Union Flanking Movement Historical Marker

Marker Inscription: Here just before noon on Sunday, October 23, 1864, Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis, commanding the Federal Army of the Border, began his flanking movement of Brigadier General Joseph Orville Shelby's Division of the Confederate Army of Missouri. While the Union army was engaged in heavy fighting just east of here, General Curtis led the 9th Wisconsin Battery and Company G of the 11th Kansas Cavalry up a twisting, wooded defile to a position on the left and rear of General Shelby's lines, the battery, firing down the Confederate lines, caused Shelby to pull back from the heights south of Brush Creek, severely weakening the Confederate position.

George Thoman, a farmer living just south of Westport pointed out the defile to General Curtis and served as guide. Sunset Drive follows the wall of the old defile.

This flanking movement took place during the three-day Battle of Westport. It was the largest battle fought west of the Mississippi River. About 30,000 troops fought during this battle, which included approximately 22,000 Union soldiers and 8,500 Confederate soldiers, though the numbers in the records are inconsistent. The Union Line was located along Brush Creek and the Confederate line was located near what is now Loose Park. This flanking movement was pivotal to the Union victory. 

After several failed assaults of the Confederate position at the top of the heights south of Brush Creek, Union Maj. Gen. Curtis realized he needed to try a different approach. As is common wisdom, taking higher ground from an enemy force is challenging. It is more difficult to climb hills, than it is flat ground, and the enemy has the advantage of being able to shoot down at the attacking force. Maj. Gen. Curtis was aware of this and sought a solution. A local German farmer named George Thoman, who was originally at best impartial to the Union cause, provided that solution. He originally came into Union lines to try to get help in regaining his gray horse and other items that were taken the night before by a Confederate foraging party. If he could not get his horse back, he likely reasoned he would at least help the Union win and get even with the Confederates. He showed Curtis a suitable path through a defile cut by Swan Creek (present day Rockwell Lane), which was used by local residents (present day Sunset Drive). The path ends at about present day 55th Street and Sunset Drive. Curtis ordered another attack by the entire Union line. Then with Thoman as a guide, Curtis, the 9th Wisconsin Battery (with 70 to 100 men), and Company G of the 11th Kansas Cavalry (with approximately 80 men and several officers), went up Thoman’s path. This allowed them to swing to the west and outflank the Confederate line. These men successfully engaged Confederate Col. Jackman’s skirmish line, taking the Bent House. Curtis then set up the artillery guns (cannons) near the Bent House and began firing into Confederate Brig. Gen. Shelby’s main line, forcing them to retreat from what is now 51st Street to about 55th Street, the southeast corner of present-day Loose Park. 

Rather amusingly, in the October 23, 1953 edition of the Kansas City Star in an article called, “Mark Site of Battle” that reported on the dedication of the Battle of Westport Monument, the reporter claimed: “...the old pioneer who guided the troops (through the defile) disappeared and his name was lost to history.” (Mark Site of Battle 1953) Historian Howard Monnett notes in Action Before Westport 1864, that “The identity of George Thoman as the local citizen who led General Curtis to a flanking position was established through the family records of Miss Doris Jean Mabry, a great-granddaughter of George Thoman…” (Monnett 1964, 163) and subsequent historians have reinforced this idea.

“Battle of Westport Old Price Defeated.” Kansas City Journal. October 24, 1864.

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“Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865.” Battle of Westport | Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. Accessed December 6, 2024. http://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/battle-westport. 

“Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865.” Curtis, Samuel R. | Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/curtis-samuel-r. 

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Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), October 23, 1953: 34. NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.kclibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A1126152C152E4978%40EANX-158E491259BB109E%402434674-1584F9D95E7AC0C4%4033-1584F9D95E7AC0C4%40. 

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Roe, Jason. “Gettysburg of the West.” KC History. Accessed December 6, 2024. http://kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/gettysburg-west#:~:text=Curtis%20set%20up%20a%20new,to%20more%20than%2020%2C000%20soldiers

Scott, Robert N., H. M. Lazelle, George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph W. Kirkley, Fred C. Ainsworth, John S. Moodey, and Calvin D. Cowles. The War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880.

Sinisi, Kyle S. The last hurrah: Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

Titterington, Dick. “The Civil War Muse.” The Civil War Muse - Tour: The Battle of Westport. Accessed December 7, 2024. http://www.thecivilwarmuse.com/index.php?page=the-battle-of-westport. 

“The Rebel Invasion Price Routed and Retreating.” The St. Joseph Herald. October 25, 1864.