Sand Creek
Chivington Massacre Colorado

American Civil War
November 29-30, 1864

Scattered Indian raids had caused much ill-will between the white settlers and the Native Americans. In the autumn, Territorial (Colorado) officers had offered a vague amnesty if Indians reported to army forts. Black Kettle with many Cheyennes and a few Arapahos, believing themselves to be protected, established a winter camp about 40 miles from Fort Lyon. On November 29, Col. John Chivington, who advocated Indian extermination, arrived near the camp, having marched there from Fort Lyon.

In spite of the American flag and a white flag flying over the camp, the troops attacked, killing and mutilating about 200 of the Indians, two-thirds of whom were women and children.

Result(s): Union victory (massacre)

Location: Kiowa County

Campaign: Sand Creek Campaign (1864)

Date(s): November 29-30, 1864

Principal Commanders: Col. John Chivington [US]; Black Kettle, Cheyenne [I]

Forces Engaged: Third Colorado Regiment (approx. 700 men) [US]; 500 Cheyennes and a few Arapahos [I]


The Cherokee Nation in the Civil War
The Cherokee people, who had only just begun to recover from the ordeal of removal, faced an equally devastating upheaval in the Civil War. The Cherokee Nation, with its sovereign status and distinct culture, had a wartime experience unlike that of any other group of people

 

Colorado State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War

Native American Civil War Book Titles

The Confederate War Bonnet: A Novel of the Civil War in Indian Territory
An evocative historical novel that helps to answer how Indians became involved in the Civil War, why they joined Confederate forces, and how the experience shaped their future in America.
The American Indian and the End of the Confederacy, 1863-1866
The vulnerability of the Indians caught between two warring sides. The failure of the US government to afford to the southern Indians the protection solemnly guaranteed by treaty stipulations was the great cause of their entering into an alliance with The Confederacy
General Stand Watie's Confederate Indians
The Confederacy pioneered the idea of giving blacks and women positions of authority [the Matron Law], placed Jews in positions of power, put General's stars on a Mexican and the first American Indian General. This book is his story
Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians
Accompanying photos, clear maps. This book will leave you wanting to learn more about this rather neglected region of the war. No less important in many regards for the defining of the nation's future than the more well-known battlefields of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Highly recommended

Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865
Fanatical politics of the western frontier, immigrant abolitionists with loaded Spencer rifles funded by mysterious personages back East, cut-throats, gin heads and horse thieves, colorful character descriptions
Civil War in the American West
An accurate and detailed history of the Western Theater of the Civil War, which was largely forgotten by history. He was one of the first historians to fully understand the impact that California had on the war as he gives an accounting of the Federal raid on the Dan Showalter Ranch in San Bernadino on October 5, 1861.
Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History
The guerilla warfare along the Kansas-Missouri boarder brought forth some of the bloodiest incidents of the Civil War
The American Civil War in Indian Territory
Native Americans fought in both Union and Confederate units. The Indian Territory saw its share of battles and campaigns. If you are a reenactor or modeler this is the kind of detail that you need. The photos and artwork make this a must-have.
       

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.