No understanding of the events of May 1866 is possible without paying careful attention to the eye-witness testimony gathered three weeks after the massacre by a specially-appointed Congressional delegation.  Headed by Elihu B. Washburne, an Illinois Republican, the committee listened as 170 women and men came forward to bear witness to a wave of terror, death, rape, arson, and theft.  Their accounts are often heartbreaking and always moving.  Their accounts are also the material from which historians work.  We read their words, sift them, weigh them, think about them, and use them to come to know more about the past.  We invite you to join us in this endeavor.  Take a few minutes to dip into this report.  Read for yourself about what happened over those fateful three days in early May 1866.