A Battlefield Museum in Missouri Displays One Scavenger's Many

A battlefield museum in Missouri displays one scavenger’s many finds Source: Kansas City Star, adapted by Newsela staff Kansas City, MO— It started six decades ago. As construction crews began developing sections of a Kansas City meadow near the Blue River, a man concerned about the impact on history began showing up with a metal detector. Over an 11-year period beginning in 1952, John Adams Jr. dug up dozens of items. The objects he found had been left behind by Union and Confederate soldiers during the October 1864 Battle of Westport. Adams found belt buckles, revolvers, bayonets, unexploded artillery shells—even a carved bullet that may have been used as a chess piece. Often he arrived after big rains, in case rushing water had revealed something previously hidden. Whenever new construction commenced, he asked permission to look around. Today, many national battlefield preservationists frown mightily on such a artifact hunting. Local Civil War students, however, are thankful for the work of Adams, whose relatives had farmed the battlefield area before and after the war. Because of Adams, a collection of artifacts from Kansas City’s most significant Civil War battle survives today. “A Bunch of Rusted Things” Visitors to the Battle of Westport Visitors Center and Museum during the battle’s 150th anniversary commemoration, which began October 23, can see what Adams saved. About 75 artifacts that he retrieved from the area now known as the Byram’s Ford Big Blue Battlefield will be on exhibit. The collection, which museum organizers learned about only recently, represents a huge increase in the number of known Battle of Westport relics. In addition, some of the pieces are distinctive enough to be matched to particular units that fought in the battle. To get an idea of the collection’s size in comparison to previous finds, consider that a two-day archaeological dig of a section of the site in 1996 yielded only two artificats: a button from a Union coat and a fired bullet that was probably Confederate. Adams held onto his Civil War finds for decades. When his health went bad a couple of years ago, he sought a way to preserve the collection. He talked Mike George, a northwest Missouri farmer and collector of historical artifacts, into buying it for $400 not long before Adam’s death in 2012. “To me it was just a bunch of rusted things,” George recalled recently. “He said, ‘I want somebody who will appreciate it and not sell it.’ He was a good friend and finally I said, ‘John, I’ll do it, but only because it is you.’” Although George wasn’t an expert on the conflict, he knew its basics. A Sprawling Three-Day Battle A sprawling action, the battle occurred over three days. It started on October 21, 1864, east of Independence and progressed along the Blue River and into what is now Loose Park, before turning south. The approximately 29,000 soldiers involved made it the biggest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River. When the Union prevailed, any hope of a significant Confederate presences in Missouri ended. Earlier this year, with the battle’s anniversary approaching, George decided to exhibit some of Adams’ artifacts. He choose the Remington Nature Center, a wildlife and history museum in St. Joseph, because his daughter works there. Seeking reliable information about the battle, George tracked down Daniel Smith. A Kansas City area lawyer, Smith serves as chairman of the Monnett Battle of Westport Fund, a nonprofit group devoted to preserving local Civil War history. The fund has preserved many of the approximately 40 acres of the Byram’s Ford Big Blue Battlefield. When George and Smith’s phone discussion on the battle turned to George’s artificats, Smith felt doubtful but intrigued. The Monnett Fund had obtained only a small collection of Battle of Westport artifacts. Smith drove up to the nature center, where George had the artifacts arranged on tables. George mentioned his friend, John Adams. “Adams?” Smith repeated, suddenly very interested. Smith had researched the Adams family for years. The Adams Family William Adams and his family had come from Virginia to Jackson County in 1853 and purchased 276 acres from brothers name Byram. The property stood near a crossing, or ford, of the Big Blue River—Byram’s Ford. Then the war arrived. The Adams family had to flee Jackson County because of an evacuation order and did not return to the Byram’s Ford property until 1870. When George started talking about Adams, Smith’s doubts about his collections vanished. George showed Smith two Hotchkiss shells, the type fired by guns used by the 2nd Missouri Light Artillery, a Union outfit. “The shells would have been fired from the east bluff above Byram’s Ford across the flood plain and onto the west side,” Smith said. The Monnett Fund only owns a reproduction of such a shell. Here, however, were two authentic examples, both still whole because neither had exploded. “It was a eureka moment for me,” Smith said. “I was absolutely floored.” A Prized Possession George also showed Smith perhaps his most evocation artifact—a French-made revolver that had been found stuffed in an interior wall of an Adams family barn in the late 19th century. As the gun is of French manufacture, George believes it belonged to a Confederate soldier. Rebel troops often used equipment supplied by European arms companies. The gun was handed down through the Adams family over the decades. Adams searched his family’s old homestead for artifacts well into the 1960s. He began finding less, however, as asphalt and concrete covered more of its old acreage. Today, thanks to the work of Monnett Fund members and others, the Byram’s Ford Big Blue Battlefield is listed on the National Register of Historical Places, the government’s list of historical places it considers worth preserving. .

Load more