McGhee's Charge Historical Marker

This historical marker designates the approximate location of McGhee's Charge on October 23, 1864. This battle maneuver marked a critical turning m point in the Battle of Westport, the largest Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River. The marker is at the location where Confederate Colonel J. H. McGhee led his Arkansas Cavalry Regiment in an attack of Union Captain William D. McLain's Battery, resulting in a Union victory. The battle included a one-on-one fight between two commanding officers, McGhee and Union Captain Curtis Johnson, a rare scene that demonstrates the nature of warfare in smaller skirmishes where commanders were sometimes also combatants. The marker incorrectly states that McGhee was killed as he was only wounded and lived until 1870. United States troops turned back the Confederate offensive, forcing a retreat that continued in the days ahead and effectively ended Confederate hopes for controlling western Missouri and other areas west of the Mississippi River.

Union General Blunt established a strong position at the Wornall House with three of his brigades occupying positions behind a stone wall, roughly three hundred yards removed from a sizable Confederate line. The gun section of McLain's Colorado Battery sat on a road on top of a hill near Blunt's stronghold; they used thirty guns to fire into the Confederate Toops located at the bottom of the hill. Confederate Major General Fagan proposed to Brigadier General Jo Shelby that a Confederate battery supported by the cavalry charge up the line to attack McClain's Colorado Battery gun section.

Colonel James H. McGhee, who commanded the 44th Arkansas, comprised of roughly 300 soldiers, led the charge. The Union Army responded by sending the 16th Kansas Cavalry, 2nd Colorado, and 2nd Colorado Cavalry to meet McGhee. During the battle, a rare occurrence transpired: two commanders engaged in individual combat. Colonel McGhee clashed with Captain Curtis Johnson, commander of Company E of the 15th Kansas Cavalry. Both men charged each other and drew their revolvers, leaving both wounded. 

Although the marker states that Colonel McGhee had been killed, that is incorrect. McGhee is known to have been wounded a second time two days later at the Battle of Mine Creek and consequently had to relinquish his command as a result of his numerous injuries. Still, McGhee survived the war, living out the rest of his life in Arkansas until he died in 1870.

McGehee's attack resulted in the loss to the Confederates of thirty-five prisoners (some accounts note as many as 100 prisoners), nineteen dead and thirty-seven wounded. Thwarting McGhee's charge saved McLain's Battery and ultimately ended a larger Confederate charge northward known as Price's Raid. Confederate Major General Sterling Price led his cavalry forces into Missouri with hopes of installing secessionist Thomas Reynolds as state governor in Jefferson City, thus establishing the Confederate state government’s legitimacy. He felt that if Missouri transitioned from a border state to a Confederate state, it would result in President Lincoln losing his reelection bid in 1864, giving the Confederacy an opportunity to win the war via a peaceful settlement. Instead, not only did Union forces repel Price's advances, they forced Price's troops to retreat and, in the end, end the Confederate's hopes of winning the war west of the Mississippi.

"Battle of Westport: McGhee's Charge." The Civil War Muse. Accessed August 26, 2022. http://www.thecivilwarmuse.com/index.php?page=the-battle-of-westport-stop07.

"Battle of Westport Monument." Kansas City Parks and Recreation. KCParks.org. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://kcparks.org/places/battle-of-westportmonument-2/.

Beckenbaugh, Terry. "Battle of Westport." Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict,1855-1865. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/battle-westport. 

Onions, Thomas. "McGhee's Charge." The Historical Marker Database. HMdb.org. May 25, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=29658.

Phillips, Christopher. "Price’s Missouri Expedition (or Price’s Raid)." Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1855-1865. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/price-missouri-expedition-or-price-raid.