This letter contains a partial account of the travels and actions of the United States Signal Corps of the Department of Kansas from October 11th to November 25, 1864, and was written by R. W. Burpee, U. S. Signal Corps to Mrs. S. W. Burpee, Boston, Mass.
Burpee describes the activities of the Union forces under the command of Generals Pleasanton and Curtis against Confederate forces lead by General Sterling Price, in and around the Kansas City area.
Burpee describes the action at Westport on October 23, 1864:
“Sunday morning the 23 we were ready to march at sunrise a splendid morning it was too. Bright and clear just cool enough for comfort we went back to Kansas City and from there to Westport where we found a battle going on all the troops were ahead of us when we arrived there Lieut. Neely was stationed on top of the Harris House a large brick hotel three stories high with a flat roof which was covered with officers and citizens all the time at the town is quite a pleasant one and looks as though it was quite a thriving place before the war.”
“…about 2 or three oclock P. M. the Rebels began to retreat and then our station was abandoned and we followed on after our Army over the Battlefield we saw plenty of dead horses and dying men all along the road and quite a lot of dead Rebel soldiers all along the road our own dead and wounded had all been taken care before we came along our wounded were brought to the Harris House during the day and were well taken care of.”
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30900
