Birth1838Death1865BirthplaceBath, MainePlace of ResidenceDenver, ColoradoFort Lyon, ColoradoAffiliationsFirst Colorado CavalryUnion ArmyOccupationsRecruiting officerCaptain Biographical NoteSilas Soule was an abolitionist and Union Army officer best known for his moral courage during the Sand Creek Massacre. Raised in a deeply anti-slavery family, he carried those values into his military service with the First Colorado Cavalry during the Civil War. When ordered by Colonel John Chivington (1821-1894) to attack a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camp at Sand Creek, Soule refused to let his men fire. After the massacre, he spoke out—writing letters and testifying in opposition to Chivington—which helped expose what really happened. Not long after leaving the army and settling in Denver, he was assassinated on April 23, 1865, likely in retaliation for his testimony.
Silas S. Soule. Denver Public Library Digital Collections, accessed 22/07/2026, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/2029527
