John Chivington - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• In George Sherman's 1951 Western Tomahawk, situated several years after the Sand Creek massacre, Army Lt. Tob Dancy brags to Julie Madden whose wagon his patrol is escorting about having ridden with Chivington years ago. The movie's main character, frontiersman Jim Bridger, later reveals to Julie that his wife had been chief Black Kettle's daughter and that the teenage Cheyenne girl accompanying him, Monahseetah, is her sister and the only survivor of a massacre perpetrated by Chivington and his men. Bridger suspects Dancy to be his wife's murderer and pursues him after Dancy escapes from a battle with the Sioux he had provocated against orders. When confronted, Dancy confirms Bridger's suspicion by claiming to have acted on orders. While Bridger is still beating him up, Dancy is shot by a young Sioux whose friend Dancy had killed (thus initiating the conflict) early in the story.
• The episode "Handful of Fire" (December 5, 1961) of NBC's Laramie western series is loosely based on historical events. A Colonel John Barrington, played by George Macready, and presumably modeled on John Chivington, escapes while facing a court martial at Fort Laramie for his role in the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota in 1890. The Laramie episode reveals that series character Slim Sherman (John Smith) had been present at Wounded Knee and hence testified against Barrington. Then Barrington's daughter, Madge, played by Karen Sharpe, takes Slim hostage. She has papers which she contends justify her father's harsh policies against the Indians. Slim escapes but is trapped by the Sioux and must negotiate with the Indians to save the party from massacre.
• Soldier Blue is a 1970 American Revisionist Western movie directed by Ralph Nelson and inspired by events of the 1864 Sand Creek massacre.
• James A. Michener loosely based his character Frank Skimmerhorn in the novel Centennial on Chivington. In the 1978 miniseries based on Michener's novel, Frank Skimmerhorn was portrayed by Richard Crenna.
• In The Listening Sky, Dorothy Garlock portrayed Chivington as the father of Jane Love. The book provides background detail on Chivington.
• In the TNT mini-series, Into the West, Chivington was portrayed by Tom Berenger.
• The American television series Playhouse 90 broadcast "Massacre at Sand Creek" on December 27, 1956. It recounted the massacre and the court-martial of Chivington, but changed the names of those involved. Chivington became John Templeton, played by Everett Sloane.
• Peter La Farge's song "The Crimson Parson" is about the massacre at Sand Creek.