 john milton chivington (january 27, 1821 &ndash; october 4, 1894) was a former methodist pastor who served as colonel in the united states volunteers during the colorado war and the new mexico campaigns of the american civil war. in 1862, he was in the battle of glorieta pass against a confederate supply train. chivington gained infamy for leading a 700-man force of colorado territory militia during the massacre at sand creek in november 1864. an estimated 70â163 peaceful cheyenne and arapaho â about two-thirds of whom were women, children, and infants â were killed and mutilated by his troops. chivington and his men took scalps and other body parts as battle trophies, including human fetuses and male and female genitalia.united states congress joint committee on the conduct of the war, 1865 (testimonies and report) the joint committee on the conduct of the war conducted an investigation of the massacre, but while they condemned chivington's and his soldiers' conduct in the strongest possible terms, no criminal charges were brought against him or them. the closest thing to a punishment chivington suffered was the effective end of his political aspirations. later he became the first grand master of masons of colorado.colorado freemasons website. ==early life== chivington was born in lebanon, ohio, the son of isaac chivington, who had fought under general william henry harrison against members of tecumseh's confederacy at the battle of the thames, he was born wit
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