The Forgotten Story of Silas Soule, Hero and Friend of Walt Whitman and John Brown

The Forgotten Story of Silas Soule, Hero and Friend of Walt Whitman and John Brown

Larry Holzwarth - November 27, 2019

The Forgotten Story of Silas Soule, Hero and Friend of Walt Whitman and John Brown
The Cheyenne continued to fight for more than a decade following Sand Creek. Wikimedia

23. Soule was murdered in Denver in early 1865

Silas Soule was 26 years old in April, 1865, the month he married his bride. He continued to serve as a provost marshal in the city, unable to find another form of employment as the Civil War ended. On April 23, 1865, Soule was either at home, or patrolling the streets, or walking with his wife, (reports vary) when he went to investigate gunfire he heard in a Denver alley. Again, reports vary, but Soule was shot at least once, and wounded his assailant before falling. A trail of blood led to a former member of the Colorado Volunteers named Charles W. Squier. The wounded Squier escaped with an accomplice by the name of William Morrow.

The link with the regiment formerly commanded by Chivington led to speculation that he had sanctioned the murder, as revenge for the testimony which tarnished his reputation, but the findings of the Joint Committee had not been revealed at the time. The Military Court had not issued a finding yet either. In his testimony at the Military Court, Soule had linked Squier and others of the Colorado Volunteers with missing military equipment, stolen during their campaigns and in camp. Soule was buried in Denver on April 26, 1865. Chivington took the opportunity to introduce evidence that Soule had profited from the Indian war through theft of equipment, but the Court refused to consider his charges.

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