Unveiling Ceremony of Historic Markers on the Battle of Westport Battlefield

Dan Smith, Chairman of the Battle of Westport Fund, took part in an unveiling ceremony of a series of ten historic markers interpreting the Byram’s Ford Battlefield of the Battle of Westport on Thursday, October 3rd. The ceremony took place on the grounds of the battlefield atop the portion of the field known as “Bloody Hill.”

Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, II (MO-5) provided principal remarks concerning the battle’s significance to the community and the region. The significance of the marker atop Bloody Hill is two-fold. The marker first addresses the fact that the Union victory at Westport lead a few weeks later to the 1864 election and resulting adoption of the Missouri Emancipation Ordinance. The marker also describes a notable figure from the battle, Lt. Patrick Henry Minor, an African American (1829-1865) commanding Douglas’ Independent Colored Battery, who was the first regularly commissioned Black officer to command Black troops in combat on October 22-23, 1864.

The ceremony also served to bring to the public’s attention the upcoming BOW 160 commemoration marking the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Westport on Saturday, October 19, 2024. As part of the ceremony, the Battle of Westport Fund will be announcing the launch of the latest phase of its Saving Kansas City’s Battlefield initiative for raising an additional $1,000,000 for further land acquisition and improvements on the battlefield.

The photographs were taken by Round Table member Bob McCoubrie.