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Price-Rosecrans-Curtis around Westport

I have been examining Price’s Expedition (Raid) into Missouri in 1864 working backwards from The Army of Missouri’s escaped across Indian Territory during November 1864. It has been a strange way to examine such an important military operation in the Trans-Mississippi. What I noticed is that I continuously asked questions, rather than just reading about the action, as I would already know the outcome of the day’s events.

Regarding the action from October 19-24, 1864 (the battles at Lexington, Little Blue, Byram’s Ford on Big Blue, and Westport), some often repeated daily questions were:

1. Where was Rosecrans? I notice that he was always a day late and a dollar short. I notice that he never left central Missouri, while Curtis moved from Kansas into Missouri, Arkansas and Indian Territory chasing Price. As LG U. S. Grant lamented about this time to Halleck, “Get Me Anybody but Rosecrans.”

2. Where was Blunt, and why did his Kansas division ride alone past Pleasonton’s Missouri cavalry division (camped around Cook’s Store and Dunksburg) and try to stop Price alone at Lexington on the 19th? Blunt later bragged in his report that “He was the first to get in front of Price long enough to force him to deploy his troops, and show his strength.” (This was something that Rosecran’s and his large army never did.) Where is Cook’s Store?

3. Why did Curtis ignore Rosecran’s warning early on the morning of the 20th that Price was moving west toward him at Independence, while Curtis still thought that Price was marshalling his forces around Waverly? Strangely, Curtis had previously stated that he believed that Price would move southwest toward Kansas, as Missouri was fairly barren south of the river.

4. Where was the Pacific Railroad completed to west of Jefferson City during Price’s drive west, around October 20, 1864? And the telegraph lines? Still Working? The evidence seems to be that the Pacific Railroad was operational to Warrensburg by September 1, 1864, with telegraph service extending to Kansas City and Independence. Construction work on the railroad seemed to be ongoing was past Harrisonville, but the railroad had not been completed past Warrensburg, although the telegraph line had.

5. Why did Price attack Curtis (Blunt on Brush Creek) at Westport the morning of October 23, instead of just moving on southwest with his large wagon train, that he had already sent on toward Little Santa Fe? Or did Price attack Curtis? Perhaps Blunt attacked Price first, fearing that Price would soon flee, and Blunt would miss his last chance to get even, following Baxter Springs, Lexington and Little Blue. For sure, Pleasonton was hot on Price’s heels at Byram’s Ford by sunrise on the 23rd.

6. Where was A.J. Smith’s large infantry command? I discovered that it might as well have been posted on the moon for all the good it did in this operation. No fault to Smith. He simply marched where is was ordered by Rosecrans. On the 21st, Smith had just arrived east at Lexington, a day after Price had left, and guess who showed up at Smith’s camp that night at Lexington—the night of the 21st? Yes, Rosecrans! “ …anybody but Rosecrans!”

7. The town of Lexington has an interesting time-line during this period: Blunt arrives on October 18, after marching northeast from Holden on the unfinished railroad; Price arrives on the afternoon of the 19th from Waverly and leaves on the morning of the 20th for Independence; and finally Smith and Rosecrans arrived at Lexington the 21st from Dunksburg. Fortunately, Pleasonton had guess right, and he had kept most of his cavalry together and camped along the southern (left) side of Price’s likely (to Pleasonton, at least) march (along the Blackwater, or I 70 today, HQ at Cook’s Store), and was in a better position to move up on Price’s rear as Price followed Blunt southwest to Independence on the evening of the 21st (which was closer to Pleasonton) following Price’s encounter with Blunt’s retreating forces trying to slow Price at Little Blue on the 21th.

8. Overall, Price did a good job of escaping the encirclement the Federal Army was slowly constructing, thanks to Rosecrans. As Rosecrans later confessed to Smith “I wish that I had first sent you (your infantry) on to Harrisonville (from Sedalia/Warrensburg) along the railroad being constructed, and where some telegraphic services were possible. (The La Mine Creek Bridge east of Sedalia had just been burned by Shelby before Smith’s division was sent to guard it and move on beyond to Otterville on the 15th the day Jeff Thompson and Shelby’s Iron Brigade raided Sedalia, a few miles on down the railroad, the day after Sanborn’s Missouri cavalry brigade past thru Sedalia before moving on northwest a few miles to camp northwest of Georgetown. Thompson was able to hit Sedalia and run before either nearby Federal force could respond.

So, my question is: “What is the best book available that covers the operations of both Confederate and Union Armies during the period October 20-24, 1864, involved in the battles noted above near Kansas City?”

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Price-Rosecrans-Curtis around Westport
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