Husband of Mary Ann (Howe) Collins

Enlisted and mustered in on 18 September 1861, Company A, 3rd Mississippi Infantry C. S. A.; wounded, captured and imprisoned on 20 July 1864 during the Battle of Peach Tree Creek, Fulton County, Georgia (shot fracture right leg necessitating amputation); discharged on parole following his Oath Allegiance on 9 July 1865.

"Case 794. — Private E. Collins, Co. A, 3d Mississippi, aged 22 years, was wounded above the right ankle, at Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864. He was under treatment at Confederate hospitals until June 7, 1865, when he was admitted to the Marine (Union) Hospital at Mobile. Surgeon S. Kneeland, U. S. V. ... with the following description: "The missile, a minie ball, perforated the tibia in its course and lodged in the wounded man's shoe. The wound had never healed, and suppuration and haemorrhage had continued up to the time of the patient's entrance into this hospital. For the last few weeks haemorrhage had been frequent and profuse and it was with difficulty controlled by stuffing the cavity in the tibia, which was large enough to allow the finger to be introduced freely. Suppuration was also profuse, and there was great pain and swelling about the lower part of the tibia, the patient being considerably exhausted from these causes. Circular amputation of the leg near the middle was performed on June 8th by Acting Assistant Surgeon R. W. Coale, chloroform being used. The stump at first was disposed to slough, but under a tonic treatment and antiseptic applications it soon assumed a healthy appearance. The subsequent progress was favorable, and by June 30th the stump was nearly well." The records of the hospital show that the patient was discharged on parole July 9, 1865." -- The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. Part III, Volume II. (3rd Surgical volume) by U. S. Army Surgeon General's Office, 1883.