The Sand Creek Massacre: A Horrific Tale of Betrayal & Greed

In the mid-19th century, even as war raged between the Union and the Confederacy, tensions between the United States and Native American tribes reached new heights. The discovery of gold in Cheyenne and Arapaho territories forced the Native Americans into a close and uneasy relationship with multitudes of prospectors in search of wealth.

Conflict broke out with roving bands of warriors who resisted violently incursions on their territory. Treaties were signed and broken, eventually leading to a breakdown in civil relations. Desperate to save their people, the Cheyenne and Arapaho attempted to negotiate a peace but were mercilessly betrayed.

The Sand Creek Massacre was the result—a dark and dishonorable day in American history.

Editor’s Note: This section contains graphic discussions that may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is advised.

In 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed between the United States and seven Native American nations, including the Cheyenne and the Arapaho. By the treaty’s terms, the United States recognized as Native American territory an area encompassing southeastern Wyoming, southwestern Nebraska, the western portion of Kansas, and eastern Colorado.

Seven years later, however, gold was discovered in a part of Colorado encompassing Cheyenne and Arapaho lands. Settlers streamed into the territory in what became known as the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. Known as the “59ers,” these settlers came into contact with the Indigenous people, and conflict arose as the settlers and the Native Americans competed for resources.

Native Americans wanted to keep their access to resources as well as their traditional heritage; US government policy was to force Native Americans onto reservations. Naturally, this policy did not sit well with the majority of Native Americans. To make matters worse, many government authorities sought to solve their problems with Native Americans simply by killing them. As such, many military officials did not balk at the thought of genocide. This attitude would be a prelude to many merciless acts.

To avoid further conflict, a new agreement was sought. In February 1861, ten chiefs of the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations signed a revised treaty with the United States. By the terms of the new Treaty of Fort Wise, Native American land that had been established in 1851 was reduced to less than one-thirteenth of the size. This was hugely problematic for many Native American tribes who lived nomadic lives following the herds of bison.

Deeply unhappy with this outcome and with their chiefs, militaristic bands of Native Americans, most notably a group of raiders known as the Dog Soldiers, defied the treaty and their chiefs, escalating conflict with what they viewed as invaders from the United States.

Those Native Americans who refused to accept the treaty claimed that the chiefs who signed it did not represent the entirety of their nations, nor did they have an understanding of what they were signing. There were also accusations that the chiefs were bribed. From the perspective of the United States, the treaty was legally binding, and those who did not abide by it were simply hostile and had to be dealt with.

In the early 1860s, there had been a sharp increase in violent incidents involving Native American raiding parties and American settlers. The drain on military resources demanded by the ongoing Civil War meant that much military support was being funneled into defeating the Confederates, and very little could be spared to protect the settlers in the Colorado region. As a result, virtually every wagon train became a target, and many settlers could not expect to escape with their lives. Cattle were killed or stolen, farms burned, and supply routes were cut off, leaving many settlers in danger of starvation.

After the defeat of the Confederates in the west in 1862, and in response to the attacks on settlers, the 3rd Colorado Cavalry was formed under the leadership of John Chivington, a Methodist preacher who fought as a soldier against the Confederates. More a militia than a unit of professional soldiers, the escapades of the 3rd would earn them a reputation for brutality.

Instead of hunting down the Dog Soldiers and other warbands associated with the attacks on settlers, Union soldiers targeted settlements of peaceable Cheyenne and Arapaho.

There was little in the way of negotiations at this time, and any contact at all quickly became a bloody affair as tit-for-tat attacks took their toll on innocent civilians who had little to do with the conflict.

To aid in the attempt for a peaceful resolution, a number of chiefs, including Lean Bear and Black Kettle, traveled to Washington DC to speak with President Abraham Lincoln. The president gave them assurances of peace, and in return, the Native Americans would abandon their nomadic way of life and take up farming.

In 1864, Union forces learned that the plains tribes around the area were planning to form a coalition to drive all the settlers out. From Spring onwards, Sioux, Comanche, Kiowa, Arapaho, and Cheyenne warbands stepped up their raids, causing havoc, murdering settlers, killing livestock, and destroying farmland. Against Lincoln’s assurances, Chivington gave his men the order to kill any Cheyenne on sight.

On April 12, members of the 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment engaged a party of Cheyenne without any attempt at negotiation, and the following day, scores of oxen and a dozen horses were allegedly stolen from a settler. This act of theft was refuted by a half-Native American man, George Bent, who claimed the party had encountered the animals straying far from the farm and did not know to whom they belonged. The cattle and horses were driven to a nearby camp with the intent of being safeguarded until someone could lay claim to them.

Acting on the assumption that the livestock had been stolen, a group of soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Clark Dunn was ordered to retrieve them. Their efforts ended with four US soldiers being killed in what was a botched attempt.

On May 16, two Cheyenne leaders, Lean Bear and Star, with a party of hunters, encountered the 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment. Believing that the encounter would be peaceful, Lean Bear approached the soldiers, wearing a medal given to him by Lincoln that indicated he was no threat to the Americans. He was not aware of the order to kill Native Americans on-sight, and Lean Bear was gunned down before the cavalry chased and slaughtered the Native Americans.

This incident sparked more reprisals from the Native Americans, and in response, the Colorado Territorial Governor John Evans invited their adversaries to parlay. On June 27, he sent out a circular inviting peaceful Native Americans across the plains to Fort Lyon, where they would receive provisions and protection. Three months later, the offer was taken up.

Negotiations took place in Denver, but there was no promise of peace. Evans made it clear that war would continue and that the invitation was simply to move the peaceful Native Americans out of the way so that the US soldiers could focus on fighting their enemies.

Native Americans began to arrive in numbers at Fort Lyon. One of their most prominent leaders was a Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle, who had been a staunch advocate for peace between his people and the settlers.

Despite the promises made, Union soldiers refused entry to the Cheyenne and the Arapaho, who arrived in great numbers. Instead, they were directed to make camp at Sand Creek, an intermittent stream northeast of the fort.

Over one thousand Cheyenne and Arapaho pitched their teepees in this desolate region, believing they would be safe from the fighting. What they didn’t know was that their trust had been betrayed. On November 28, roughly 700 men of the 3rd Colorado Cavalry, the 1st Colorado Cavalry, and the 1st Regiment of New Mexico Volunteer Infantry rode out with the intention to slaughter. Leading them was John Chivington.

At dawn on November 29, the Union soldiers arrived at Sand Creek. Chief Black Kettle had hoisted the Stars and Stripes as well as a white flag above his teepee to declare the peaceful intentions of the Sand Creek settlement. His efforts were ignored by the American soldiers.

The bleak landscape was open plains with a panoramic view and one where sound travels far. Those encamped at Sand Creek heard the thunder of thousands of hooves and saw the shapes of the cavalrymen as they descended. Despite the swiftness of the attack, many defenders did manage to cobble together some resistance, but the outcome was never in doubt. They were without a substantial number of their fighting men who were out that morning on a buffalo hunt. Most Native Americans at Sand Creek were women, children, and older men.

Among the Americans, some refused to obey the murderous orders of Chivington. Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, each in command of a company from the 1st Colorado Cavalry, ordered their men not to join in the attack.

Several days after the event, Silas Soule reported to Major Wynkoop on what happened next. Wynkoop was in charge of Fort Lyon but had been called away on duty at the time of the arrival of the Native Americans and the time of the massacre.

The attack lasted for six to eight hours, and around 230 Native Americans were killed, with about 140 of them being women and children. The brutality was horrific and unprecedented. The American troops had become a wild mob, butchering their victims in the most inhumane ways.

Children on their knees had their heads beaten in. A pregnant woman was eviscerated, and her child was ripped out. Many tried to escape but were run down and shot before being scalped and mutilated even further. Soule even reported, “Squaws snatches were cut out for trophies.” Children, too, had their genitals cut off.

Black Kettle escaped the slaughter and returned to Sand Creek with other survivors, where he rescued his wife, who had been severely injured.

The Sand Creek Massacre resulted in many Indigenous chiefs being killed, most of whom were part of the faction that advocated for peace. A power vacuum occurred, and militarists took their place, using the massacre to justify their reprisals against the American settlers.

Angered by the Sand Creek events, the Dog Soldiers’ ranks swelled, and attacks on settlers became even more common. Black Kettle continued to advocate for peace, but his voice was drowned out by the drums of war.

Proud of their efforts, the Colorado militia displayed their gory trophies in Denver, and the massacre was hailed as a great victory for some time before people began to learn the truth of what occurred.

The following investigation brought to light the sickening details of what had happened at Sand Creek. Chivington was subjected to harsh words but ultimately went unpunished, as he had resigned from his post in the military and was thus beyond the reach of military law. For his effort, Silas Soule was assassinated after giving testimony in Denver.

In recent years, more has been done to bring the event to public attention. In 2007, the Sand Creek National Historic Site, run by the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation, was established, dedicated to preserving the memory of the tragedy.

The Sand Creek Massacre was a horrific betrayal of the trust of those who came seeking and believing in peace. It was a poignant moment in American history where the worst barbarism was showcased and displayed.

And it was not an isolated case. It was only one of many such events that characterized the relationship between American settlers and the Native Americans.