Posted on 05/24/2014 6:01:46 AM PDT by Kaslin
Why give people the impression that it was US Army regular troops?
If it doesn’t make a difference to you, then let people know that it was a Colorado state militia.
“Sand Creek was done by Colorado Militia volunteers, not regular US Army troops. “
A common thread elsewhere/elsewhen
Han;s Mill, MO 1838
The militia involved in the massacre was led by Colonel William Jennings, Sheriff of Livingston County. At the time of the attack it consisted of 240 men...
Iron County, UT 1857
Another massacre, again, a local militia.
Red River, LA 1874
In 1874 a **paramilitary organization** of Southern Democrats known as the White League attacked Republican officeholders. The massacre took place in Red River, Louisiana and left 26 people dead.
A Militia? You guess.
BTW - Wounded Knee was Army Regulars, the 7th Calvary.
In more modern times...
Ludlow, CO 1914
The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company camp guards on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado, on April 20, 1914. Some two dozen people, including women and children, were killed.
IF you do a search of “militia” and “massacre” you see examples all over the world, even today.
Whether or not the action is cloaked by the notion of “organized military” is immaterial, as is the timeframe, it all proof of the ability of Mankind to be a savage....
My point was that I’m unsure on the practical difference at the time. Were these part-time soldiers on a weekend raid, like we usually think of the milita, a Home Guard, if you will, or were they full-time soldiers just like those fighting back east, only Volunteers instead of Regulars?
If the first, then the distinction between Regulars and militia is significant. If the second, then IMO it is not and the US Army is fully responsible.
At the time, something over 95% of Union army were Volunteers.
The unit most certainly wasn’t a State Militia, since CO didn’t become a State till 1876. Hence the state nickname, the Centennial State. :)
***I get annoyed when people make fun of the 7th Cavalry, because they were American GIs fighting for us,***
People don’t realize that Custer went against a larger force of Sioux and Cheyenne who had just invaded the CROW territory. The CROW were our allies against the Hostile Sioux, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot tribes.
As for torture, if a person was captured the torture began immediately. First the soles of the feet were sliced off and it was a long walk back to the Indian camp.
I laugh at a Remington painting of a cavalryman taken prisoner. He still has his boots on.
Every time I have ever looked into Sand Creek, it always looked like Chivington and his drunken Colorado guys were on their own crazy massacre in the Colorado territory,
Chivington was forced to resign from the militia, and was banned from Colorado politics, politics which had always been his purpose.
I don’t disagree. It is notable that it is very easy to find detailed accounts of the Sand Creek Massacre.
Much more difficult to find detailed accounts of the Indian raids and accompanying atrocities that had caused the CO militia to be so angry.
At Sand Creek all the militia guys did was respond in muted kind to Indian atrocities. It was wrong, but not by Indian standards. By ours.
I’m always amused by Indian activists who get such a charge out of recounting what happened at SC, when all the soldiers did there was imitate the Indians, in a somewhat pallid way.
Depends upon the situation.
If the men being captured are criminal minded and refuse to change their thinking, after proper judicial proceedings they may be handled by deadly force.
well I am glad they apologized and I also agree that the onerous terms after WWI contributed to the cause of WW II
If one wanted to we could look further in history, you will see why Indians were not trusted.
Julesburg Massacre.
Fort Mimms.
Massacre of the Fort Dearborne school children.
Massacre of the Pennsylvania school children during the Conspiracy of Pontiac.
Fort Sandusky massacre.
Fort St Joseph Massacre.
Fort Ouiatenon Massacre.
Fort Michilimackinac Massacre.
Fort Venango Massacre.
Fort Le Boeuf. No massacre as they escaped to Fort Pitt.
Fort Presque Isle Massacre. (Treachery of the worst sort)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac%27s_War#Small_forts_taken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_massacre
Here is a list of other massacres. Be careful as they often do not tell the whole story. For example, at the Council House massacre in San Antonio, it makes it sound like the Indians were lured in then killed.
What happened was the Indians brought in some captive white children WITH THEIR FACES BURNED OFF. This is what set off the massacre.
My oldest book on the Minnesota massacre was published in I think, 1865, or a little before.
“Minnesota Massacre” doesn’t google so well, and I don’t expect to ever see a movie on it.
***Much more difficult to find detailed accounts of the Indian raids and accompanying atrocities that had caused the CO militia to be so angry.***
Try these books. MASSACRES OF THE MOUNTAINS by J R Dunn Jr. Written a during the late 1870s. Lots of details as to WHY!
The author admits he likes Indians but is not willing to sugarcoat many of the findings in his own research and interviews with people of those days.
And this one THE INDIAN WARS OF 1864 by Captain Eugene Ware. University of Nebraska Press.
Then I have a very old rare copy of ROMANCE AND TRAGEDY OF PIONEER LIFE by Augustus Lynch Mason (1883)
THE SAVAGE YEARS anthology edited by Shepard Rifkin. articles taken from old newspapers and pioneer diaries.
Comanches, The History of a People by T.R. Fehrenbach
And this:
You will never look at the Indian Wars in the same light again.
Thanks. 100 day volunteers is a whole other kettle of fish than 3 year volunteers.
The Germans didn't really have much right to complain about the Treaty of Versailles.
If you want to see harsh terms, take a look at what the Germans imposed on the Russians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk
That sure makes clear, what I was struggling to say.
The Wake murders were not right away were they? I thought the massacre was in October 1943.
The post 1865 Army had the Negro 24th and 25th Infantry and 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments after the later restructuring. Have been a little interested in that era. One of my GG Grandfathers was Arthur MacArthur’s First Sergeant in the 13th Infantry at one time.
I KNOW the US Navy had black sailors aboard ship but don’t know about Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children.
Having lived in Europe for seven years, I can assure you the old time anti-Semitism still exists. I found it in some of the most unexpected places.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.