19. Chivington offered to pay a bounty to anyone who killed an Indian or Indian sympathizer
Just before the Court of Inquiry convened, Chivington took advantage of the heated divide in Denver to publicly announce he would personally pay a $500 bounty to anyone who killed either an Indian or an Indian sympathizer. With newspapers such as the Rocky Mountain News calling the men of the 1st Colorado Cavalry – which included Soule and Cramer, as well as its commander Major Anthony – Indian lovers, it was a clear threat against the men of the 1st scheduled to testify regarding the Sand Creek affair. Both Cramer and Soule informed members of the court privately that they had received death threats prior to and following their testimony.
Chivington was not subjected to any legal nor financial penalty for the action at Sand Creek, which throughout his own testimony he continued to call a battle. He also continued to claim a far higher number of warriors were killed in the action than the physical evidence supported. All of the testimony critical of Chivington came from the officers of the 1st Colorado Volunteers; those of the 3rd were all supportive of their commander. In all, three different investigations into the Sand Creek affair were conducted, none of which resulted in anything other than the destruction of Chivington’s reputation, which in turn prevented him from entering his desired political career.