Log House & Defensive Line - Kansas City, Mo.
Posted by: 
iconions
N 39° 01.107 W 094° 31.800
15S E 367545 N 4319937
This is Tour Stop 17B of the Battle of Westport Auto Tour. It is located on 59th Street east of Lister Avenue.
Waymark Code: WM8Q9E
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/02/2010
Views: 4
Text of the marker:
"This log house hiding Confederate snipers was in front of the defensive line 250 yards to the south. Heavy fighting took place there on Oct. 23, 1864 between Marmaduke's Confederates and Pleasonton's Cavalrymen. Clarke's Confederate Brigade was in line here, fortified with fence rails. It ran south to 63rd from the cliff which is a few rods to the north. Pleasonton drove them to the west at 11 A.M.
Go east then right on Manchester Trafficway.
Donors: American Cyanmid Co., Nichols Industries, Mr. Jerry Krouse, Stratford - Graham Engineering Corp., Pepsi-cola Bottlers Inc., B. F. Ascher Co."
From Civil War Muse:
(
visit link)
Marmaduke's final defensive line was along the ridge on which you are currently standing. There were two log cabins in which Marmaduke had placed his best sharpshooters. One as here near where you are standing. The other log cabin was south along the ridge closer to where 63rd Street is today. After launching several attacks against the Confederate defenders on the rocky ledge, the Federals were finally able to push them back up into the wooded crest of the hill where Marmaduke's main defensive line was positioned. During this charge Union Colonel Winslow was wounded and command of the Fourth Brigade went to Lt. Col. Frederick W. Benteen. The Federals continued to advance up the hill. The advance was successful and Marmaduke's Division was withdrawing in retreat. Behind them lay the dead and wounded. Pleasonton had suffered 200 casualties in the Federal advance.
The Federal cavalrymen kept up their pressure on the retreating Confederates. Marmaduke's troops kept up steady resistance, but were pushed back out of the timber and onto the prairie by the Federal advance. Once out in the open, Marmaduke's Division was exposed to fire from Battery H of the Second Missouri Light Artillery. As this point, Pleasonton arrived on the scene and strongly encouraged his troops to keep up the pressure. Sanborn's Third Brigade had also gotten across Byram's Ford and moved to press the Confederates back to the Harrisonville Road while the First and Fourth Brigades regrouped. The Confederate defenders turned and quickly withdrew to the west.