DENVER (CBS) – Police in Denver are investigating after a Civil War statue in front of the Colorado State Capitol was toppled overnight and sustained some damage. The statue and its base have been repeatedly vandalized since the George Floyd death protests began in Denver.
(credit: CBS)
According to the State of Colorado website, “This statue of a Civil War cavalryman, dismounted with rifle in hand, honors the Colorado soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War. The statue was designed by Captain Jack Howland, a member of the First Colorado Cavalry.” Howland fought for the Union.
The First Colorado Cavalry is tied to the Sand Creek Massacre, a dark chapter in Colorado’s history. Led by Col. John M. Chivington, 675 volunteer U.S. soldiers attacked 700 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians on Nov. 29, 1864, along Sand Creek on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. Over 8 hours, the soldiers killed approximately 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho, mostly women, children and elderly, as they fled their camps and hid behind rocks and shrubs.
Many battles are commemorated on the plaque at the bottom of the statue, and included among those is the listing of the Sand Creek engagement.
Crews were using heavy machinery to remove the statue Thursday morning. They said it has to be transported to a different location for repairs.
“This monument is designed to commemorate Colorado’s involvement in the Civil War, of course Colorado was on the Union side, and it lists a number of names and of infantry that served from Colorado and some battles that took place here during that time,” said Doug Platt, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration.
A man CBS4 spoke with Thursday morning said he was glad to see the statue knocked down.
“I know that (soldier) is one of many men who were part of the Sand Creek Massacre and many other genocidal acts that happened throughout Colorado’s early histories,” he said.
Surveillance tapes are being turned over to police for review. Police said more information would be released Thursday.
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Civil War Statue In Front Of Colorado State Capitol Pulled Down - CBS Denver
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