The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Brush Creek Location
In Response To: Brush Creek Location ()

Ralph,

No, the Brush Creek mentioned is Brush Creek that runs through the Kansas City area. A few years ago this creek flooded with great damage to property in this vicinity. Kansas Citians will sadly remember the Brush Creek flood for many years to come.

The account you recited is rather fanciful with some exaggeration of numbers and invented dialogue thrown in for good measure. This quote appears to describe Todd's highly successful 17 June 1863 ambush with 30 to 50 guerrillas of 68 troopers of 9th Kansas Cavalry in a stonewall-lined lane just a mile-and-a-half outside Westport. As to the results, Todd's southerners suffered only two dead outright and one mortally wounded compared to 14 dead troopers and four wounded.

The business about Todd wanting to burn down Kansas City took place the evening of 11 August 1863, but he had to settle for burning just a few dwellings. That same evening Todd's men also raided an empty wagon train starting out on the Santa Fe Trail. The bushwhacker leader was incensed about the arrest, seemingly without cause, of female relatives of his guerrillas. Captain George Todd left a terse note for the Union district commander.

The outlaw accounts are notorious for getting pieces of actual history mixed up with a lot of fiction. The shame of it is that the actual guerrilla history is exciting enough just the way it happened without embellishment or re-arranging.

Bruce Nichols

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