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However, Chivington
ignored the symbol of peace and surrender, raising his arm for attack. An
easy victory at hand, cannons and rifles began to pound upon the camp as
the
Indians scattered in panic. The frenzied soldiers began to
charge, hunting down men, women, and children, shooting them unmercifully. A few warriors managed to fight back allowing some members of the camp to
escape across the stream.
One man, Silas Soule, a
Massachusetts abolitionist, refused to follow Colonel Chivington's orders.
He did not allow his cavalry company to fire into the crowd.
The troops kept up their
indiscriminate assault for most of the day, during which numerous
atrocities were committed. One lieutenant was said to have killed and
scalped three women and five children who had surrendered and were
screaming for mercy. Finally breaking off their attack they returned to
the camp killing all the wounded they could find before mutilating and
scalping the dead, including pregnant women, children and babies. They
then plundered the teepees and divided up the
Indians'
horse herd before leaving
When the attack was over,
as many as 150
Indians
lay dead, most of which were old men, women and children. In the
meantime, the cavalry lost only 9 or ten men, with about three dozen
wounded.
Black Kettle and his wife followed the others up the stream bed, his
wife being shot in the back and left for dead.
Black
Kettle's wife, although shot nine times, somehow managed to survived the
attack. The survivors, over half of whom were wounded, sought refuge in
the camp of the
Cheyenne
Dog Warriors (who had remained opposed to the peace treaty) at Smokey
Hill River. Many of the
Indians
joined the Dog Soldiers, deciding there could be no successful
negotiations with the white men and were waging war against them. Indeed, the Sand Creek
Massacre is cited as a critical cause of the
Little Big
Horn battle, as many
Cheyenne
warriors simply devoted their lives to war against the US.
The
Colorado
volunteers returned to Denver, exhibiting their scalps, to receive a
hero's welcome. Initially the battle was reported in the press as a
victory against a bravely-fought defense by the
Cheyenne.
Within weeks, however, eyewitnesses came forward offering conflicting
testimony, leading to a military investigation and two Congressional
investigations into the events. Silas Soule was eager to testify against
Chivington. However, after he testified, Soule was murdered by Charles W.
Squires, a murder believed to have been ordered by Chivington.
As the details came out,
the US public was shocked by the brutality of the massacre. The
congressional investigation subsequently determined the crime to be a
"sedulously and carefully planed massacre." When asked at the
military inquiry why children had been killed, one of the soldiers quoted Chivington as saying, "nits make lice." Though Chivington was
denounced in the investigation and forced to resign, neither he nor anyone
else was ever brought to justice for the massacre.
While the Sand Creek
Massacre outraged easterners, it seemed to please many people in
Colorado
Territory. Chivington later appeared on a Denver stage where he regaled
delighted audiences with his war stories and displayed 100
Indian
scalps, including the pubic hairs of women.
As word of the massacre
spread among the
Indians
of the southern and northern plains, their resolve to resist white
encroachment stiffened. An avenging wildfire swept the land and peace
returned only after a quarter of a century.
Through the years, the
area of the Sand Creek
Massacre has continued to be visited and commemorated. An
aging John Chivington returned to the area in 1887, and in 1908 Veterans
of the Colorado
Regiments planned a reunion at the site. In August of 1950 the
Colorado
Historical Society assisted local residents and the Eads and Lamar
Chambers of Commerce in placing a marker atop the bluff at the Dawson
South Bend.
Sand Creek descendants remain active in tribal communities in
Montana,
Oklahoma,
and
Wyoming
– and Council Representatives continue to work alongside the National Park
Service.
The Sand Creek Massacre was
authorized as a National Historic site on August, 2, 2005.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated November, 2011.
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