John Milton Chivington deserves specific examination, because understanding him helps explain how Sand Creek was possible within the institutional frameworks of the time.

Chivington was a Methodist minister who had served as a military chaplain before receiving a military commission.

He had performed well at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico in 1862, an engagement that helped prevent Confederate forces from controlling the Southwest.

This military success had given him political standing in Colorado and a military reputation that translated into authority.

He was also a man who had publicly stated, in a speech before the attack, that he believed the appropriate response to the “Indian problem” was extermination.