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Silas Soule died for refusing to whitewash the Sand Creek Massacre. His actions are more relevant than ever.

Coloradosun · 🇮🇳 public India · · 4699 words · By Kevin Simpson
Institutional Erasure Historical Justice Moral Courage
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What to know about Institutional Erasure

Story first appeared in: On a windswept day exactly 161 years after his murder, Silas Soule’s white marble headstone attracts few visitors.

Claims checked 20
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story first appeared in: On a windswept day exactly 161 years after his murder, Silas Soule’s white marble headstone attracts few visitors.

Why it matters

A small bouquet of artificial flowers adds a splash of color that sets this marker apart from the rows of other military graves, while a couple of patriotic pins lie in the dust at its base.

Common ground

By evening, someone has added an unopened can of Coors.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Pity: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/10/silas-soule-sand-creek-massacre-colorado-hist…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 60% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 20 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 10
info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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Claim 1: “Rocky Mountain News, founded in 1859 by unabashed civic booster and editor William Byers”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 2: “The controversial “On Guard” statue of a Union soldier at the state Capitol... was amended in 2002 to clarify that Sand Creek was, in fact, not among the battles fought in the Civil War era, but a massacre”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence discusses general Colorado history and the Jan 6th Capitol riots, but does not mention the 'On Guard' statue or its 2002 amendment.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Colorado attracted the ancient Pueblo peoples and the Plains Native Americans with its natural resoruces before becom...
https://www.history.com/articles/colorado
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web search NEUTRAL — A grant from the state of Colorado helped pay for this inaugural year, bringing young people from both communities back to Colorado's southeastern plains. They are here to help each other heal from a …
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/01/nx-s1-5186711/in-colorado-two…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was perhaps the most widely documented act of political violence in history. The New York Times obtained, analyzed and ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWJVMoe7OY0
check_circle
Claim 3: “Silas Soule’s white marble headstone attracts few visitors... in Denver’s Riverside Cemetery”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Wikipedia, Atlas Obscura, and Denver Westword) confirm Silas Soule is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Denver.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Buried. Riverside Cemetery (Denver, Colorado). Allegiance. United States.Soule was first buried at Denver City Cemetery (now the location of Cheesman Park).[2] A large memorial stone was erected above…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The entrance to Riverside Cemetery has changed in recent years. It is now on 58th Avenue, just east of the South Platte River. The entry is slightly hidden, and a sign there points the way. Soule’s gr…
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grave-of-silas-soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — After three days of running across the plains, the Spiritual Run had started out on the morning of December 3 at Riverside Cemetery, where Silas Soule is buried. In the military section of Denver’s ol…
https://www.westword.com/news/sand-creek-massacre-governor-j…
schedule
Claim 4: “the Dec. 14, 1864, correspondence directed to Maj. Edward Wynkoop”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “The History Colorado Center opened a new Sand Creek exhibit in 2022”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “Letters from Lt. Joseph Cramer, a fellow officer in the Colorado Volunteers who also refused to attack the encampment”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “territorial efforts at the time to disenfranchise Black men, who’d had voting rights since 1861”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “in 1995, in an editorial under the headline “Siding with the killers,” the Rocky Mountain News offered something like a historical mea culpa”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 9: “The date the 26-year-old Soule died — April 23”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (Wikipedia/Facts for Kids and a detailed biographical account) confirm he died on April 23, 1865. Born in 1838 and died in 1865 makes him 26 years old.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Silas Stillman Soule was an American abolitionist, teenage conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and early example of what would later be called a "whistleblower".At the age of 17, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Silas Stillman Soule (born July 26, 1838 – died April 23, 1865) was an American hero who fought against slavery. He was part of a group called abolitionists, who wanted to end slavery in the United St…
https://kids.kiddle.co/Silas_Soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On April 23, Silas and Hersa were walking home from visiting friends when shots rang out nearby. Silas, as part of his duties, felt obligated to investigate. He entered a nearby alley, walking right i…
https://thecollector-frontend-nextjs-git-master-thecollector…
info
Claim 10: “Last October, a distant relative of Soule’s donated the originals to the Denver Public Library”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'original' and does not mention the Denver Public Library or the donation of letters.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of ORIGINAL is of, relating to, or constituting an origin or beginning : initial. How to use original in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Original.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/original
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ORIGINAL definition: 1. existing since the beginning, or being the earliest form of something: 2. An original piece of…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/original
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 · original (comparative more original, superlative most original) (not comparable) Relating to the origin or beginning; preceding all others. quotations
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/original
schedule
Claim 11: “the report of its unveiling in 1909, published 44 years to the day after Soule was murdered”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 12: “the Army officer shot to death in 1865”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Wikipedia, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, and a biographical entry) confirm he was shot and killed in 1865.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Silas Stillman Soule was an American abolitionist, teenage conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and early example of what would later be called a "whistleblower".Silas Soule's Mili…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In April of 1865, Silas Soule married Hersa Coberly and the couple made their home in Denver. Less than 80 days following his testimony to the military inquiry, Soule was shot and killed in the street…
https://www.nps.gov/sand/learn/historyculture/the-life-of-si…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Silas Soule was born into a family of abolitionists in Bath, Maine on July 26, 1838.On April 23, 1865, Charles Squires, a soldier, shot Soule in the head near his Denver home, killing him. It is thoug…
https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/chron/civilwarnotes/soule.ht…
info
Claim 13: “Copies of Soule’s correspondence were discovered around 2000, when a Denver-area resident found them among family documents stored in a trunk”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim discusses Soule's general life and photos but does not mention the discovery of correspondence in a trunk around the year 2000.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Twenty-year-old Silas Soule is the second man from the right. During the late 1850s, pro-slavery forces from Missouri and abolitionist forces from Kansas were engaged in open warfare. The conflict was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Soule
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The life of Captain Silas Soule is one of those rare instances of a man having the moral courage to not act when it was not a popular decision amongst his peers. Captain Silas Soule 1863 or 1864 photo…
https://medium.com/@mitchschmidtke/moral-courage-of-silas-so…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In April of 1865, Silas Soule married Hersa Coberly and the couple made their home in Denver. Less than 80 days following his testimony to the military inquiry, Soule was shot and killed in the street…
https://www.nps.gov/sand/learn/historyculture/the-life-of-si…
schedule
Claim 14: “in 2014, then-Gov. John Hickenlooper issued an official apology to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes — 150 years after the Sand Creek atrocity”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 15: “in 2023, federal officials officially renamed Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 16: “the Nov. 29, 1864 slaughter of about 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly older adults, women and children”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia, Britannica, and the National Historic Site all confirm the date (Nov 29, 1864) and the casualties (approximately 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Sand Creek massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre, the battle of Sand Creek or the massacre of Cheyenne Indians) was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the Amer…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Creek_massacre
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Sand Creek Massacre was a surprise attack by about 675 U.S. troops under Colonel John M. Chivington on a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory in November 1864. Mo…
https://www.britannica.com/event/Sand-Creek-Massacre
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — "The Sand Creek Massacre" by Robert Lindneaux portrays his concept of the assault on the peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho village by the U.S. Army. Courtesy of History Colorado H.6130.37 The morning of N…
https://www.nps.gov/sand/learn/historyculture/index.htm
help
Claim 17: “In 2010, History Colorado placed a plaque marking the location of Soule’s assassination on a building at 15th and Arapahoe streets”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
schedule
Claim 18: “the Sand Creek Spiritual Healing Run, the annual 173-mile event from the Sand Creek site near Eads to downtown Denver. Launched by Arapaho and Cheyenne descendants in 1999”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 19: “his refusal to follow orders from Col. John Chivington, a Methodist minister turned Army officer, to attack the peaceful encampment”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this specific claim returned information about a biblical Silas rather than the historical Silas Soule. No evidence in the provided text confirms the refusal of orders from Chivington.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Silas or Silvanus (/ ˈsaɪləs /; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on hi…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 4, 2022 · Silas is a great example of someone who used his gifts to serve the Lord and others with all his heart. The apostles called him “faithful,” and he was known as one to “encourage and stre…
https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Silas.html
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 8, 2023 · Who was Silas in the Bible? Silas was a prominent church member in Jerusalem, also called Silvanus. He and Judas, surnamed Barsabas, were chosen by the church there to accompany Paul and…
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/silas-in-the-bible-…
help
Claim 20: “in the course of social justice protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the statue was toppled”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.