The Union had cavalry and infantry divisions against two Confederate cavalry divisions.

Casualties are unknown.

Price’s Army of Missouri was headed west towards Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth, while Curtis’s Army of the Border, in and around Westport, blocked their way west. Pleasonton’s provisional cavalry division was harrying Price’s rear, and a Union infantry division marched hard to close the trap.

Price had nearly 500 wagons with him and required a good ford over the Big Blue River to get them to safety. Byram’s Ford was the best ford in the area and became a strategic point during the fighting around Westport. On October 22 Blunt’s division held a defensive position on the west bank of the Big Blue.

Around 10am on the 22nd, part of Jo Shelby’s Confederate division launched a frontal attack on Blunt’s men. This attack was a ruse because the rest of Shelby’s men flanked Blunt’s hasty defenses, forcing the Federals to retire to Westport. Yet the Yankees were falling back in good order, not panicking, which meant Price would probably have to fight them again. Price’s wagon train and about 5,000 head of cattle then crossed the Big Blue at Byram’s Ford and headed southward toward Little Santa Fe and safety.

Meanwhile, Pleasonton’s cavalry was hot on the tail of Price’s army. After smashing Price’s rearguard on the 22nd at Independence, Pleasonton was at it again on the morning of the 23rd. Marmaduke’s division (supported by Fagan’s remnants) was again the rearguard, having been patched back together again after a panic the previous afternoon. To cover the wagon train and Price’s main body Marmaduke was holding the former Federal positions on the west bank of the Big Blue at Byram’s Ford. Pleasonton attacked about 8am on the 23rd. It didn’t take long to break through the Confederates, who had been fighting and retreating for days, especially after the clear defeat just the previous day. After three hours, Marmaduke’s men had faced enough; they routed toward Westport.

Pleasonton’s crossing of the river kept the pressure on Price’s column. He was still in the ring of Union troops, and the ring was tightening. Worse still, it was tightening while the Confederate main body was still engaged with Curtis’s Army of the Border at Westport. Much would rest on the results there.

Content provided by:
eHistory Staff

Selected sources:
American Battlefield Protection Program, Heritage Preservation Services, National Park Service.