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Home | What is the Monnett Fund? | History: The Battle of Westport | Self-Guided Auto Tour | Interpretive and Development Plan | Video: Saving Kansas City's Battlefield | Get Involved | |
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In 2006, the Monnett Fund launched the Saving Kansas City’s Battlefield Initiative with the purpose of acquiring the entirety of the Byram’s Ford Battlefield located in the flood plain of the Big Blue River and restoring it to its 1864. It is a unique and ambitious effort to reclaim and preserve this historic battlefield. No other effort in the national campaign to preserve hallowed ground has begun from this level of intervening development and disturbance. The restoration effort requires the acquisition and reclamation of key tracts of land at the battle site, which has been used previously as an industrial park. Because of the urban development of Kansas City, few portions of the Battle of Westport of October 21-23, 1864, the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi have survived. The Byram’s Ford Historic District encompassing the historic ford and the associated Byram’s Ford Road site have fortunately remained largely unchanged since 1864. |
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Saving Kansas City’s Battlefield Initiative |
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VIDEOS |
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As part of the Saving Kansas City’s Battlefield Initiative, a video was prepared by Lauran A. Smith for the Monnett Fund describing the battlefield at Byram’s Ford and the reclamation plan. This video depicts the appearance of the Big Blue Byram's Ford Battlefield following its restoration. Click on the following link to view this first video |
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A second video was produced for the Monnett Fund in 2009 by Ms. Smith. This video describes the Fund’s most recent progress in restoring and interpreting the battlefield. Click on the following link to view this second video Saving Kansas City’s Battlefield Update video 2009 |