FORT CASPAR — Outside Casper’s namesake historic fort Saturday, a military bugler in 1860s uniform played taps on a little hill above a cluster of 20 commemorative headstones, nine of them new to represent 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry soldiers resurrected from about 160 years of obscurity.
Reenactors sat on horses and members of the Wyoming Army National Guard stood at attention as the Natrona County Veterans Council fired a nine-round salute.
Museum Association Vice President Johanna Wickman, a historian, author and expert on the 11th Kansas, told the more than 50 people gathered that the Lest We Forget Commemorative Cemetery Project which spurred the ceremony is about honoring those who served at what was at the time called the Platte Bridge Station and gave their lives.
“The reason we are putting all this effort into these cenotaph headstones is because for these soldiers, they don’t have a headstone, their bodies have not been recovered,” she said. “There is no place for their families to go pay respects. There is no place to lay flowers … until now. These 11th Kansas headstones are just the first ones in our series.”
The nine headstones for the 11th Kansas soldiers were added to 11 already there representing 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry placed at the spot in the 1970s. Wickman said the ambitious project hopes to have 62 headstones by the time it’s complete, one for every name uncovered so far of those who died in the region.
Official Cemetery
Museum Director Rick Young told Cowboy State Daily prior to the ceremony that the headstones are adjacent to the burial site for six bodies from the fort era that were uncovered during 1938 road construction at the fort.
“They are unmarked graves and we don’t know who they were. Very likely, some of these guys, we just don’t know,” Young said. “The city of Casper petitioned to have them reburied onsite since this is where their grave was. So that little spot over there is actually an official Casper cemetery.”
Wickman said the next phase of the project will honor 6th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry who survived the infamous Andersonville Prison Camp in the South during the Civil War and then were sent to serve in the West. After the war, most of the soldiers sent to the region had time left on their three-year enlistment contract and the government needed to protect telegraph lines and emigration trails from Native American warrior raids.
Other soldiers to be honored in the future include those from the 6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, 7th Iowa Cavalry, and additional members of the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.
Nearly all the nine privates who had headstones dedicated Saturday died in confrontations with Native American warriors, one at the Battle of Red Buttes, four at the Battle of Platte Bridge and others in skirmishes.
A bugler dressed in 1860s period uniform plays taps at a special ceremony at Fort Caspar on Saturday to honor nine soldiers who were lost to history and now have headstones. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Historian and author Johanna Wickman talks to those gathered at Fort Caspar about the 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and the cemetery project. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Members of the Wyoming Army National Guard perform a folded flag ceremony for the descendant of one of the 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry soldiers who died in 1865. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
A member of the Wyoming Army National Guard presents a folded flag to Elizabeth Jennings of Casper in honor of her ancestor, Adam Culp. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Descendant Thankful
A great-great-niece of one of the soldiers recognized, Elizabeth Jennings of Casper, told those gathered how appreciative her family was for the ceremony. She said her father, who died nine years ago, had tried to get some sort of recognition or her great-great-uncle, Adam Culp, who died in the battle of Red Buttes.
“He would be so honored and grateful to Fort Caspar and all those involved for making this happen,” she said. “Adam was part of the 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and was stationed at Platte Bridge Station. He was joined by his brother, Francis, who was my great-great-grandfather, who survived, while Adam was brutally killed by the Indians.”
She said when she learned that Wickman was working on a project, she got excited.
“Johanna is just awesome, she has worked so hard on it,” she said. “Wherever my dad is, I hope he knows. It is a pretty neat thing that this happened.”
Wickman said Culp was a teamster on a wagon train headed back to the station. His brother, Francis, was at Platte Bridge Station and was in the Battle of Platte Bridge Station. That battle claimed the life of Caspar Collins, for whom the fort and city are named.
Veteran: ‘Sacrifice Meant Something’
In addition to remarks by Wickman and Jennings on Saturday, an Afghanistan War veteran spoke of the importance of honoring those who served — no matter when that service was.
“Their sacrifice meant something. It doesn’t matter what conflict you were in,” said Colton Sasser, who was wounded in 2012. “You take the politics out of it. You ask any veteran that has ever served. It’s not the orders, it’s the person next to you that is what you are truly serving for, that’s who you are protecting, and I know these soldiers fought that way and did the same thing.”
Sasser said a lot of people in Casper don’t understand how “sacred” the grounds are at the fort and the cost in lives that are part of its past. He thanked the museum staff and called for the community to rally in support.
“I think what they are doing is important,” he said. “I just ask that we get out in the community and get people behind this thing, and we get it accomplished. I think it is very important that we continue the mission. It’s already taken 160-odd years and there is still work to be done.”
Wickman said the cemetery project is moving forward as fast as money can be raised. Each headstone costs $1,000 and there are 37 headstones that still need to be ordered. But those numbers could grow if more deaths at the fort are uncovered through records and names that are researched. She estimates $45,000 is still needed to complete the project.
May Be Many More
Both Young and Wickman said they were kind of “shocked” when they began uncovering so many names of those lost to history who served at the fort. Their bodies were never recovered or they were buried at some obscure place in the region.
“We knew there were people left behind who didn’t have markers, we didn’t realize quite how many,” Young said. “So, it was a little bit of a surprise to keep finding guys. Once we find them, yes, it is incredibly satisfying to be able to put that stone up and make sure that they are remembered.”
Wickman said the project has proven beneficial in that she has amassed a lot more biographical information about the soldiers who served at the fort.
“At least for us at the museum here, they are more than just a name on a headstone,” she said. “We know what their families were like, where they came from.”
The mounted reenactors at Saturday’s ceremony were from the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry reenactors group. There was also a reenactor from Platte Bridge Company in period dress who reenacts the role of a minister.
Wyoming Army National Guard members Sgt. 1st Class Travis Scharosch, Sgt. Josh McDonald and Spec. Preston Fulchert performed a folded-flag ceremony and presented the flag to Jennings to conclude the event.
Francis Culp, brother to Adam Culp who was honored at Fort Caspar on Saturday, also served at Platte Bridge Station and survived the Battle of Platte Bridge Station on July 26, 1865. (Photo Courtesy Elizabeth Jennings and Jim Baker) 
Reenactors portraying the 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry prepare for a ceremony on the ground of Fort Caspar honoring nine soldiers who died in 1865. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Members of the Wyoming Army National Guard march into place for a folded flag ceremony at Fort Caspar on Saturday. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
11th Kansas Soldiers Recognized
- Those 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry recognized with headstones Saturday are:
- Private William T. Bonwell of Co. F, who was killed on June 3, 1865, in a skirmish with Native Americans. He was from Lyon County, Kansas.
- Private Silas Hinshaw of Co. A, who was killed by warriors on June 16, 1865, while fishing on the North Platte River by Deer Creek Station near Glenrock. He was from Leavenworth, Kansas.
- Private Adam Culp of Co. I, who was killed at the Battle of Red Buttes on July 26, 1865. He was from Mount Florence, Kansas.
- Private James A. Porter of Co. I, who was killed on June 26, 1865. He was from Lyon County, Kansas.
- Private George W. McDonald of Co. I, who was killed in the Battle of Platte Bridge Station on July 26, 1865. He was from Burlingame, Kansas.
- Private George Camp of Co. K, who was killed in the Battle of Platte Bridge Station on July 26, 1865. He was from Pleasant Grove, Kansas.
- Private Sebastian Nehring of Co. K, who was killed in the Battle of Platte Bridge Station on July 26, 1865. He was from Alma, Kansas.
- Private Alexander York of Co. D, who was killed on May 14, 1865. He was from Ozawkie, Kansas.
- Private George W. Glidden of Co. A, who was killed on May 2, 1865. He was from Easton, Kansas.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
