Battle of Westport - The Opening Clash - Kansas City, Missouri
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iconions
N 39° 01.704 W 094° 35.672
15S E 361978 N 4321137
This is marker for Tour Stop 8 of the Battle of Westport Auto Tour. This is the fourth of 9 separate markers here. This stop is near the intersection of 55th & Pennsylvania Avenue.
Waymark Code: WM8BB0
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/06/2010
Views: 5
Text of the Marker:
October 21, 1864
(picture of skirmish line)
Fierce Resistance in a Delaying Action Beside the Little Blue River
By October 21, the men in gray had fought through Lexington and were enroute to Independence. At the Little Blue River (near the present Highway 24 bridge), one brigade of the U.S. Army of the Border prepared to delay the Confederates' advance to the Big Blue River where General Curtis was planning to make his stand. The Union brigade and reinforcements under division commander James Blunt fought stubbornly. But, during the day of fierce, bloody fighting, the Confederates slowly pushed them back to Independence.
(map of Battle at the Big Blue River)
Federals Entrench
That evening, the Union men retreated to the Big Blue River. General Curtis' men had been fortifying the river for a week, from the river's mouth to Hickman Mills, fifteen miles southward. The general was "confident I can stop Price at this crossing."
Hoping to "bag Price," he dispatched a trusted messenger to General Pleasanton, urging him to press forward. The messenger, narrowly escaping drowning and capture, got through. By midnight 15,000 were deployed along the west bank, waiting.
Web link: [Web Link]
History of Mark:
The above link is for the Civil War Muse that describes this Tour Stop 8.
Additional point: N 39° 01.688 W 094° 35.828
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Visit Instructions:
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