaningful accountability.

Despite three investigations documenting the massacre and assigning responsibility, not one officer, soldier, or government representative is ever indicted, tried, or sentenced for actions associated with Sand Creek. Chivington voluntarily resigns his commission before facing court-martial and enters the freighting business, avoiding all legal consequences. The investigations reveal that accountability mechanisms collapse when political interests align with perpetrators: Colorado settlers and officials sought to drive Indigenous peoples from valuable land, making Chivington’s actions politically popular locally despite their illegality and immorality. Captain Soule, the whistleblower whose testimony was instrumental in exposing the massacre, is assassinated in Denver in 1865—shot in the back while on patrol, with strong suspicions pointing to retaliation for his Sand Creek testimony. The Sand Creek Massacre illustrates a recurring pattern in American institutional corruption: state-sponsored violence against vulnerable populations produces investigations and condemnations but no prosecutions or punishment, as political and economic interests in Indigenous dispossession override legal and moral accountability. The site is now Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, designated to memorialize the victims and acknowledge a dark chapter in American history that produced extensive documentation of war crimes but zero criminal consequences for perpetrators.