The Colorado War was a significant and brutal conflict fought from 1863 to 1865 between the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations and white settlers and militia in the Colorado Territory and adjacent regions. It represents a dark chapter in the history of the American West, fueled by competing claims to land and resources, escalating tensions, and ultimately, devastating violence. The war was not simply a series of isolated skirmishes, but a complex and multifaceted struggle with roots in broken treaties, cultural misunderstandings, and the insatiable expansion of the United States.
While the Cheyenne and Arapaho were the primary participants on the Native American side, the Kiowa and Comanche also played a role in actions that occurred in the southern part of the Territory along the Arkansas River. To the north, the Sioux engaged in conflicts along the South Platte River, near the critical Great Platte River Road, which formed the eastern portion of the Overland Trail. The United States government and the Colorado Territory authorities participated through the Colorado Volunteers, a citizens militia, while the United States Army played a less prominent, though still impactful, role. The geographical focus of the Colorado War was the Colorado Eastern Plains, a vast and vital ecosystem for the Plains tribes.
At its heart, the Colorado War was fought over the ability of the North American Plains tribes – primarily the Cheyenne and Arapaho – to maintain control of the bison migration grounds on the Great Plains. These grounds were crucial for the tribes’ survival, providing food, shelter, and materials for tools and clothing. The conflict centered on the upper valleys of the South Platte, Republican, Smoky Hill, and Arkansas River valleys, a region where the plains met the Rocky Mountains. This transitional zone was of immense importance to both the tribes and the burgeoning white settlements.
1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie and 1861 Treaty of Fort Wise
The seeds of the Colorado War were sown long before the first shots were fired. The treaties intended to regulate relations between the United States and the Plains tribes ultimately contributed to the escalation of tensions. In the first Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851), the Eastern Plains between the South Platte and Arkansas Rivers were designated as lands inhabited by the Cheyenne and Arapaho. However, this treaty had limitations. It left out territories inhabited by the Northern Cheyennes (later designated as Lakota or Crow lands), as well as the Sutaio and Hotamitaniu hunting grounds between the Pawnee Fork, the Smoky Hill, the Solomon, and Republican Rivers in what would later become Kansas, now designated as Pawnee lands. The treaty attempted to delineate tribal lands but failed to account for the complex and overlapping territorial claims of the various tribes.
The 1851 treaty, while acknowledging that the tribes did not abandon any further territorial rights not explicitly mentioned, granted US citizens a right of passage through tribal territories but explicitly denied them the right to settle there. This provision would be quickly and dramatically violated.
Prior to 1859, the area held little appeal for American colonists. However, the discovery of gold sparked the Colorado Gold Rush, bringing a massive influx of settlers to the Colorado Piedmont along the mountains. This sudden influx inundated the designated Native American lands with settlers and prospectors, who often disregarded the terms of the treaty.
These new settlers, essentially illegal squatters, pressured the US government to extinguish the existing Native American title to the land. In the autumn of 1860, federal agents reopened negotiations with factions of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes at a council on the Arkansas River. The result of these negotiations was the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861), a highly controversial agreement in which some Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders agreed to accept a small Indian reservation along the Arkansas River between the northern boundary of New Mexico and Sand Creek. The intent was to convert the tribes from nomadic hunters to a farming lifestyle, a drastic and arguably unrealistic proposition.
The new reservation, instead of remaining an open hunting territory, would be surveyed and divided among tribal members, with each member receiving 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land. Federal agents also promised each tribe a US $30,000 subsidy for 15 years, as well as a grist mill, saw mill, and schools. These promises, however, would largely go unfulfilled.
Black Kettle, a prominent Cheyenne leader, was among those who signed the Treaty of Fort Wise. However, the treaty text, which the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs could not read, stipulated that the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations surrender all their lands except for the small reservation. The chiefs later clarified that they could only speak for their own bands, not for the entire nations.
Subsequent US attempts to secure the signatures of additional chiefs failed when the initial signatories stated they had been misled about the treaty’s terms and that it was a fraudulent agreement. The legitimacy of the Treaty of Fort Wise remains highly contested to this day.
The policy of promoting a peaceful transition to farming, which the tribes supposedly agreed to, was frequently undermined by mismanagement and malfeasance on the part of politically appointed federal agents. A prime example of this was Samuel Colley, the federal agent of the Upper Arkansas during the early 1860s. He became notorious for his misappropriation of tribal goods, which he then sold through his son, Dexter, a trader. This corruption further eroded trust between the tribes and the US government.
The Colorado War coincided with the final years of the American Civil War. The same units of the 1st Colorado Volunteers of the US Army that fought in this war also spearheaded the Union counterattack in the New Mexico Campaign against the Confederate Army. This meant that the conflict in Colorado was often overshadowed by the larger Civil War effort.
The war began in April 1864, initiated by the whites without warning, with the intention of forcibly driving the Indians onto a reservation. However, after achieving minor successes against small, surprised bands of Indians, the conflict evolved into a defensive battle against intense Cheyenne and Arapaho attacks on travelers along the Overland Trail along the South Platte.
Dakota War of 1862
The Colorado War was not an isolated event. It was connected to a broader pattern of conflict and tension across the Great Plains. By the early 1860s, relations between the Sioux and the United States on the northern Great Plains had deteriorated significantly, culminating in the Dakota War of 1862.
Before this time, white emigrants had generally passed relatively peacefully through the area (often referred to disparagingly as the Great American Desert) on their way along the California, Mormon, and Oregon Trails. However, after 1860, the discovery of gold in the Rockies, coupled with the growing westward expansion of homesteaders across the 100th meridian west, led the Sioux and related tribes to increasingly resist further white encroachment.
A particular point of contention was the disruption of the bison herds by the increasingly heavily used trails, as well as the development of new trails that further fragmented the herds. The Colorado War marked the spread of this trend southward among the Plains Tribes along the Rockies, to the area traversed by the trails.
As a result, the United States Army, responsible for overseeing the emigration routes, shifted the trails southward along the South Platte across present-day northeastern Colorado, before crossing up to the Laramie Plains along the route followed by the Overland Stage Line.
The increased traffic in the area led to attacks by the Kiowa, who were historically among the most resistant tribes to white encroachment. The Cheyenne and Arapaho, closely related Algonquian-speaking tribes who had migrated westward from the Great Lakes region in the 18th century, were initially seen as less prone to conflict with the whites. However, they were caught in the crossfire of the war and ultimately suffered some of its most devastating consequences.
Tensions continued to escalate between settlers and Indians. The discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountains attracted more and more white settlers to the territory, many of whom were armed and had formed militias for self-defense.
In response, the Indians, particularly the Cheyennes, formed their own war parties, such as the notorious Dog Soldiers. This was viewed by many as a violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, further straining relations between Indians and whites. Indian war parties began raiding white settlements, and with limited military intervention, the militia took matters into their own hands to defend themselves.
The Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre, which occurred on November 29, 1864, stands as a horrifying symbol of the brutality of the Colorado War. A 675-man unit of federal troops, consisting of armed white men from Colorado led by John Chivington, crossed into Cheyenne and Arapaho territory in Southern Colorado.
Black Kettle’s village, which was not involved in the raids on white settlements and believed it was at peace with the US troops, was attacked by Chivington’s Colorado Volunteer troops early in the morning. While the village was flying a white flag and an American flag, the troops killed over 200 Indians, including unarmed women and children.
The attack was so vicious that some of Chivington’s own men refused to participate. Afterward, the troops paraded Indian body parts through nearby towns.
The U.S. Army’s participation in the war, particularly the Sand Creek Massacre, was widely condemned, forcing Congress to take an official position against the actions of Colonel John Chivington of the Colorado Volunteers.
Initial reports in the Rocky Mountain News hailed Chivington as a hero. However, more accurate accounts of the battle from Cheyenne-Arapaho survivors reached the U.S. press. A white Indian agent who survived the battle corroborated the Native American version, and his testimony was included in the Congressional Review as a critical piece of evidence. The evidence prompted Congress to hold hearings on the brutality in the spring of 1865.
While Congress formally condemned Chivington and his volunteers, no further punishment was carried out. This lack of accountability further fueled resentment among the tribes.
Indian Retaliation
In response to the Sand Creek Massacre, many Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians joined the Dog Soldiers and mobilized war parties to attack settlements and military outposts throughout Colorado.
On January 7, 1865, a war band consisting of 1000 warriors surprised and attacked Camp Rankin, at present-day Julesburg, Colorado, killing numerous soldiers and civilian volunteers. At Point of Rocks, Indians attacked a train filled with soldiers from the Colorado Cavalry.
The Indians also targeted the ranching industry in Colorado, raiding isolated ranches, farms, and cattle drives to acquire resources such as horses.
One raid occurred on January 14, 1865, when a 100-man Indian party attacked Bill Morris’ ranch, which housed his family and five of his cowboys. The family was separated, and only Bill, his wife, and one of his sons survived. Bill was harassed and tortured after being captured, and his wife was abducted.
Another attack happened on January 15, when the Godfrey Ranch, owned by Holon Godfrey, was attacked by a band of 130 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. The Indians were met by gunfire from the cowboys stationed inside the fortified ranch.
The battle lasted from night until morning. The Indians used tactics such as trying to burn the house with flaming arrows, but they failed. By morning, the Indians left, taking Godfrey’s horses and cattle. Godfrey claimed that the Indians left the bodies of 17 of their dead comrades. Godfrey’s ranch, which was then christened as “Fort Wicked,” was one of the few ranches to survive the January attacks.
Military Intervention
As a result of the Colorado War, the Arapaho, who were largely non-hostile throughout the conflict, were forced to give up their remaining territory within the State of Colorado, as were the Kiowa and Comanche. The tribes were forced to move to Indian territory in present-day Oklahoma. Consequently, the only Native Americans remaining in the state were the Utes, which the U.S. recognized as holding claim to all lands west of the Continental Divide.
U.S. Army operations during the war were largely conducted out of Fort Laramie, the regional headquarters of the Army. In the fall of 1863, the fort was commanded by Lt. Colonel William O. Collins of the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. His son, Caspar Collins (for whom Fort Caspar was named), would later be killed in action against the Sioux nearby along the North Platte River in present-day Wyoming.
Initially, relations were relatively peaceful between the U.S. and the intermixed tribes of the Arapaho and Cheyenne. The Arapaho wintered in large villages along the Cache la Poudre River where it emerges from the Laramie Foothills.
The mountains to the west were firmly held by the Utes, who were descendants of the Uto-Aztecan people who had occupied the area for over a millennium.
The Army established Camp Collins, named for the Fort Laramie commander, on the banks of the Poudre near present-day Laporte in early 1864. After a devastating flood in June, the Army relocated their camp southeast to high ground on the Poudre at present-day Fort Collins.
The camp was initially occupied by the 11th Ohio Volunteers, and later by elements of the Kansas Volunteers, both of which were shifted to other duties. The Colorado Volunteers later occupied the post and saw much action in the southeastern areas of the state. The attacks on the stage routes led to a general hostility among the whites in the new Colorado Territory against all Native American presences, regardless of how cooperative or benign they might be. The Colorado War left a lasting scar on the landscape and the relationships between the Native American tribes and the United States government.