On that cold November morning, Colonel Chivington and elements of the 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment of Volunteers (US) and 3rd Regiment of Colorado Cavalry Volunteers (US), arrived just southwest of the Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment. Colonel Chivington was never given orders to leave Denver, and at around 6:30, the soldiers would open fire amongst the lodges of the innocent and unaware Arapaho and Cheyenne civilians. Over the course of eight hours the American troops killed around 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people composed mostly of women, children, and the elderly. During the afternoon and following day, the soldiers wandered over the field committing atrocities on the dead before departing the scene on December 1st.
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