Further investigations into the massacre
Anthony testified on the second day of the hearing that he had told the Indians that he would inform them if he received instructions from Curtis if there was to be any change in policy towards them. He added that Chivington’s arrival and subsequent attack, of which he was a part, occurred before that happened. Anthony also stated that he was opposed to attacking Sand Creek as a matter of policy rather than morality. He felt that attacking Sand Creek would inevitably lead to a larger war with the Indians camped at Smoky Hill.
He stated that he had told Chivington that once they had a force strong enough that he would be in favor of a more general war against all the Indians. Anthony also admitted witnessing soldiers committing many acts of mutilation, and that the only way to fight Indians, was to “fight them as they fight us.” “If they scalp and mutilate the bodies, then we must do the same,” as well as “killing women and children”.
Governor Evans testified before the committee on the third day and pleaded ignorance regarding Chivington’s intentions to attack, and also that the Indians camped there were known to be peaceful. Evans suggested that a “great many” of the reports had come from people he knew were enemies of Chivington. His evasiveness before the committee did not save his political career, as his resignation was requested by Secretary of State, William H. Seward a few weeks later.
The committee reprimanded Chivington in the most withering terms. It stated that Chivington had “planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre” against the Indians at Sand Creek, “having full knowledge of their friendly character, having himself been instrumental to some extent in placing them in their position of fancied security, took advantage of their in apprehension and defenseless condition to gratify the worst passions that ever cursed the heart of man.”
A second investigation conducted by a joint special committee of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also concluded that Chivington had perpetrated a massacre at Sand Creek of Indians who believed they were under the protection of the U.S. Army. Chivington provided the joint committee with a written deposition outlining his version of events at Sand Creek.
In it, Chivington stated that he believed the Indians camped at Sand Creek were of the same tribes who were known to be hostile towards whites and that he “had every reason to believe” that they were either “directly or indirectly involved.” He also said that the officers he sent out after the attack to ascertain the numbers of dead, reported seeing “but few women and children dead” and that he personally had only seen one dead woman and no dead children.
Chivington did acknowledge that Major Wynkoop had allowed the Indians to camp at Fort Lyon under the protection of the American flag before his replacement Major Anthony drove them out after they failed to comply with General Curtis’s terms. Chivington went on to point the finger of blame at Anthony and Major Colley who had told him that the Indians encamped at Sand Creek were hostile, but never mentioned to him that they were under the protection of the government.
A third hearing, this one presided over by a three-man military commission ran for seventy-six days. It was solely a fact-finding mission to determine whether Chivington had acted in accordance with the rule of civilized warfare, that the Indians at Sand Creek were under the protection of the United States Army, and that Chivington had taken the necessary measures to prevent “unnatural outrages” by the soldiers during after the attack.
Chivington was allowed to cross-examine the witnesses who testified against him, such as Major Wynkoop, Captain Silas Soule, Lieutenants Cannon, Minton and Cossitt among others. When the committee adjourned in May 1865, it issued no conclusions. The 228 pages of written testimony were printed two years later and subsequently filed in government archives.
Chivington’s attack at Sand Creek failed to bring him the glory and political power he so desperately wished for. It brought him infamy, disgrace, and dishonor. He, along with the men responsible for the massacre has gone down in history as having taken part in one of the darkest episodes of the decades-long conflict between the United States and the Native Americans.
Sources For Further Reading:
National Public Service – John Chivington Biography
Digital History – Four Documents on the Sand Creek Massacre
Wall Street Journal – Sand Creek Massacre: American Indian Tragedy
Smithsonian Magazine – The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More