| Oct. 23, 1864 Westport Missouri |
Union | Confederate |
Samuel R. Curtis |
Sterling Price |
|
| Forces | 20,000 | 12,000 |
| Casualties | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Oct. 23, 1864 Westport Missouri |
Union | Confederate |
|
Samuel R. Curtis |
Sterling Price |
|
| Forces | 20,000 | 12,000 |
| Casualties | 1,500 | 1,500 |
>Brief description. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate army approached Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border blocked its way west, while Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton's provisional cavalry division was closing on their rear. Needing to deal with the two Union forces, Price decided to attack them one at a time. Confederate success required holding Pleasanton's Federals at the Big Blue while holding the high ground above Brush Creek just south of Westport against the strong defensive Union line under Curtis. The four-hour battle resulted.
Through the morning, the Confederates hurled themselves at the Union forces but to no avail. The rebels did so, but Curtis' force held and counterattacked even as Pleasanton's Federals broke through by the early afternoon. The Confederate position above Westport crumbled as two Union armies pushed relentless from the east as well as the north. With some exceptions, particularly among Shelby's "Iron Brigade," Price's army virtually disintegrated.
Significance. The final Confederate effort in the Transmississippi was broken.
Additional Sources. See Westport.
Consult the Westport Bibliography, the Transmississippi Theatre Bibliography, and the appropriate volumes of the Official Records. Or you can return to an account of the the 1864 Invasion of Missouri or to the Fall 1864 Overview.. Or you can go back to the index for the Civil War Online Study Guide or back to Lause's Links.
These pages are under continual construction. Your feedback to Mark Lause is greatly appreciated.
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