He Raised the American Flag Over His Camp at Sand Creek — 4 Years Later Custer Killed Him Anyway

At dawn on November 29, 1864, an American flag and a white flag were flying over Black Kettle's lodge at Sand Creek, Colorado. The Cheyenne peace chief had been told that as long as that flag flew, no soldier would fire on his camp. About 700 Colorado soldiers under Colonel John Chivington attacked anyway. Around 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho were killed, most of them women, children and old men. Black Kettle carried his wife out alive with nine wounds. He did not go to war. He signed treaty after treaty. He asked the army for protection again. And on November 27, 1868, almost four years to the day after Sand Creek, George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry charged his camp on the Washita River in the snow. Black Kettle and his wife were shot in the back while crossing the river. He kept believing the flag would protect him. Twice, it did not. SOURCES U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, report on Sand Creek (1865) National Park Service, Sand Creek Massacre and Washita Battlefield National Historic Sites #BlackKettle #SandCreek #Cheyenne #Custer #NativeAmericanHistory