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The State of Colorado is typically known for the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the Denver Broncos, and some of the most outstanding watermelon and cantaloupe. What others from out of state do not know is the amount of history that Colorado possesses. Near the end of the Civil War, before Colorado was founded, a monumental attack took place against the Native Americans by the United StatesU.S army. Granted this scrimish happened many years ago however, this conflict is a significant part of today and how we live.
Tensions
In 1864 a man named Colonel John Chivington ordered the attack on the Southern Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. Because of the Colonel’s respected role as a methidist preacher and a freemason, his social roles played into his involvement in the army/militia. Along side that he helped stop confederate supplies from getting to it’s destination which put him in a high horse in the eyes of govenment officials. Despite his respectability, he disregarded the government’s wishes. Chivington ordered the strike on the Natives because the U.S. government wanted control of the land that they occupied. There was an agreement between the the new citizens of the U.S. and the government that could expand westward, but it just so happened that the Great Plains Tribes were “in the way.” The U.S. government decided to “give” the Natives 600 square miles of land in an effort to preserve peace but most representatives didn’t agree to sign the treaty called the Treaty of Fort Wise. Prior to the making of this agreement, the U.S. government produced another. According to History.com, “The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 guaranteed ownership of the area north of the Arkansas River to the Nebraska border to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe.” To the white men of this time land was everything even if it meant killing Natives to get it. Chivington wanted to push the Natives out because at the time there had been a gold rush in the Pike’s Peak area in 1851. Wealth for one’s self through gold meant that new power would come to.The Colonel promised that after the fighting was over, everyone who fought would get a piece of gold to bring back to their families.
By now there have been social tensions rising sufficiently between the government and the Natives because the U.S. keeps going back on its word. Land is the number one priority in their eyes and nothing has stopped them yet. Chivington had a biased against the Natives so he carried out his plan. In this particular situation, 675 Colorado volunteer U.S. troops were to exterminate the people on the amount of property that was promised which is now modern day Sand Creek Colorado. The Sand Creek Massacre took place on November 29, 1864, which killed approximately 550 Native soldiers. A Sand Creek survivor, George Bent- a mixed blood man who was in the Cheyenne camp- wrote his thoughts down in a journal, According to sandcreekmassacre.net/witness-accounts/ “Everyone was crying…many of them in their grief were gushing themselves with their knives until the blood flowed in streams”, says Bent.
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The U.S. government strongly disapproved of Chivington’s actions. According to nps.gov the Conduct of War, “As to Colonel Chivington…Wearing the uniform of the United States, which should be the emblem of justice and humanity…he deliberately planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre which would have disgraced the veriest savage…he took advantage of their inapprehension and defenceless condition to gratify the worst passions that ever cursed the heart of man”. It essentially states that because of Chivington’s personal selfishness and arrogant disregard for the treaties and agreement signed by the appropriate parties deems him unworthy of leading. The document continues with summarizing that he went back to town and lived without the glory of being a Colonel of the U.S.A. militia.
Payback
The remaining survivors fled to various Native camps including the Sioux tribe, yet the European men tracked individuals down and slaughtered them. The aggressive actions taken by the Englishmen were infuriating. The few people who got to other tribes told the respective leaders and soon the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and Sioux peoples created a small militia on their own. As a result of the horrific and inhuman acts by the colonists, the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and Sioux Tribes banded together to form an army of 2,000. According to WikiVisually, “On January 1, 1865, the tribes met on Cherry Creek, near present-day St. Francis, Kansas to plan revenge.” In the early part of the month, the combined tribes moved towards South Platte River slowly, careful not to draw any attention to themselves. On January 7, 1865, the Natives attacked. Earlier the tribes agreed on the plan of ambush. They would come early in the morning and distract the U.S. troops with a few men at the front of the town. As those men retreated quickly, the rest of the Native militia would advance on Julesburg, Colorado. As planned, the U.S. soldiers were caught off guard, and before they could reach cover the Natives overpowered them. There were few likely survivors from the ambush. George Bent, the mixed blood, was attacked in the ambush and claims that “no Indians were killed or wounded” Captain Nicholas J. O’Brien was one of those few soldiers that survived.
As one war or conflict finished, another was boiling in the background. When the Battle of Julesburg was over, a small army came to counter the actions of the Natives. Led by General Robert Byington Mitchell, they went to go find the ones responsible for the blistering attack and encountered nothing but the stinging frost on that morning. The Natives, however, were not done with their mission. As they moved along they stole food and other items from towns they came across to provide U.S. citizens a taste of what they were inadvertently doing to them. On February 2 the banded tribes returned to Julesburg and solemnly burned the town. According to WikiVisually.com, “Bent said‘the whole valley was lighted up with the flames of burning ranches and stage stations, but the places were soon all destroyed and darkness fell on the valley.”
Aftermath
With these small battles and the Civil war going on, the Natives lost hope for peace between the U.S. government. So they decided that they would build their houses and make sure that the Englishmen would not able to move where they were. One of the prominent places that the Cheyenne tribe carefully returned to or stopped at was Bent’s Fort. Bent’s Fort was built by George’s father, William and his brother. It was utilized for trading and was a place for familiar people to stay if they were passing through. As the U.S. was coming out of the Civil War, it became clear that the Natives were not going to fold on the land that they were given. In appropriate response, they created the Treaty of Little Arkansas on October 14, 1865, 7 months after the end of the civil war. This treaty said that the relatives of the Natives killed in the Sand Creek Massacre would obtain reparations.
Effects on Today
The Rocky Mountains are not all that is offered in Colorado, we have way more history than one would think. The Sand Creek Massacre was a horrible act that was carried out inhumanly, but it can teach us something. As a result of these small battles going on during the Civil War our country knows to follow through with treaties. Treaties have always been a way to keep peace and if they are unfollowed it could lead to the separation of our country. An historical example would be The Constitution. Before it was made 13 colonies didn’t know how to govern themselves and each of them possessed vastly conflicting ideas of how government would work without English leadership. Now without The Constitution, the United States would fall apart for the same reasons.
Our documents that we live by keep the peace in the U.S.A. Although it was an unfortunate turn of events for the Natives and Chivington, it was necessary. Without the massacre the history of Colorado would be unfinished. Natives realized that they needed to be strict with actions not just words. The Sand Creek Massacre was a result of not following a negotiated treaty and caused more than one small war including, The Battle of Julesburg, the Battle of Mud Springs, Nebraska, and the Battle of Rush Creek. Provided that Chivington inflicted these wars, there can be a domino effect if we allow a similar situation to happen. Now we know how to live according to our government principles and amendments.
Works Cited
- Legends of America, www.legendsofamerica.com/battle-of-julesburg-colorado/.
- “A History of Evolutionary Thought.” UCMP, ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/evothought.html.
- “John Chivington Biography.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/sand/learn/historyculture/john-chivington-biography.htm.
- “Sand Creek Massacre Witness Accounts.” The Sand Creek Massacre, 13 May 2014, sandcreekmassacre.net/witness-accounts/.
- “Sand Creek Massacre.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sand-creek-massacre.
- “Sand Creek Massacre.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sand-creek-massacre.
- “WikiVisually.com.” WikiVisually, wikivisually.com/wiki/Battle_of_Julesburg.
