Paul Kirkamn - The Battle of Westport: Missouris Great Confederate Raid

Missouris Great Confederate Raid

P AUL K IRKMAN

Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Paul Kirkman

All rights reserved

Cover image: Battle of Byrams Ford, painting by George Barnett. Courtesy of the Westport Historical Society.

First published 2011

Second printing 2011

e-book edition 2011

ISBN 978.1.61423.131.8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kirkman, Paul.

The Battle of Westport : Missouris great Confederate raid / Paul Kirkman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-006-5
1. Westport, Battle of, Kansas City, Mo., 1864. I. Title.
E477.16.K57 2011
977.8411--dc22
2011002398

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The longer I live, the more I realize that the self-made man is a myth. At least in my own life, any successful endeavor I have undertaken has been accomplished with the aid and support of my family, friends and a fair number of strangers, who helped, if not directly, at least indirectly by choosing not to hinder my efforts. This has been especially the case in writing this book. My wife, Shawn, and daughter, Shannon, have both had to adjust to living with the person that I become when engrossed in a new subject. Both of them refrained from the use of violent force to end my rambling explanations of the latest tidbit Id turned up in a nineteenth-century newspaper or hundred-year-old book. I am thankful for their love, support and restraint.

My editor at The History Press, Douglas W. Bostick, afforded me the opportunity to attempt this subject, with the confidence that my work would be guided by wise and experienced counsel.

My first two opportunities as an author came through my association with the Jackson County Historical Society (Independence, Missouri). Archivist David W. Jackson merits great praise for his tireless efforts on behalf of that organization. I am indebted to Mr. Jackson for the many opportunities to increase and then share my knowledge with others that he has afforded me as editor and coauthor of my previous works. Steve Noll, as director of the Jackson County Historical Society, deserves special mention for allowing me the opportunity to coauthor Lockdown with David W. Jackson, in spite of my limited experience. Mr. Noll has, in every instance, aided my advancement as an author and researcher and has been a positive source of encouragement for me. The Jackson County Historical Society is fortunate to have two such dedicated individuals working on its behalf.

The Jackson County Historical Society Archives and Research Library gave me a ready resource for many of the books and documents I used in my research. Photographs from its collection that were made available with permission for this book include jail cells at the 1859 Jail in Independence (gift of Nick Vedros), the Bingham-Waggoner Home (gift of the Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society), the William Bent-Seth Ward Home and Colonel Kersey Coates.

The Westport Historical Society made this book possible in several ways. The most important direct help I received was from the effervescent director, Alana Smith. Mrs. Smith, with a strong sense of what materials would be necessary for this project, enthusiastically and graciously provided direction and help at every step along the way. The paintings and prints she and her husband, Dan Smith, current president of the Monnett Fund, provided from the societys collection, along with research materials from the societys archive, were essential to the successful preparation of this book. The efforts of the members of the society in preserving and collecting, in many cases family papers (as several descendants of Westport pioneers are members of the society), photographs and possessions, have helped ensure that future generations will have access to knowledge of their town. Westport Historical Society, at the Harris-Kearney House, offers a driving tour of the Battle of Westport that includes a stop at the newly formed Battle of Westport Museum in the Main Shelter House at Swope Park (near the Byrams Ford Civil War site). For more information, visit www.battleofwestport.org.

Photographer Jay Rothman of Jay Rothman Writing and Photography is an old college friend of mine who drove across the state from St. Louis to help me out with this project and was able to get some good shots of the Little Blue Battlefield area, showing views from both Prices approach and Moonlights position on the west side of the river. In addition, he photographed the paintings and other materials from the Westport Historical Societys collection at the Harris-Kearney House museum. Jay is very meticulous about his work, and I never had any doubts that the materials he produced for this book would turn out great. I appreciate his help and friendship.

The John Wornall House and Museum is poised to take a much larger role in teaching and sharing Kansas Citys rich history with its recent merger with the Alexander Majors House museum (and reincorporation as the Wornall-Majors House Museums). Executive Director Kandice Walker, in the midst of this major change, still made time to proffer help and advice, as well as contributing photographs of the portrait of John B. Wornall and the John Wornall Home for use in this book. I am grateful for her help and support.

The Library of Congress website has a wealth of photographs and maps, many of which are in the public domain. Each Library of Congress photograph used in this book has a reproduction number. By entering this number in a search of the website at www.loc.gov/index/html, all the pertinent information for each picture can be found almost immediately. I am grateful for this service made available by the Library of Congress.

For most of my life, all I knew about Westport was that it was the bar district, where everyone went after the St. Patricks Day parade in Kansas City. I live just east of Kansas City in Independence, Missouri. Independence is my wifes hometown; its where we met and has become my home. There is a lot of history here. The street I live on used to be lined from end to end with wagons poised to set out on the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails. I pass President Harry Trumans home and the Truman Presidential Library and Museum almost daily. Most of the streets and several of the homes in my neighborhood were familiar to Harry Truman. Wild Bill Hickok, Jesse James, Jim Bridger and William Quantrill would have known them as well. I am constantly reminded of the history of my town by the many nineteenth-century homes and buildings that still stand here. Westport and Kansas City were often viewed as different, though, to many Independence residents, as they werent a part of our hometown. Im sure some Kansas Citians feel the same way about their older neighbor to the east, Independence. Though the storied past was well represented there, too, the more familiar scenes of my adopted home gained a greater share of my interest and attention.