Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site ~ Eads, Colorado
Conscience & Courage
Captain Silas S. Soule & Lieutenant Joseph A. Cramer of the 1st Colorado (U.S.) Volunteer Cavalry put their military career - & lives - at risk by refusing to fire during the attack against a peaceful Cheyenne & Arapaho village at Sand Creek, November 29, 1864.
With their companies backing them up, they purposely took little or no part in the massacre of people they knew. Afterward, both men wrote letters to their former commander Major Edward "Ned" Wynkoop, describing the horrors they had witnessed & condemning the leadership of Colonel John M. Chivington, the expedition's commander. These letters led to investigations by two congressional committees & an army commission, which changed history's judgment of Sand Creek from a battle to a massacre of men, women, & children.
Several weeks after Soule testified before the commission he was shot in the streets of Denver. His murderers, although known, were never brought to justice.
These graphic & disturbing letters disappeared, only to resurface in 2000 in time to help convince the U.S. Congress legislation establishing the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
The power of these letters, then & now, lies in their simply honesty, their moral courage & the determination of two soldiers to see justice done.
*No photos of Lt. Joseph Cramer is known to exist at this time.
**Major Edward "Ned" Wynkoop, recipient of the Soule & Cramer Letters.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site ~ Eads, Colorado
Conscience & Courage
Captain Silas S. Soule & Lieutenant Joseph A. Cramer of the 1st Colorado (U.S.) Volunteer Cavalry put their military career - & lives - at risk by refusing to fire during the attack against a peaceful Cheyenne & Arapaho village at Sand Creek, November 29, 1864.
With their companies backing them up, they purposely took little or no part in the massacre of people they knew. Afterward, both men wrote letters to their former commander Major Edward "Ned" Wynkoop, describing the horrors they had witnessed & condemning the leadership of Colonel John M. Chivington, the expedition's commander. These letters led to investigations by two congressional committees & an army commission, which changed history's judgment of Sand Creek from a battle to a massacre of men, women, & children.
Several weeks after Soule testified before the commission he was shot in the streets of Denver. His murderers, although known, were never brought to justice.
These graphic & disturbing letters disappeared, only to resurface in 2000 in time to help convince the U.S. Congress legislation establishing the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
The power of these letters, then & now, lies in their simply honesty, their moral courage & the determination of two soldiers to see justice done.
*No photos of Lt. Joseph Cramer is known to exist at this time.
**Major Edward "Ned" Wynkoop, recipient of the Soule & Cramer Letters.