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Lieutenant Casper Collins: Fighting the Odds at Platte BridgeWild West | 8 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post
Collins and his party rode across the bottomland up to the bluff and turned west. Indians that could be seen from the fort were hidden from Collins. With loud enthusiasm, they stormed out of the hills and sagebrush. When Collins saw the Indians attempting to flank him, he wheeled his men by fours left into line, facing Cheyenne warriors coming up from the river, and ordered his men to charge. Then two parties of Indians rushed in upon his rear. When several of his men had been wounded and he himself shot in the hip, he ordered retreat. Subscribe Today
Sebastian Nehring, not understanding the order, dismounted to fight in a washout. Grimm yelled in German to run for the bridge. It was too late; no one saw Nehring alive after that. George Camp was wounded, his horse killed. As he crawled on hands and knees, an Indian tomahawked his head. George McDonald also died on the battlefield. Hankhammer’s wounded horse carried him safely from the fight but dropped dead at the bridge.
Only one man stood between the retreating troops and the avenging Indians. Severely wounded, Collins fought to keep back the Indians while his men rode at breakneck speed to the bridge.
What happened next is not certain. One account says that Collins was surrounded at once and shot down. Another account is more dramatic. When he finally had clear passage to the bridge, Collins supposedly heard a cry from the ground, ‘For God’s sake, don’t leave me here.’ Collins then turned and lifted the wounded man from the ground, putting him on his own horse. The nervous horse whirled about, throwing the injured man to the ground and then bolting. Collins, with an arrow in his forehead, was carried by the panicked animal into the midst of the Indians. With both revolvers drawn and the bridle reins in his teeth, the lieutenant fought until he was overpowered by the Indians and carried out of sight.
The dismounted men under Bretney and Lybe kept up a constant fire to cover the retreating horsemen; then Bretney and his 10 men ran down the hill and, with Lybe’s Galvanized Yankees, fell back to sand ridges near the bridge until all had crossed. The furious 10-minute fight certainly would have resulted in far more casualties if not for the bridge and Bretney’s covering fire. Sergeant Pennock wrote in his diary: ‘It was a terrible ordeal to go through….In the charge we lost about five killed and about twelve wounded. Lieutenant Collins was killed. Everything was in full view of the station.’
At 9:30 a.m., Anderson called an officer’s conference. Bretney, furious and grief-stricken over the death of his friend, came in yelling and throwing punches. When the air cleared, Captain Greer was down and Bretney was in the guardhouse. Shortly, the unrelenting Bretney sent word to Anderson that he would take 75 men and the howitzer and go to the relief of Custard. Anderson refused on grounds that they were needed to defend the fort.
It was still morning when Anderson sent Lieutenant Walker and a detail to repair the telegraph line about two miles east of the station. Anderson said that a flag signal would be sent if any Indians were sighted and the howitzer fired to warn the party to return immediately.
Walker sent four men ahead about a quarter mile to watch for Indians. Work had just begun when the flag was waved and the howitzer fired. The men dropped the wires and mounted their horses. Lieutenant Drew of the 11th Kansas, who had watched from the station, later wrote, ‘The cavalry advanced until they overtook the boys on foot (Lybe and the infantry), and then most of them turned to assist the four men on outpost from Walker’s command, although Lieutenant Walker’s horse got under such headway that it did not stop until it had carried him safely in the station, without his having fired a shot.’ And this from a fellow Kansan!
The four men sent in advance were soon in trouble. Indians charged out of a ravine, and while the white men discharged their weapons, other Indians rode out of another ravine behind them. One of the warriors drove a spear into the heart of a soldier named Porter, who fell dead. Another speared a soldier named Hilty, penetrating his lung, and then attempted to strike another soldier, McDougal. But McDougal pressed his revolver against the Indian and fired his last cartridge. Hilty, clinging to his horse, and the other white men then made a mad dash back to Platte Bridge Station. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: 19th Century, American Indian Wars, Historical Conflicts, Native American History, Wild West
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8 Comments to “Lieutenant Casper Collins: Fighting the Odds at Platte Bridge”
Why is that they call a white guy brave for killing indians but when indians kill the whites they are savages????
By Tia on Jan 21, 2009 at 12:52 pm
well i acctullay read the story of Crazy Horse a Indian leader was friends with him i think in about in the 1870’s
By Jack on Feb 4, 2009 at 2:40 pm
the indans were named savages by whites thats why
By Grant on Apr 7, 2009 at 7:30 pm
The story goes (and this has been repeated throughout the Collins family as well) that Caspar was very interested in the Native American cultures. His father was the commander of his unit (Lt. Col. William Collins) and allowed his son to visit friendly tribes in the area. The story goes that he and Crazy Horse, who was shy and a bit of an outsider, even though he was a great warrior, became friends. No on knows for sure what happened on that day, but he lead 20 soldiers out and according to some accounts, tried to stop hostilities. There’s even a story that Crazy Horse tried to warn him to get out of the area. But none of us were there and we don’t know for sure. A lot of truth has been replaced by (1870’s white) propaganda and legends. I don’t know why a white man would be called a hero for killing a Native American, nor do I know why Native Americans were called savages, other that ignorance, fear, greed, and racism.
By Liz on Apr 22, 2009 at 4:16 pm
love the info on casper collins. because my kids r related to the famous LT Collins, they r his cousin, by a few generations. their greatgrand mother was christina casper. who married dominico ziccardi. i was told by family relatives that christina casper was the little girl that ran/walk across the Brooklyn Bridge when it was built in 1880’s.
By phyllis nalick on May 15, 2009 at 8:42 pm
My great, great, great grandfather, Jonas Robinson was a trooper in the 11 th ohio vol cavalry, I believe company c of the 1 st battalion.
By Paul Robinson on Jul 1, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Bob Specht Native Casperite, Geologist, and historian of the west
Fort Caspar or Upper Platte River post was not a true Stockade post. Only The trading post had a stockade around it. The trading post was taken over by the army in about 1861 and was used as the Generals quarters. The telegraph shack was close to the south end of the bride where the howitzer was located to protect the bridge. The troopers at that time had tents outside the post on all sides. The restored post as you see today was based on Caspar Collins’ drawings that his father, Lt Colonial William Collins had instructed his son to do to beef up some of the existing old pony express stations along the trail.
After the battle of 1865, Fort Casper rivaled the size of Fort Laramie with a Garrison of about 360 men until the post was abandoned in 1868. The post extended out to the south and east to where the Fair grounds is located and to the water purification station is. I suggest you visit the Fort Caspar Museum in Casper if you get the chance.
As for the different in the name’s between Fort Caspar and the existing incorporated City of Casper, Wyoming, came about in 1889. At that time the town was part of Carbon County with the existing county seat at Rawlins, Wyoming along the Union Pacific Rail road line built in 1868. When taking down the information on the then towns name of Caspar, the clerk wrote it down as Casper, Wyoming.
If it had not been for his Father’s retirement from the military in March of 1863, the post may have been named Fort Collins. Collins father was given the honor first and the post on the Pouder River , where he conducted the operations along the Oregon trail, was given that name of Fort Collins, Colorado.
To help answer your question as to why white men call Indians savages comes from fear. Remember we came to the new world to spread the Gospel of the good news to all man kind. The early Puritans and pilgrims came to the world and had developed relationships with the native American’s. Over time when you have people colonizing that don’t believe in a God and don’t want to understand another man’s culture, they are different from us and are heathens or savages. Yes Caspar came to the west at age 14 or 15 to visit the west and his father and did have or had built relationships with the Natives as his father had build a good resolution with the Native Americans. I have also heard that Caspar may have be friend Crazy Horse as well. If you have questions you can also write me at rspecht@yahoo.com
Descendents of Lt Colonial William Collins’ brother moved in the State and have settled near North of Glendo Wyoming. This I have learned from Jay Collins, town council member of Glendo, Wyoming and a good friend of mine.Bob Specht
By Bob Specht on Aug 31, 2009 at 12:16 am
I think that Major Anderson was coward and stupid. He should have gone out at night to rescue my Great Great GrandGrandunlce Commissary Sgt. Amos Jefferson Custard. Lt Collins should have ignored the orders of Maj. Anderson and make the Major order one of his own officer’s to lead the doomed rescue attempt.
By Doug Custard on Nov 8, 2009 at 9:03 pm