Silas S. Soule
Two Letters Regarding the Sand Creek Massacre.



Captain Silas Soule wrote the following two letters to his mother Sophia Soule, describing the disturbing images at the Sand Creek Massacre and his refusal to participate. Many historians argue that Soule's candid and at the time private comments written just days after the attack provide damning evidence of the impropriety of Colonel John Chivington's actions at Sand Creek.


At the time of the Sand Creek controversy in 1865, Captain Soule, Major Edward Wynkoop, Lt. Joseph Cramer, and Lt. Colonel Samuel Tappan were accused of conspiring to lie about Sand Creek in order to destroy Chivington's reputation and political ambitions. While its can be argued that Tappan, whose dislike for Chivington was no secret, might have had a political axe to grind. But there is no evidence to suggest that Soule had any vested interest in Colorado or national politics. The record also shows that Wynkoop's career before and after Sand Creek was deeply rooted in both the military and non-elected positions in the service of his country.




Fort Lyon, C.T.

Dec. 18, 1864


Dear Mother:


I received a letter from you to-night and you bet I was glad to hear from you. I ought to write oftener, but I am so lazy and have so little that would interest you that I neglect to write. I wrote to Annie and sent the letter by Mr. Gould who belongs in Brunswick, I believe. He has served three years in my Regament, is going to Bath. You will see him and he will tell you every thing you want to know. I have not received any letter from Will since he left Lawrence. I think I will write to him in the morning although I don't believe he will receive it, the mails are so irregular. I receive letters from Annie and Em quite often and endeavor to answer them as soon as possible. I still have hopes of going to Maine this winter, but may not until spring.


We have had considerable trouble with Indians this fall. The day you wrote, I was present at a Massacre of three hundred Indians mostly women and children. It was a horrable scene and I would not let my Company fire. They were friendly and some of our soldiers were in their Camp at the time trading. It looked too hard for me to see little Children on their knees begging for their lives, have their brains beat out like dogs. It was a Regament of 100 days men who accomplished the noble deed. Some of the Indians fought when they saw no chance of escape and killed twelve and wounded forty of our men. I had one Horse shot. I have been an Indian scout for at least three weeks, but don’t think I will have much more at present.


Tell Annie and Em that I am just beginning to receive papers from them for which I am very gratefull. Give my love to every body and tell them that I would be glad to hear from them. I do not write near as often as I used to for I have so much to do to keep my Co. papers correct. I am responsible for fifty thousand dollars worth of government property which must be attended to. I will write occasionally. Don’t get worried for there is not the least danger in the world of my getting killed, and as I am the most interested party, you shouldn’t fret. I believe I will write a letter to Uncle Ben.


Good night.

Your Sonny,

Sile



Jan. 8, 1865

Fort Lyon, C.T.


Dear Mother:


I suppose you are anxious to hear from me. I should have written oftener if I had not been so busy fixing up my papers. Our Reg. has been mustered out, their 3 years having expired, and all the officers are relieved from duty at this Post, and I amongst the rest want to get my papers all square so if I go out I can start for the States right off. But the officers think that I will be retained in the Veteran organization. At any rate I can if I wish and I have been thinking the matter over and believe it is best, for if I go back I don’t know of any thing I could go at that would pay for I am too lazy to work you well know. The only chance would be to marry a rich widow. Do you think there is a good chance in Maine or will I find richer ones out west?


I had applied for a leave of absence to go to Maine and just received answer from it saying that our Regt. was to be immediately reorganized, so I will have to wait and may not see you before March. I suppose you have seen Mr. Gould. I sent a letter by him. He will tell you all about killing Indians.


I spent New Year’s day on the battle ground counting dead Indians. There were not as many killed as was reported. There was not more than one hundred and thirty killed, but most of them were women and children and all of them scalped. I hope the authorities at Washington will investigate the killing of those Indians. I think they will be apt to hoist some of our high officials. I would not fire on the Indians with my Co. and the Col. said he would have me cashiered, but he is out of the service before me and I think I stand better than he does in regard to his great Indian fight.


I am reforming in regard to my bad habits, Mother, for I have left off chewing tobacco and smoking a pipe, but I will smoke cigars when I can get them. I don’t drink, so you see I am getting quite responsible and will stand a chance of getting a wife when I go down east. I am going to write Will this evening. I have not written since he went south. I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy New year. Wish I could send you a present, but our Pay master died Christmas and we have had no pay for 4 months. I am almost broke.


Your affectionate Son,

Sile



Soule's two letters, written in December 1864 and January 1865, reveal several important issues at the center of the government's Sand Creek Massacre inquiries, which took place three months later.


1. The number of Indians killed. Soule inspected the battle site on January 1, 1865, with a detachment of about 30 First Regiment soldiers led by Captain Booth, Chief of Cavalry In the Upper Arkansas District. In his letter, Soule puts the number of dead Indians at 130 but lowered that to 69 in his testimony before the military inquiry. He also mentions that "most" were women and children. The testimonies of nearly all First Regiment soldiers and officers gave varied Indian casualty estimates between 50 and 200, while Chivington and his Third Regiment soldiers and officers reported much higher numbers ranging from 400 to 600. The inconsistency continued on the matter of women and children killed, with First Regiment men reporting approximately two-thirds, while Third Regiment men claimed a lower percentage. Chivington himself claimed he saw very few women or children killed. Historical records now estimate Indian casualties at approximately 200, with two-thirds being women and children.


2. Soldier casualties. Soule writes that 40 soldiers were wounded and 12 killed. This number has consistently remained in historical records.


3. The brutality of the attack. Soule's lament of watching children begging for their lives and "have their brains beat out like dogs," and his comment about all of the dead being scalped is consistent with later testimonies given by other First Regiment soldiers.


4. The alleged conspiracy against Chivington. Soule comments, "I hope the authorities at Washington will investigate the killing of those Indians. I think they will be apt to hoist some of our high officials . . ." He also mentions that the Indians at Sand Creek were friendly, and there were soldiers trading at the camp at the time of the attack. These comments, all later corroborated by other witnesses, provide more evidence of military impropriety than a political conspiracy. At the time of Soule's letters, Wynkoop was conducting interviews of soldiers who were at Sand Creek, and rumors were in the air that Tappan and others were pressing Washington for an investigation. These reactions appear more indicative of a genuine concern that a militia, sanctioned by the government and led by a Union officer, had inappropriately attacked Indians later proven to have surrendered as prisoners of the Army.


5. The murder of Silas Soule during the investigation of Sand Creek. In his letters, Soule unwittingly foreshadowed his own death in his comment about Chivington's animosity toward him. Several witnesses testified that Chivington threatened Soule before the Sand Creek attack, when Soule protested Chivington's plan. Soule writes in his letter that Chivington also threatened him with a dishonorable discharge for Soule's refusal to allow his company to fire on the Indians. Some "historical" accounts on the Internet, and in one poorly researched book, claim that Chivington arrested Soule and several others after Sand Creek. These accounts have no historical basis in fact. It is further reasonable to assume that Soule himself would have mentioned an arrest in one of these letters. Verified accounts prove that Soule (as he suggests in his letter) was mustered out of the Army soon after Sand Creek, and then joined the Veteran's Service and assigned to the Denver Provost Guard. Soule was a Provost Marshal when he testified against Chivington at the military investigation in the spring of 1865. Prior to his testimony, he received numerous threats from Chivington supporters, and narrowly escaped one assassination attempt. Shortly after his testimony, Soule was murdered on a Denver street by Charles Squire, a known criminal who was enlisted as a private in the Colorado Second Regiment. Rumors abounded that Squire, who fled Colorado after killing Soule, was hired by Chivington, but no evidence has ever emerged to connect Chivington to the murder. Another rumor pervaded that Squire, with no known ties to the Sand Creek controversy, committed the crime because of an unrelated incident with Soule. A more plausible theory points to Squire's crime as a random criminal act fueled by alcohol. Witnesses reported that Squire confessed to killing Soule without stating any reason other than a convoluted rambling about self defense. Squire was later arrested in New Mexico and brought back to face a military court martial for the murder, but he escaped with the help of two confederates shortly before his trial giving further rise to rumors of a Chivington conspiracy. Historical evidence, however, points to the likelihood that Squire's escape may have been arranged by a family member who feared that Squire would be killed by supporters of the popular Soule.



Sources:


Stan Hoig: The Sand Creek Massacre

(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961.)

Gary L. Roberts: Sand Creek, Tragedy and Symbol.
(Norman: University of Oklahoma University Microfilms Intnl.,1984. Available at the Denver Public Library Western History Department - call: C970.3 C428rob)


Tom Bensing: Silas Soule: A Short, Eventful Life of Moral Courage

(Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing, 2012)



Go to BIBLIOGRAPHY for citation


Read other Letters of Silas Soule

The letters of Silas S. Soule 1861 – 1864 Recounting His Experiences in the Colorado Territory Transcribed from his actual letters in Denver Library Western History Dept. Some misspellings are left as it from originals







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