Battle of Westport order of battle: Union
The following Union Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Westport of the American Civil War. The Confederate order of battle is listed separately.
Command disputes
By order of MG Blunt (General Field Orders No. 2) the militia regiments of William H. M. Fishbeck, Brigadier General of Militia, were placed under the command of Charles W. Blair, Colonel of Volunteers; Fishbeck was infuriated that his command had been subordinated to a volunteer officer. Because Kansas law stated that militia should be kept under the command of militia officers, Fishbeck disregarded Blunt's order. Blunt had Fishbeck arrested and held until released by order of MG Curtis. Upon his release, Fishbeck resumed command of the Kansas Militia regiments, with orders to obey directives that came from MG Blunt. This rather cumbersome arrangement had BG Fishbeck in direct command of the militia units attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, and Col Charles Blair in overall command of the brigade. Howard N. Monnett describes the arrangement as a "brigade within a brigade". Blair and Fishbeck led the militia into action at Westport (accompanied onto the field by MG George W. Dietzler), and then in the subsequent pursuit of Price until MG Curtis ordered the militia to return home.[1]
Abbreviations used
Military rank
- MG = Major General
- BG = Brigadier General
- Col = Colonel
- Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel
- Maj = Major
- Cpt = Captain
- Lt = 1st Lieutenant
- 2Lt = 2nd Lieutenant
Other
- w = wounded
MG Samuel R. Curtis
Escort:
- 11th Kansas Cavalry, Company G (with 2-gun battery): Lt Edward Gill
| Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
|---|---|---|
|
Provisional Cavalry Division
|
1st Brigade |
|
| 2nd Brigade
Col Thomas Moonlight |
| |
| 3rd Brigade
Col Charles W. Blair |
| |
| 4th Brigade |
| |
|
Kansas State Militia Division[2][3][4]
|
Brigade field commanders | (not brigaded)
Artillery
Unattached unit
|
Department of the Missouri
| Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
|---|---|---|
|
Provisional Cavalry Division
|
1st Brigade
BG Egbert B. Brown (arrested Oct. 23) |
|
| 2nd Brigade
BG John McNeil |
| |
| 3rd Brigade |
| |
| 4th Brigade
Col Edward F. Winslow (w Oct. 23) |
Simonson | |
| Artillery
Col Nelson D. Cole |
| |
| Unassigned |
|
(detachment of First and Third Divisions; in pursuit, not present at the battle)
MG Andrew Jackson Smith
| Division | Brigade | Regiments and others |
|---|---|---|
|
First Division
|
2nd Brigade | |
| 3rd Brigade | ||
|
Third Division
|
1st Brigade
Col Thomas J. Kinney |
|
| 2nd Brigade | ||
| 3rd Brigade
Col Edward H. Wolfe |
Notes
- ^ Monnett p.44-45
- ^ Deitzler's Official Report
- ^ Monnett p.47, 143
- ^ Eicher p. 205
- ^ Formed a brigade of the 2nd, 3rd, 13th and 23rd Kansas State Militia regiments to fight at Byram's Ford on October 22 (Monett p.77). On October 23 Grant was in command of another provisional brigade guarding Russell's Ford on the Big Blue River [1]
- ^ attached to Blair's brigade in command of the 5th, 6th and 10th Kansas Militia regiments
References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
- Jenkins, Paul B. The Battle of Westport (Kansas City, MO: Franklin Hudson Publishing Co.), 1906.
- Monnett, Howard N. Action Before Westport: 1864 (Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado), 1995. [revised edition]