John Chivington John Milton Chivington ( January 27 , 1821 – October 4 , 1894 ) was a Methodist pastor who served as colonel in the United States Volunteers during the Colorado War and the New Mexico Campaign s of the American Civil War . In 1862 he was celebrated as a hero following 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 70 – 163 peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho – about two - thirds of whom were women , children , and infants – were killed and mutilated by his troops . Chivington and his men took scalps and other body parts as battle trophies , including human fetus es and male and female genitalia . The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War conducted an investigation of the massacre , but no charges were brought against Chivington or other participants . 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 . 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 with color blindness and had trouble seeing shades of gray . Drawn to Methodism , Chivington became a minister . Following ordination in 1844 , his first appointment was to Payson Circuit in the Illinois Conference . On the journey from Ohio to Illinois Chivington contracted smallpox . He served the Illinois conference for ten years . In 1853 , he worked in a Methodist missionary expedition to the Wyandot people in Kansas , a part of the Kansas – Nebraska Annual Conference . His outspoken views in favor of abolitionism put him in danger , and upon the advice of " Congressman Craig and other friends " Chivington was persuaded to leave the Kansas Territory for the Nebraska Territory . As a result , the Methodist Church transferred Chivington to a parish in Omaha , Nebraska . This appointment would ultimately disagree with Chivington , and he would serve it for one year . Concerning Chivington ' s pastoral abilities , historian James Haynes said : " Mr . Chivington was not as steady in his demeanor as becomes a man called of God to the work of the ministry , giving his ministerial friends regret and even trouble in their efforts to sustain his reputation . " On May 8 , 1860 , Chivington moved with his family to the Colorado Territory , settling in Denver . He was selected as the Presiding Elder ( P . E . ) of the new Rocky Mountain District and served for two years ( 1860 – 62 ) . Controversy would begin to mar Chivington ' s appointment , who stopped performing his function as P . E . Chivington was not reappointed at the 1862 conference ; rather , his name was recorded as " located " . According to early Methodist polity , describing a minister as located means that the minister has effectively been retired . Historian of Methodism Isaac Beardsley , a personal friend of Chivington , suggested that Chivington was " thrown out " due to his involvement with the armed forces , an association that would lead to Chivington ' s name to infamy . Chivington ' s status as being " located " did not remove him completely from Methodist politics . His name appears as a member of the executive board of Colorado Seminary , the historic precursor of University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology . His name also appears in the incorporation document issued by the Council and House of Representatives of Colorado Territory , which was approved by then governor John Evans . Civil War . When the Civil War broke out , Colorado Territory governor William Gilpin offered him a commission as a chaplain , but Chivington refused it , saying he wanted to fight . He was commissioned a major in the 1st Colorado Volunteers under Colonel John P . Slough . During Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley ' s offensive in the East Arizona and New Mexico Territories , Chivington led a 418 - man detachment to Apache Canyon . On March 26 , 1862 , they surprised about 300 Confederate Texans under Major Charles L . Pyron . The startled Texans were routed with 4 killed , 20 wounded and 75 captured , while Chivington ' s men lost 5 killed and 14 wounded . This small victory raised morale in Slough ' s army . On March 28 , Slough sent Chivington and his men on a circling movement , with orders to hit Sibley in the flank once Slough ' s main force had engaged his front at Glorieta Pass . Chivington got into position above the Pass , but waited in vain for either Slough or Sibley to arrive . While they were waiting , scouts reported that Sibley ' s entire supply train was nearby at Johnson ' s Ranch . Chivington ' s command descended the slope and crept up on the supply train . They waited for an hour in concealment , then attacked , driving off or capturing the small Confederate guard detail without any casualties . Chivington ordered the supply wagons burned , and the horses and mules slaughtered . Meanwhile , the Battle of Glorieta Pass was raging at Pigeon ' s Ranch . Chivington returned to Slough ' s main force to find it rapidly falling back . The Confederates had won the Battle of Glorieta Pass . Thanks to Chivington and his forces , however , they had no supplies to sustain their advance , and were forced to retreat . Chivington had completely reversed the result of the battle . Sibley ' s men reluctantly retreated back to Texas , never again to threaten New Mexico . Chivington earned high praise for his decisive stroke at Johnson ' s Ranch , even though his discovery of the Confederate supply train was accidental . Critics have suggested that had Chivington returned quickly to reinforce Slough ' s army when he heard gunfire , his 400 extra men might have allowed the Union to win the battle . Chivington was unusual in becoming a ( minor ) military hero of the Civil War for an incident in which there were no casualties . He was appointed colonel of the 1st Colorado Volunteer Regiment of Cavalry in April 1862 . The darker side of Chivington was revealed in the complaints of a captured Confederate chaplain , who wrote that Chivington had threatened to kill the prisoners whom he took at Johnson ' s Ranch . In November 1862 , Chivington was appointed brigadier general of volunteers , but the appointment was withdrawn in February 1863 . Sand Creek . Black Kettle , chief of a group of around 800 mostly Southern Cheyenne , reported to Fort Lyon to surrender and establish peace for his band . After having done so , he and his band , along with some Arapaho under Chief Niwot , or Left Hand , set up camp at nearby Sand Creek , less than 40 miles north , having been assured that by doing so his people would be considered friendly by the government . The Cheyenne Dog Soldiers , who had aggressively led battles against the whites , were not part of this encampment . Assured by the U . S . government ' s promises of peace , Black Kettle sent most of his warrior s to hunt , leaving only 60 men in the village , most of them too old or too young to hunt . A U . S . flag was flown over Black Kettle ' s lodge , since he had been told " as long as he flew the American flag , he and his people would be safe from U . S . soldiers " . The governor of Colorado had received permission to raise a force to go against the Cheyenne , who had been attacking emigrant settlers . The Third Colorado Cavalry were essentially militia , volunteers who signed up for 100 days . They were put under Chivington ' s command and he felt pressure to use them before their terms expired at the end of 1864 . After Black Kettle and his band resettled , the commanding officer changed at Fort Lyon to one who was an ally of Chivington . In November , setting out from Fort Lyon , Colonel Chivington and his 800 troops of the First Colorado Cavalry , Third Colorado Cavalry and a company of First New Mexico Volunteers marched nearly to the reservation . On the night of November 28 , after camping , soldiers and militia drank heavily and celebrated the anticipated fight . On the morning of November 29 , 1864 , Chivington ordered his troops to attack . One officer , Captain Silas Soule , believing the Indians to be peaceful , refused to follow Chivington ' s order and told his men to hold fire . Other soldiers in Chivington ' s force , however , immediately attacked the village . Ignoring the U . S . flag , and a white flag they raised shortly after the soldiers began firing , Chivington ' s soldiers massacred the majority of the mostly unarmed Cheyenne . The attack became known as the Sand Creek Massacre . The U . S . forces lost 15 killed and more than 50 wounded , mostly due to friendly fire ( likely caused by their heavy drinking ) . Between 150 and 200 Indians were estimated dead , nearly all women and children . ( Chivington testified before a Congressional committee that his forces had killed 500 – 600 Indians and that few of them were women or children . Others testified against him . ) A prominent mixed - race Cheyenne witness named Edmond Guerrier , said that about 53 men and 110 women and children were killed . With Chivington ' s declaring his forces had won a battle against hostile Cheyenne , the action was initially celebrated as a victory . Some soldiers displayed Indian body parts as trophies in Denver saloons . However , the testimony of Soule and his men resulted in a U . S . Congressional investigation into the incident , which concluded that Chivington had acted wrongly . Soule and some of the men whom he commanded testified against Chivington at his U . S . Army court martial . Chivington denounced Soule as a liar . Soule was later murdered by a soldier who had been under Chivington ' s command at Sand Creek . Some believed Chivington may have been involved . Chivington was condemned for his part in the massacre , but he had already resigned from the Army . The general post - Civil War amnesty meant that criminal charges could not be filed against him . An Army judge publicly stated that the Sand Creek massacre was " a cowardly and cold - blooded slaughter , sufficient to cover its perpetrators with indelible infamy , and the face of every American with shame and indignation . " Public outrage at the brutality of the massacre , particularly considering the mutilation of corpses , was intense . It was believed to have contributed to public pressure to change Indian policy . The U . S . Congress later rejected the idea of a general war against the Indians of the Midwest . The panel of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War declared : As to Colonel Chivington , your committee can hardly find fitting terms to describe his conduct . Wearing the uniform of the United States , which should be the emblem of justice and humanity ; holding the important position of commander of a military district , and therefore having the honor of the government to that extent in his keeping , he deliberately planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre which would have disgraced the verist [ sic ] savage among those who were the victims of his cruelty . Having full knowledge of their friendly character , having himself been instrumental to some extent in placing them in their position of fancied security , he took advantage of their in - apprehension and defenceless [ sic ] condition to gratify the worst passions that ever cursed the heart of man . Whatever influence this may have had upon Colonel Chivington , the truth is that he surprised and murdered , in cold blood , the unsuspecting men , women , and children on Sand creek , who had every reason to believe they were under the protection of the United States authorities . Because of Chivington ' s position as a lay preacher , in 1996 the General conference of the United Methodist Church expressed regret for the Sand Creek massacre . It issued an apology to the Southern Cheyenne for the " actions of a prominent Methodist " . Later life . Chivington resigned from the service in February , 1865 . In 1865 his son , Thomas , drowned and Chivington returned to Nebraska to administer the estate , and became an unsuccessful freight hauler . He seduced and then married his daughter - in - law , Sarah . She divorced him for non - support , obtaining a decree in October , 1871 . Public outrage forced him to withdraw from politics and kept him out of Colorado ' s campaign for statehood . The editor of the " Omaha Daily Herald " tagged Chivington a " rotten , clerical hypocrite . " In July 1868 Chivington went to Washington , D . C . in pursuit of a $ 37 , 000 claim for Indian depredations . He returned to Omaha , but journeyed to Troy , New York during 1869 to stay " with [ Sarah ' s ] relatives from who he borrowed money & did not return it . The spring of ' 70 we returned to Washington & he spent his time trying to get money without labor . . . . " The early spring of ' 71 he skipped as I heard afterward to Canada . . . Left me without means of support . I had no desire to live with a criminal . " After living briefly in California , Chivington returned to Ohio to farm . Later he became editor of a local newspaper . In 1883 he campaigned for a seat in the Ohio legislature , but when his opponents drew attention to the Sand Creek Massacre , he withdrew from the election race . He returned to Denver where he worked as a deputy sheriff until shortly before his death from cancer in 1894 . His funeral took place at the city ' s Trinity United Methodist Church before his remains were interred at Fairmount Cemetery . To the end of his life , Chivington maintained that Sand Creek had been a successful operation . He argued that his expedition was a response to raids on white people . He ignored his betrayal of official agreements for protection of Black Kettle ' s friendly band . In addition , he overlooked the contribution of the massacre to the Cheyenne , Arapaho and Sioux bands strengthening their alliances and increasing raids on white settlers . Until he died , he always claimed to have been justified in ordering the attack , stating whenever anyone asked how he felt about his actions " I stand by Sand Creek . " Legacy . In 1887 , the unincorporated settlement of Chivington , Colorado was established and named after John Chivington . The railroad town on the Missouri Pacific Railroad line was fairly close to the site of the massacre . In the 1920s and 1930s it was largely depopulated during the Dust Bowl , although some buildings still remain . In 2005 , the City Council of Longmont , Colorado agreed to change the name of Chivington Drive in the town following a two - decade campaign . Protesters had objected to Chivington being honored for the Sand Creek Massacre . The street was renamed Sunrise Drive .