REVIEWED BATTLE
OF OLD WESTPORT.
REUNION AND PICNIC ON WOR-
NALL ROAD.
Pioneers Hear of Kansas City's Pre-
carious Situation During Price
Raid -- Purchase of Shaw-
nee Mission Proposed.
The battle of Westport was lived over again by a hundred of the city's oldest inhabitants comprising what is now known as the Historical Society at the old Wornall homestead at Sixty-first street and the Wornall road yesterday.
The occasion was a basket picnic of the society and the object was no more than to celebrate the nation's birthday but so many could recall the time when the Wornall mansion was a hospital and and the cottonwoods around the premises were split and riven in battle that the names of Price, Mulligan and Curtis came easy, and many a gray headed veteran leaned eagerly forward in his seat while the speakers marshaled before them the contending armies.
"It was this way," said Judge John C. Gage, who was a participant in the battle. "General Price driven from behind by the Federal forces left Independence, Mo., and crossed the Blue. It was a serious moment for Kansas City for General Curtis left the town unprotected and crossed over to Wyandotte to his headquarters. For a whole night the city was practically at the mercy of the Confederates.
"It was a good thing the Confederates did not know of this movement of Curtis. By the next day he had returned and when the battle occurred Curtis was on hand and fought like a tiger."
Several of the old residents who were present had never heard of the incident referred to by Judge Gage. Others who were participants on one side or the other remembered it distinctly.
MISPLACED STRATEGY.
"Very little has been said of Curtis's desertion of Kansas City at this time," said the judge after his speech to some of those who had never heard. "It was an incident quickly closed by the prompt return of the federal forces from across the Kaw. You see General Curtis at first believed it might be more important to protect Fort Leavenworth than the city. When he discovered how small a force General Price had and that he was practically running away from federal pressure behind he changed his mind. He was no coward and his retrograde movement was merely misplaced strategy."
Other speakers were Judge John B. Stone, ex-Confederate soldier; Mrs. Laura Coates Reed, Hon. D. C. Allen of Liberty, Mo., Miss Elizabeth B. Gentry, Mrs. Henry N. Ess, William Z. Hickman and Dr. W. L. Campbell. Frank C. Wornall read the Declaration of Independence and Mrs. Dr. Allan Porter read a selection entitled "Two Volunteers." The meeting of the society was presided over by Dr. Campbell, who also introduced the speakers.
A proposition was made by Mrs. Laura Coates Reed to the effect that the society purchase the old Shawnee mission in Johnson county, Kas., for a historical museum to be used jointly by the D. A. R. society and the Historical Society. Mrs. Reed's remarks along this line were seconded by those of Mrs. Henry Ess.
