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l 2014
150 ^ Anniversary of the Sand Creek Massacre and theWarren
County Natives Responsible
ByLynley Dunham-Cole, Exhibits Curator
M o st o ft e n we tell th e stories local men an d
women who have made great contributions to ourcommunity and
beyond. We knowthe names of many ofhe influential Warren Countians
who have gone on tompactthe world for thebetter,but sometimes there
is
cause to remember those who have caused great harm andnjustice.
As we near the 150 anniversary of the SandCreek Massacre in
Colorado Territory on November 29^t is an occasion to recall on e
of Warren County s mostheinous natives, and another, one of its
most controversialavor i t e sons .
In November 1864, President Lincoln wa s re-e lected to a second
term, and Will iam Tecumseh Shermanbegan his famous March to the
Sea. As the Civil Warraged on in the east, tensions with
NativeAmericanscontinued with the country s expansion west.
Waynesville overthe camp alongside a white flag of peace.
Blacknative John Evans was at that time the territorial Kettle and
many of the other men ofthe camp wereougovernor of Colorado. . ..
jhunting as the soldiersEvans was given theposition by his
friendAbraham Lincoln. After
finishing medical school inOhio, Evans moved first toIndiana,
where he openedh e s t a t e s first i n sane
asylum. He then went toChicago where he wasnstrumental in
the
establishment th e Illinois
Medical Society, the state sRepublican Party, andNorthwestern
University.By 1864 he was settled in Denver, wherehe
alongwithfellow Warren County native, Colonel John Chivington,
have him assassinated. Evans di d make Colonel
Chivingtoncommanderof the 3 ^ and 4 ColoradoCalvary Regiments.
On November 29, 1864,approximately700 soldiers,under the orders of
ColoneJohn Chivington, attacked a village of Cheyenne andArapaho
Indians,with the instructions to kill all.
This event b e ca m e k n o w n as The Sand Creek
Massacre an d is considered one o f t he w or st atrocities
United States history. The Native Americans came to
theencampment, located 180 miles southeast of Denver,under
assurance firom Governor Evans that any Indians
who chose peace would be protected. CheyenneChiefBlack Kettle
had recently returned from Washington D.C.,and convinced his people
to relent. The Americanflaggiven to Black Kettle by President
Lincoln was flying
su r rounded th e
encampment, leaving
Vwomen,elderlyandchildren unarmed and ope
Mto gun and howitzer fire^ - Fo r t he n ex t s ev er al hou
Chivington s men carried out unimaginable acts o
horror, killing 150-200Arapaho and Cheyenne, thmajority being
defenseleswomen, children, andelderly. There are accou
RobertLindneaux s1936paintingoftheSandCreek Massacre
oflndianscommittingsuicide and of parents killing their children to
save themfrom being tortured by soldiers. When it was over,
helped establishthe Universityof Denver. Evans endorsed
Chivingtonwent to Denver and showed off scalps.paraded body parts
as trophies through the streets, andeven presented them on the
stage of a theater. Chivingtwas initially received as a hero, but
as details of theslaughterbecameknown, public opinion began to
shift.He escaped punishment by leaving the military at thebeginning
of 1865.
Chivington for promotion to brigadier general, writing toboth
President Lincoln and Secretary of War EdwinStanton in his favor.
Despite Chivington s previoussuccess in New Mexico for th e Union
cause, hi spromotion was rejected whenhis former commandingofficer,
John P. Slough, accused Chivington of plotting to
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ChiefBlack Kettle
After leaving themilitary, Chivington tried: to make a living
to
accommoda te his
preferred lifestyle, havinggained a reputation forliving beyond
his means.Although ordained as aMethodist Episcopalminister in
Butlerville,
J WarrenCounty, in 1846,t h e r e m ai n d er o f his life
was plagued with whatcou ld b e c o ns id e re d a s
mmoral choices an d scandal. When h is w i fe Martha
and his only son Thomas died within a few months ofeach other in
1866, Chivington soon married Thomas'swidow, Sarah, his ow n
daughter-in-law. The marriage,which allowed Chivington to take
control of Thomas'sestate from Sarah, lasted only a few years,
ending in1871 with Mrs. Chivington accusing Mr. Chivington
ofabandonment. He resurfaced in Ohio, where he wa ssaid to have
squandered away his dying mother'smoney. Chivington settled back in
Warren County, andin 1873 married Isabella Amzen. The couple moved
toBlanchester when their farm was suspiciouslydestroyed by fire. It
was there in Clinton County that
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the third Mrs. Chivington, beaten and bruised, broughtcharges
against her husband for stealing, forgery andabuse. She later
dropped the charges. Chivington tried tolaunch a political
comeback, but the Indian-sympathizinQuakers of Clinton County
wanted no part of it. TheChivingtons moved back to Colorado, where
John stillhad many supporters. He was hired to work for theDenver
sheriff, and was subsequently accused of perju
After being acquitted on a technicality he next gainedemployment
as a coroner, but was charged with robbingcorpses in 1892.
Unemployed and ill, Chivington spentthe remainder of his life
seeking a military pension andsuing the Oglala Sioux for over
30,000 in depredationdamages. Both attempts failed. Chivington died
inOctober 1894. He received a hero s funeral, with fullreligious
and Masonic tributes. He is buried in FairmontCemetery in Denver.
Continued next page
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