Maj. Emory S. Foster did not fight at the Battle of Westport, but his battalion did. Foster was not able to lead his battalion in battle due to wounds he had received at the Battle of Lone Jack in 1862. Capt. George S. Grover was in command of the battalion which was assigned to the 1st Brigade in Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt's Provisional Cavalry Division in the Army of the Border.
Born near Springfield, Missouri, Emory Stallsworth Foster moved with his family to Warrensburg, Missouri, in 1860. Foster and his brother started publishing a newspaper called the Warrensburg Missourian. Foster was an Unconditional Unionist and advocated against secession in the newspaper. In 1861, Foster organized and became captain of the “Red Shirts,” Company C, 27th Missouri Infantry (Mounted). On May 1, 1862, Foster was commissioned major in the 7th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. In August, Foster was in command of several detachments when they fought Confederates in the bloody Battle of Lone Jack. During this battle, Foster was severely wounded. While Foster able to rejoin the regiment in March 1863, he was troubled by the wound for the rest of his life. After the war, Foster served at the State of Missouri’s public printer for four years. Foster moved to St. Louis when he was hired to be the managing editor of the St. Louis Journal newspaper. On September 4, 1875, Foster fought a duel with John N. Edwards, editor of the St. Louis Times newspaper. During the war, Edwards had been Confederate Gen-eral Jo Shelby’s adjutant. During the duel, neither shot found its mark.
Grover, “Major Emory S. Foster.” Missouri Historical Review 14, no. 3–4 (July 1920): 425–32.
Wikipedia. “Emory S. Foster,” July 19, 2018. Link.
Missouri Adjutant General, Official Register of Missouri Troops for 1862, 89.
Missouri Adjutant General, Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri, December 31, 1863, 188.