as it moved westwards towards Kansas City, Missouri, culminating in the Battle of Westport on October 23. At Westport, the Confederates were soundly defeated by the commands of Major Generals James G. Blunt and Alfred Pleasonton. Shelby's men provided the Confederates with a rearguard, and the Army of Missouri retreated southwards. The Confederates still had a large supply train with them, slowing the retreat. By the evening of October 24, the Army of Missouri had entered Kansas; Confederate soldiers looted and burned as they went. That night, Price camped near Trading Post in Linn County, with the camp split into two segments by the Marais des Cygnes River. Price believed that the Union pursuers would attempt to swing around his flank and block his path of retreat and was not expecting a significant Union force to attack the Trading Post position. Meanwhile, the Union pursuers were at West Point, Missouri. Blunt suggested an ambitious flanking movement, but was overruled by Major General Samuel R. Curtis, commander of the Department of Kansas. The plan would have involved only using a token force to attack the Confederate position at the Marais des Cygnes and slipping most of the rest of the Union army around the Confederate flank to attack Price's army in the morning. Both the flanking movement and crossing a river at night posed risks, and Blunt's plan did not consider the fact that the terrain south of the Marais des Cygnes was not conducive to rapid movement. It also assumed that the Confederates would remain stationary. Instead, Curtis ordered Pleasonton to make a frontal attack against Price. Pleasonton, who was heavily fatigued, gave temporary control of his division to Brigadier General John B. Sanborn. Sanborn moved against Price with a cavalry force at Trading Post late on the night of the 24th. His line, which consisted of the 4th Iowa Cavalry Regiment and three companies of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry Regiment on the right and the 6th and 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry Regiments on the left, made contact with Fagan's Confederates, who were now serving as the Confederate rearguard. A brief friendly fire incident involving the 4th Iowa Cavalry and the 2nd Colorado Cavalry ensued due to the Iowans being unaware of the presence of the Colorado unit in their front, as well as some light skirmishing with Fagan's forces. Sanborn was unsure of the Confederates' strength, but thought