The 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment was formed in November 1862 by

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

Governor John Evans, composed mostly of members of the

1st Colorado Infantry Regiment The 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment (officially the 1st Regiment of Colorado Volunteers) was a volunteer infantry regiment of the United States Army formed in the Colorado Territory in 1861 and active in the American West in the late 19th century. ...

and of C and D Companies of the

2nd Colorado Infantry Regiment The 2nd Colorado Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment during the American Civil War from the state of Colorado. On October 13, 1863, the 2nd Colorado Infantry was consolidated with the 3rd Colorado Infantry Regiment in order to create the ...

. It was formed both to protect Colorado against incursions from the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

forces and to fight the Native Americans who already inhabited the area. Command of this unit was given to Colonel John Chivington, who had distinguished himself at the

Battle of Glorieta Pass The Battle of Glorieta Pass (March 26–28, 1862) in the northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the " Gettysburg of the West" by some authors (a term described ...

in the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

early in 1862 against Confederate forces.

Sand Creek Massacre

In early 1864, the 1st Colorado Veteran Volunteers (aka the Veterans Battalion) appears to have initiated the Colorado War by attacking Cheyenne

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

at Fremont's Orchard. The resulting hostilities and Indian retaliations brought traffic on the wagon trails into Denver to a standstill. Peace negotiations were in progress, and encampments of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians on Sand Creek had been assured by the US government that they would not be attacked. Instead, in what is known as the Sand Creek massacre, Chivington and his troops struck in November 1864, a dawn attack that massacred an estimated one-quarter of the Indian encampments, mostly old men, women, and children. Body parts were taken as souvenirs. The event was the basis of the slaughter of an Indian village in the movies ''

Soldier Blue ''Soldier Blue'' is a 1970 American Revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Adapted by John Gay from the novel ''Arrow in the Sun'' by T.V. Olsen, it is inspired by eve ...

'' and '' Little Big Man''. Initial reports of the battle were taken as a victory among the American public, but as details came out, opinions changed. A subsequent Congressional investigation resulted in a scorching castigation of the event, Colonel John Chivington, and the 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment.

Statue controversy

In the night between June 24th and 25th, 2020, a group of Black Lives Matter protestors tore down a statue depicting a Civil-War-era Colorado cavalryman located in front of the Colorado State Capitol. The statue was designed by Captain Jack Howland, a member of the 1st Colorado Cavalry regiment, and had been erected in July 1909. The base of the statue listed the Sand Creek massacre among the battles commemorated by the memorial.

References

{{Reflist Units and formations of the Union Army from Colorado C 1862 establishments in Colorado Territory Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 1865 disestablishments in the United States

Sand Creek Massacre

Statue controversy

See also

References