The Sand Creek Massacre was an attack upon a village of Cheyenne Indians by approximately 700 men of the Third and First Colorado Regiments. The former were 100 day enlistees commanded by Colonel George Shoup, with Battalion Commanders Lieutenant Colonel Leavitt Bowen, Major Hal Sayre, and Captain Theodore G. Cree. Of the First Colorado contingent, approximately half, Companies C, D, and G, were from Fort Lyon under Major Scott Anthony. Attached to the Fort Lyon command was Co. K of the 1^st New Mexico Volunteers. The remainder of the Colorado First, about 125 men of Companies C, E, and H, was the Veterans Battalion commanded by 1^st Lieutenant Luther Wilson and 2^nd Lieutenants Clark Dunn and Judson Kennedy. The entire command was led by Colonel John Chivington, Staff Officer Major Jacob Downing, AAAG Captain Joseph Maynard, and Captain Andrew J. Gill of the Colorado Territorial Militia.

The Third Colorado, recruited in the late summer and fall of 1864, rendezvoused along the South Platte before moving into Camp Elbert at Bijou Basin, thence into the Arkansas Valley toward Booneville. East of Pueblo they were joined by other "thirdsters" from Camp Baxter and several companies of the Colorado First. About November 24^th this combined command began its move toward Fort Lyon, reaching that post on the 28^th. The mission was shrouded in secrecy, and heated meetings ensued at Fort Lyon as officers such as Lieutenants Joseph Cramer, Horace Baldwin, William Minton, and Chauncey Cossitt received word of the impending attack at Sand Creek.

According to historical documentation, the camp consisted of approximately 115 lodges, over 550 inhabitants, mostly Southern Cheyenne and a few Arapaho. As these bands congregated, Elk Society Headsman Standing In Water, Kit Fox Headsman Two Thighs, and Yellow Shield, a leader of the Bowstrings, joined Chiefs Yellow Wolf, Warbonnet, Sand Hill, Bear Tongue, Little Robe, Bear Man, Blacktail Eagle, Spotted Crow, Bear Robe, Black Kettle, White Antelope and One Eye, forming a village that extended for over a quarter of a mile along the north side of Sand Creek. These bands represented people who had felt the brunt of a six-month war including confrontations with Colorado troops at Fremont’s Orchard, Cedar Canyon, and Buffalo Springs, and who had lost their venerable Chief Starving Bear at the hands of Lieutenant George Eayre and his men on May 16. Conversely, for the citizenry of Colorado Territory and the west, this was the war that had resulted in a summer of raids along the overland routes and tragedies like the Hungate murders at Box Elder Creek and the killing of Marshall Kelly and the capture of his fiancée Laura Roper near Little Blue River.

On occasion, attempts at compromise had been made. William Bent had discussed the situation with Colonel Chivington in June; Major Ned Wynkoop had responded to a Cheyenne peace overture in September, following it up with a council at Camp Weld near Denver; and in November Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders had meet with military officers and others at Fort Lyon and at Prowers ranch along the Arkansas. However, with the confusion, panic and fear of the previous summer still rampant, it was inevitable that the Sand Creek campaign, Chivington’s Indian Expedition, would get under way.

The attack at Sand Creek resulted in the deaths of over 150 Indians, the vast majority being women, children, and infants. For the soldiers, losses were much less, with about 9 or 10 killed and three dozen wounded. After the attack, most of the surviving Cheyenne fled north towards the Smoky Hill, seeking refuge among relatives. After extending their expedition briefly southeast into the Arkansas Valley in pursuit of Littlie Raven’s Arapaho, Chivington and the majority of his command arrived back at Fort Lyon around December 10 – twelve days later they returned to Denver amid a heroes welcome. His decision not to pursue the Cheyenne north towards other large camps was greeted with disdain by some, including Major Scott Anthony. During the ensuing months, Sand Creek was investigated by a Military Commission; a Joint Committee on the Conduct of War; and a Special Joint Committee investigating the Condition of Indian Tribes. The Congressional investigations labeled the event a massacre – their findings however drew the ire of many. Governor Evans wrote a rebuttal of sorts, his report was dated August 6, 1865; meanwhile Colonel Chivington, who had initially responded via deposition, addressed the people of Colorado with a synopsis of the investigation, this was published in June, 1865.

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.

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. Also, in 1978 the late Edward Red Hat, Keeper of the Cheyenne sacred covenant made "Cheyenne Earth" at the site. Clearly, as defined in its enabling legislation, the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site shall remain a reminder of the tragic extremes sometimes reached during times of conflict; symbolize the struggles of Native American Tribes to maintain their way of life on ancestral lands; and represent a significant element of frontier military and Native American history. Each of these mandates, historic sources and partnerships will help insure that the site is preserved in perpetuity for future generations of Sand Creek descendants and world citizens.