Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery

Honoring Ceremony at Riverside Cemetery

Riverside Cemetery will be one of the locations taking part in the 9th Annual Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run/Walk. Specifically, there will be an honoring ceremony at Riverside at 8:00 am on Saturday, November 24th.

This honoring ceremony is for two members of the United States Cavalry, Captain Silas Soule and Lt. Joseph Cramer, who resisted the call by Colonel John Chivington to massacre defenseless members of the Cheyenne tribe at Sand Creek in November of 1864.

Captain Silas Soule is a fascinating character, as you can tell from his wikipedia entry. Born in Maine to a family of abolitionists, he spent some time in Kansas working to ensure its entry into the union as a free state. He came to Colorado and eventually became commander of Company D in the 1st Colorado Cavalry. After the atrocities of Sand Creek, he testified against Colonel Chivington, and also wrote passionate letters describing the massacre. According to this article on historynet.com,

Soule testified forcefully against Chivington. His comments were crucial to the committee’s findings. When the hearings ended, the committee branded Chivington’s raid at Sand Creek “a cowardly and coldblooded slaughter, sufficient to cover its perpetrators with indelible infamy, and the face of every American with shame and indignation.”

Four months later he was killed in his Denver home by Charles Squires, who most likely had been hired by men loyal to Chivington. More information on Silas Soule can also be found on findagrave.com.

The Silas Soule honoring ceremony is just a small part of the planned spiritual healing walk/run. Here is the full calendar of events the group has planned:

November 22-24, 2007

Thursday
7:00 a.m. – Sunrise ceremony at the Sand Creek Massacre Site (18 miles northeast of Eads, CO)
8:00 a.m. – Healing Run starts

Friday
7:00 a.m. – Sunrise ceremony, continue healing run to Denver.
7:00 p.m. – Candlelight Vigil at the Denver Art Museum Wheel sculpture, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway.

Saturday
8:00 a.m. – Honoring ceremony at Riverside Cemetery, 5201 Brighton Blvd., in Denver, CO.
9:00 a.m. – Continue the healing run to the State Capitol building. Walkers will join the runners and everyone will walk the last mile. Must register to participate at 15th & Arapahoe.
11:00 a.m. – Presentation at the Colorado State Capitol Building on the west side. There will be a reception for the participants at the Colorado Historical Society, Boettcher Auditorium, 1300 Broadway in Denver.

For information you can contact Otto Braided Hair (406) 592-3599, or Bill Tall Bull at (303) 695-4175 or email sandcreek@rangeweb.net.