at the bridge held the Lakota at bay with volley fire until 20 of the 26 troopers, all wounded to some extent, fought their way through. Five were killed, including Collins, who was wounded in the hip and shot in the forehead with an arrow while trying to aid a wounded soldier. The battle lasted only a few minutes, with Bent claiming that the Lakota and Cheyenne suffered only a few casualties. Bretney in a rage returned to the stockade and accused the Kansas officers of cowardice when Anderson refused to allow a larger force and the howitzer to attempt another relief. Anderson placed Bretney under arrest and turned over the post's defenses to Leib, who had the garrison throw up an embrasure and dig rifle pits to protect the howitzer at the south end of the bridge. During the morning the attacking force destroyed a thousand feet of telegraph wire on the line to Fort Laramie before Anderson thought to request reinforcements, then drove off the detail sent to repair it, killing another trooper. The wagon train, commanded by Sergeant Amos J. Custard, was attacked approximately five miles to the west, within sight of the station, at around 11:00 a.m. According to the Indians the battle lasted about half an hour with one person escaping, a teamster, 22 troopers killed along with 8 Indian warriors. Many Indian warriors were wounded. The Indians, as was their custom, took no prisoners. However Army accounts state that the wagons were forced into a hollow where they held out for four hours, using fire from Spencer rifles to repel assaults until a large group closed on foot and overwhelmed the defenders, killing all. The wagons were burned at approximately 3:00 p.m. Corporal James A. Shrader and four troopers, sent as scouts by Custard to investigate the sound of the howitzer firing, were cut off and pursued by a hundred Cheyenne led by the brother of Roman Nose, Left Hand, who was killed in the running fight. Eventually Shrader and two men made their way on foot into the station. Two Shoshone scouts were paid to take a message requesting reinforcements to the next telegraph station east, but the attacking force broke up before relief arrived. The battle became known as the Battle of Platte Bridge Station. The battle of the wagon train also became known as the Battle of Red Buttes, although that