The testimony, affidavits, reports, and other statements acquired during the investigations form a major component of continuing research into the Sand Creek Massacre. Contained in these records are the accounts of eyewitnesses and others who played a crucial role in circumstances surrounding Sand Creek . Some men represented extremes, many others "stood" somewhere between – Captain Silas Soule, Lieutenant James Olney, Lieutenant Colonel Sam Tappan, Agency Interpreter John Smith, Indian Agent Samuel Colley, Edmond Guerrier, Lieutenant Harry Richmond, Private David Louderback, Captain Presley Talbot, Sergeant Stephen Decatur, scouts Robert Bent and James Beckwith, and Caleb Burdsal.

There are dozens of additional reminiscences by participants – some, like those of Irving Howbert, William Breakenridge, and Morris Coffin appear in books; others in newspapers, manuscripts, journals, and in an array of memoirs, dictations and stories. Combined with the writings of George Bent, which include information drawn from Little Bear and other Sand Creek survivors; Cheyenne and Arapaho oral histories and other traditional accounts, these narratives provide a profound legacy for anyone interested in Sand Creek.