This was the question that Black Kettle’s continued pursuit of diplomacy had to answer.

And the answer he came to — that the specific violence at Sand Creek reflected the specific failure of specific leaders, not the permanent policy of the American government, and that pursuing peace remained the best available option for his people — was not obviously wrong, even though it would ultimately cost him his life.

The aftermath of Sand Creek also produced one of the most extraordinary moments in the congressional record of the period.

Multiple military officers who had been at Fort Lyon testified about what they had seen and what they had told Chivington.