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From previous marker continue east on 55th, turn left on Summit, bear right, turn right at 51st St. This marker is located about 200 yards west of Wornall Road on 51st Street. |
Confederate Position Historical Marker |
Confederate Position Historical Marker Inscription "At 8:30 A.M. Sunday, October 23, 1864, General Shelby's Division moved north and struck Union troops near the Wornall House. General Blunt's Union cavalrymen were driven across Brush Creek. Shelby stopped to bring up ammunition. About 3,000 men were behind a stone fence along 51st Street facing a heavily wooded area to the north. Here their line extended from Oak Street to State Line. From 9:30 - 10:30 A.M. They came under heavy artillery fire and were forced eventually to pull back to 55th Street." |
Fifty-First Street marks the high water mark for the Confederate advance on October 23, 1864. Back then there was a long stone wall running east/west, broken just east of here where Wornall Lane passed. It was cold and foggy at dawn when the First, Second and Fourth Brigades advanced through the woods walking out of the Brush Creek valley and passing this point into the open fields of Bent’s Farm. They did not encounter the men from Shelby’s Division until they had walked another half mile or so south of present day 55th Street. The Battle of Westport had begun. After a couple of hours of incessant fighting, the battle hardened Confederates had steadily forced the Federals back to the edge of the woods at the north end of present day Loose Park. Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt ordered his forces to retreat down the hill and cross back to the north side of Brush Creek. Blunt waited for reinforcements before making a second attack. General Blunt described the events in his official report.
When dawn arrived on Sunday, Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby formed his division into lines about a mile south of present day Loose Park and advanced north to attack the Federals. Shelby described their success in his official report.
But a serious mistake had been made by the Confederates. After a couple of hours of intense fighting, their men began to run low on ammunition. To make matters worse, the ammunition train was moving south, away from Shelby’s position at Bent’s Farm. It took over an hour to bring ammunition forward, and by that time, other events occurred which doomed the Confederates. Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson later recalled his frustration at how events unfolded.
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Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt |
Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby |
Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson |
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