Sand Creek Massacre (1864): Attack on the Cheyenne and Arapaho

The Sand Creek Massacre took place at dawn on 29 November 1864, when about 675 Colorado volunteer soldiers under Colonel John M. Chivington attacked a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho people on Big Sandy Creek in south-eastern Colorado Territory. The camp’s leaders, including the Cheyenne chief Black Kettle, believed they were at peace with the United States. Most of the roughly 150 to 230 people killed were women, children and elderly people, and the attack is regarded as one of the worst atrocities in the history of the American West.

Background

The discovery of gold in the Pikes Peak region in 1858 brought tens of thousands of settlers onto lands the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1851 had recognised as Cheyenne and Arapaho territory. The Treaty of Fort Wise in 1861, signed by only some chiefs, ceded most of this land and confined the tribes to a small reservation, but many bands rejected it.

Tensions rose in 1864. Raids by some Cheyenne warriors, including the Dog Soldiers, and attacks by troops on Cheyenne camps produced a cycle of violence. In June 1864 the killing of the Hungate family near Denver caused panic among settlers. Territorial Governor John Evans told peaceful Indians to report to army forts and, in August, authorised citizens to hunt down “hostile” Indians. A new regiment, the 3rd Colorado Cavalry, was raised for 100 days’ service.

The Camp Weld council

In September 1864 Black Kettle, White Antelope and other leaders met Evans and Chivington at Camp Weld near Denver, seeking peace. They were told, in effect, to make peace with the army. They then brought their people to Fort Lyon, where the commander, Major Edward Wynkoop, gave them assurances of safety.

Wynkoop was replaced by Major Scott Anthony, who told the Cheyenne to camp on Sand Creek, about 40 miles (65 km) north-east of the fort, while he awaited orders. Around 750 people, mostly Cheyenne with some Arapaho, settled there.

What happened

Chivington, a former Methodist minister with political ambitions, marched to Fort Lyon with the 3rd Colorado and parts of the 1st Colorado Cavalry. Before dawn on 29 November his troops surrounded the camp and opened fire, with artillery support.

Black Kettle raised an American flag and a white flag over his lodge. White Antelope, an elderly chief, was reportedly shot while standing with his arms folded. Most people fled up the dry creek bed, where many dug pits in the sand to hide; soldiers pursued them for miles.

Two officers of the 1st Colorado, Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, refused to order their men to fire. Their letters, written weeks later, described soldiers killing children and mutilating bodies. Some soldiers returned to Denver with body parts as trophies.

Army casualties were about 24 killed and 52 wounded, some possibly from their own side’s fire. Chivington’s report described a great victory over hostile warriors.

Key people

• John M. Chivington – colonel commanding the Colorado volunteers, who ordered the attack.
• Black Kettle – Southern Cheyenne peace chief who survived the massacre.
• White Antelope – senior Cheyenne chief killed at Sand Creek.
• Silas Soule – officer who refused to fight and later testified; he was murdered in Denver in 1865.
• John Evans – governor of Colorado Territory, whose policies contributed to the attack.

Investigations and consequences

Soule’s and Cramer’s accounts reached Washington, and in 1865 three federal investigations examined the attack: one by the congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, a military commission in Denver, and a Joint Special Committee. The congressional committee condemned Chivington’s conduct in harsh terms. However, he had left the army in January 1865 and was never prosecuted. Evans was asked to resign that summer.

In the Treaty of the Little Arkansas (October 1865) the United States acknowledged the “gross and wanton outrages” at Sand Creek and promised reparations to survivors, which were never fully paid.

The massacre destroyed trust in peace chiefs and drove many Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota into war. In January and February 1865 warriors raided Julesburg and the South Platte road, and the conflict on the Plains intensified. Black Kettle was killed at the Washita in 1868, and the wider wars led to events such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

Legacy

For many years some Coloradans celebrated Sand Creek as a battle. Over time the testimony of survivors and of officers like Soule shaped public understanding, and descendants of the victims have kept its memory alive through annual Spiritual Healing Runs. The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was authorised by Congress in 2000 and opened in 2007, after research combining archaeology with Cheyenne and Arapaho oral history located the site. In 2014, on the 150th anniversary, Colorado’s governor formally apologised.

Timeline

• 1861, 18 February: The Treaty of Fort Wise is signed by some Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs.
• 1864, June: The Hungate family is killed near Denver; Governor Evans issues proclamations.
• 1864, 28 September: Camp Weld council near Denver.
• 1864, 29 November: Chivington’s troops attack the camp at Sand Creek.
• 1865: Three federal investigations condemn the attack.
• 1865, 14 October: The Treaty of the Little Arkansas promises reparations.
• 1868, 27 November: Black Kettle is killed at the Washita.
• 2007, April: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is dedicated.

Why it matters

Sand Creek became a symbol of the violence and broken promises that marked US expansion on the Great Plains. The willingness of soldiers like Soule and Cramer to speak out, and the official inquiries that followed, also made it a lasting case study in accountability for atrocities.