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With all traces removed from Capitol grounds, fate of Union soldier statue remains uncertain

By November 14, 2025 | updated 3 weeks ago

The Union soldier statue installation at History Colorado Center. (Photo courtesy of 9News)

More than five years after it was vandalized and removed, the pedestal that formerly held a bronze statue intended to commemorate Colorado’s role in the Civil War has been taken away from the west side of the state Capitol.

The Colorado Civil War Monument was commissioned to memorialize the 500 soldiers who died fighting against slavery in America.

Installed at the Capitol in 1909, the statue depicts a Union soldier in a raincoat holding a rifle.

The statue’s base is what caused the controversy. The base had four plaques, one on each side, that listed the Civil War battles that Coloradans participated in.

One plaque listed as a Civil War battle the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, in which 250 Native American women, children and tribal elders were slaughtered by the First Colorado Cavalry, led by Col. John Chivington.

In 2002, an addition was made to that plaque denoting that Sand Creek was not a Civil War battle.

The statue was defaced and removed from its base during protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, and it has been at the History Colorado Center, on a long-term loan, ever since.

At the time, Gov. Jared Polis said he was outraged by the damage and vowed to repair the statue.

The pedestal remained at the state Capitol but was boarded up on all four sides.

A few weeks ago, the pedestal was removed from Capitol grounds and is now in the care of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA).

Supporters of the statue said it should be placed back at its original location, which they argued had been carefully selected, and to do otherwise would dishonor the memory of the 500 fallen Colorado soldiers and their role in ending slavery in the U.S.

History Colorado said its role is to hold on to the statue for safekeeping and “create a constructive space for Coloradans to engage with questions about monuments” until the military department determines the best place to place it permanently.

In the 2025 session, lawmakers passed a joint resolution approving the installation of a memorial to the Sand Creek Massacre on the Capitol’s west grounds. The 24-foot-tall monument will include a sculpture of an Arapaho chief, a Cheyenne chief, and a woman holding a child.

The statue, titled “Peace Keepers,” is scheduled to be installed on November 29, 2026.

A depiction of the Sand Creek Massacre memorial statue, by sculptor Gerald Anthony Shippen. Photo courtesy Shippen.

The statue portrays Chief Black Kettle, Chief Left Hand (who was among the dead at Sand Creek) and a Native American woman and child.

Marissa Ventrelli

Reporter

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