hariseldon2: >Capt. Soule and Lt. Cramer were both buried at Riverside Cemetery in Denver. Native American anniversary events held annually in remembrance of the Sand Creek Massacre begin at the cemetery where representatives from the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Montana, the Northern Arapaho tribe of Wyoming, the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma, the National Park Service and History Colorado decorate the graves of Soule and Cramer.
Nice to see these people are still honored.
CrashRiot: And here’s a letter written by Soule himself which desribes the massacre first hand:
> Two days after you left here with the 3rd Reg’t. With a Battalion of the 1st arrived here, having moved so secretly that we were not aware of their approach of until they Pickets around the Post, allowing no one to pass out! They arrested Capt. Bent and John Vogle and placed guards around their houses. They then declared their intention to massacre the friendly Indians camped on Sand Creek. Major Anthony gave all information, an eagerly joined in with Chivington and Co. and ordered Lieut. Cramer with his whole Co. to join the command. As soon as I knew of their movement I was indignant as you would have been were you here and went to Cannon’s room, where a number of officers of the 1st and 3rd were congregated and told them that any man who would take part in the murders, knowing the circumstances as we did, was a low lived cowardly son of a bitch. Capt. Y. J. Johnson and Lt. Harding went to camp and reported to Chiv. Downing and the whole outfit what I had said, and you can bet hell was to pay in camp.
Chiv and all hands swore they would hang me before they moved camp, but I stuck it out, and all the officers at the Post, except Anthony backed me. I was then ordered with my whole comany to Major A- with 20 days rations. I told him I would not take part in their intended murder, but if they were going after the Sioux, Kiowas or any fighting Indians, I would go as far as any of them.
We arrived at Black Kettle’s and Left Hand’s camp at daylight. Lieut. Wilson with Co.s “C”, “E” & “G” were ordered to in advance to cut off their herd. He made a circle to the rear and formed a line 200 yds. From the village, and opened fire. Poor Old John Smith and Louderbeck ran out with white flags but they paid no attention to them, and they ran back to their tents. I refused to fire and swore that none but a coward would, for by this time hundreds of women and children were coming toward us and getting on their knees for mercy. Anthony shouted, “kill the sons of bitches” Smith and Louderbeck came to our command although I am confident there were 200 shots fired at them, for I heard an officer say that Old Smith and any one who sympathized with the Indians, ought to be killed and now was a good time to do it.
When the Indians found there was no hope for them they went for the Creek and got under the banks and some of the bucks got their bows and a few rifles and defended themselves as well as they could.The massacre lasted six or eight hours, and a good many Indians escaped. I tell you Ned it was hard to see little children on their knees have their brains beat out by men professing to be civilized. One squaw was wounded and a fellow took a hatchet to finish her, and he cut one arm off, and held the other with one hand and dashed the hatchet through her brain. One squaw with her two children, were on their knees, begging for their lives of a dozen soldiers, within ten feet of them all firing – when one succeeded in hitting the squaw in the thigh, when she took a knife and cut the throats of both children and then killed herself. One Old Squaw hung herself in the lodge – there was not enough room for her to hang and she held up her knees and choked herself to death. Some tried to escape on the Prairie, but most of them were run down by horsemen. I saw two Indians hold one of anothers hands, chased until they were exhausted, when they kneeled down, and clasped each other around the neck and both were shot together. They were all scalped, and as high as half a dozen taken from one head. They were all horribly mutilated. You would think it impossible for white men to butcher and mutilate human beings as they did.
1865: A little correction here, it was the Sand Creek massacre…. not Sandy
Did_ya_like_it: I have a friend named Silas irl and he always complains that most characters in books, movies, TV, etc. who are named Silas, are portrayed as evil. I’ll have to show him this.
sundevilsweet: I read an interview that was conducted in the 1960s with the granddaughter of a Sand Creek Massacre survivor. I’ll never forget it. Her description starts on the bottom of page 34. [interview ](https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/dorisduke/id/3491/filename/print/page/download) Just a warning. It is graphic.
shleppenwolf: Sand Creek, not Sandy Creek. Actually there are two Sand Creeks here in Colorado…the massacre site is near the Kansas line. The other is on the fringes of Aurora, housing a wrecking yard called Sand Creek Auto Salvage.
bolanrox: Sounds like the hellecopter pilot from Vietnam, that the Senate turned into the bad guy.
errv: People doing the right thing are usually looked badly upon at the time when they do the right thing.
sWAMPcRIP: I am a descendant of his. I’m happy to know that my American lineage isn’t as gruesome as it could be. I am lucky enough to have some personal items of his along with some of his journal entries that have been preserved in the family.
This is just one of the many many examples of some gangster ass shit this dude has done.
Others include.
– working on the under ground rail road.
– prison breaks.
– one of the immortal 10
– homies with John Brown and Walt Whitman
– The general fucking up of slave traders during bleeding Kansas.
He seriously needs a major motion picture made about his life.
user1688: Quote from Silas Soule:
“I refused to fire, and swore that none but a coward would, for by this time hundreds of women and children were coming towards us, and getting on their knees for mercy. I tell you Ned it was hard to see little children on their knees have their brains beat out by men professing to be civilized. … I saw two Indians hold one of another’s hands, chased until they were exhausted, when they kneeled down, and clasped each other around the neck and were both shot together. They were all scalped, and as high as half a dozen taken from one head. They were all horribly mutilated. One woman was cut open and a child taken out of her, and scalped. … Squaw’s snatches were cut out for trophies. You would think it impossible for white men to butcher and mutilate human beings as they did there.”[6]
RagnarTheReds-head: This dude is fucking awesome .Honourable .
rukeduke: I work a block away from where he was murdered. Every once in a while I stop by to pay my respects.
thekidwiththefro: There’s a really great book about Sand Creek and the public history that surrounds the event. I had to read it for a course in college and it one of the first book I recommend to people that ask why history is important.
Edit: The book is called, “A Misplaced Massacre” by Ari Kelman
Voltusfive2: I am often told by my wife how much she envies my knowledge of history and I always reply “It gives me no comfort”.
hesoshy: This is what happens to good cops and good soldiers. They get murdered for exposing evil.
AT7bie3piuriu: Here you have someone who is worthy to make a monument/statue for.
NOLA_Tachyon: >[during] a rescue attempt of two of John Brown’s men, Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens… Soule posed as a drunken Irishman and got himself arrested. Put into the Charles Town jail, he charmed the jailor and contacted the two men, who also refused to be sprung from the jail. Afterwards, Silas traveled to Boston, where he hobnobbed with various abolitionists and befriended the poet Walt Whitman.
What a legend.
BigLinz79: Not all hero’s wear capes… sad to read this, what a legend, he died for standing up for innocent people
The-Cydonian: For a bit more info on the Sand Creek Massacre, check out this video by Shaun (aka Shaun & Jen) that he made in response to Stefan Molyneux on Native Americans and Genocide. https://youtu.be/Xd_nVCWPgiA
loki-things: Looks like he was made an example of. That’s jacked up.
EnthusiasticKitten: If you read the wiki page, his story needs a freaking movie. Sad ending though, being murdered at 26 for refusing to slaughter women and children.
RizzMustbolt: The Soule brothers, who wrote the other half of the bitchin video game music in the 80’s and 90’s can trace their heritage back to him.
skyclood: Looks like Colin Furze.
Book8: I wonder what a list of people who stood up against the powerful, and their cause of death would look like?
Jwhitx: >”Fingers and ears were cut off the bodies for the jewelry they carried. The body of White Antelope, lying solitarily in the creek bed, was a prime target. Besides scalping him the soldiers cut off his nose, ears, and testicles-the last for a tobacco pouch …”
— Stan Hoig
MirandaCoyne: * Sand Creek, fyi. But yeah, Chivington was an evil SOB who cared little for the lives of the women and children he had slaughtered. He’s the one who said, “Kill them. Women and children. Nits make lice.”
kefefs: What evidence is there that his death had anything to do with the Sand Creek Massacre or his testimony? He was killed almost three months later in a shootout with a criminal after investigating a totally unrelated incident.
>On April 23, 1865, 80 days after testifying, and three weeks after getting married, Captain Soule, was on duty as a Provost Marshal in Denver when he went to investigate guns being fired at 10:30 pm. With his pistol out, Soule went around a corner and faced Charles Squier. Soule fired the first shot and wounded Squier’s left arm, but Squier fired a bullet into Soule’s right cheek bone. Soule was dead before help could arrive. Squier dropped his pistol and ran before he could be arrested by the authorities.
TreginWork: He looks like Chris Jericho
6-_-j: We’re all descended from murderers and peacemakers, slavers and slaves.
HCEarwick: What connection did Charles Squier have with the Sandy Creek Massacre?
kurtn0tk1rk: ‘murrica.
dirtyduo: My last name is Soule. Wonder if there is any relation. Not a very common last name.
MxMxMxMxMxMx: un TIL
BamaBreeze505: Chivington was a real dick.
shennanigram: Utterly worthless, cowardly human beings.
Roadtoad46: A man of great moral courage – which is often the hardest of all. I am pleased the Indians hold a ceremony every year at his grave.