Background
Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate Army of Missouri was headed westward towards Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth, hoping to capture Missouri for the South and negatively influence Abraham Lincoln's chances for reelection in 1864. Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border, in and around Westport, was blocking the Confederates' way west, while Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton's provisional cavalry division was pressing Price's rear. Price had nearly 500 wagons with him, and required a good ford over the Blue River to facilitate passage of his supplies. Byram's Ford was the best crossing in the area, and would clearly be a point of great strategic significance during the impending Battle of Westport.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Byram's Ford
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