on October 15 and began moving towards Kansas City. Union columns commanded by Major Generals Samuel R. Curtis and Alfred Pleasonton began pursuing Price, who won another victory at the Second Battle of Lexington on October 19. A delaying action at the Battle of Little Blue River (October 21) allowed Union forces to catch up with Price. After smaller clashes at the battles of Second Independence (October 22) and the Big Blue River (October 22 and 23), Curtis and Pleasonton decisively defeated Price's army at the Battle of Westport on October 23. The Confederates began retreating through Kansas, and early on October 25, Price's army was defeated in a small action near the Marais des Cygnes River. Price's army was slowed during the retreat by a large supply train, which halted at the ford at Mine Creek. Union cavalry caught up to the stalled Confederates during the late morning on the 25th. Opposing forces Union The Union forces pursuing Price's column were all organized into the Army of the Border, commanded by Curtis. Curtis' army contained two divisions. The first was commanded by Major General James G. Blunt and consisted of four brigades, commanded by Colonels Charles R. Jennison, Thomas Moonlight, Charles W. Blair, and James H. Ford. The division was almost entirely cavalry, and contained militia units, especially in Blair's brigade. Blunt's men were from Kansas, Wisconsin, and the Colorado Territory. Curtis' second division was commanded by Pleasonton, and also contained four brigades. Pleasonton's brigades were commanded by Colonel John F. Philips, Brigadier Generals John McNeil and John B. Sanborn, and Lieutenant Colonel Frederick W. Benteen. Like Blunt's division, Pleasonton's division was primarily cavalry and contained a substantial militia element. Pleasonton's units were from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. Confederate Price had divided his force into three divisions, commanded by Marmaduke, Shelby, and Fagan. Fagan's division contained four brigades, commanded by Brigadier General William L. Cabell and Colonels William F. Slemons, Archibald S. Dobbins, and Thomas H. McCray. Several miscellaneous units were assigned to Fagan's division, but not placed in any brigade. Fagan's units were from Arkansas and Missouri. Marmaduke's division consisted of two brigades, commanded by Brigadier General John Bullock Clark Jr. and Colonel Thomas R. Freeman. Marmaduke's men were from Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Shelby's division contained three brigades, commanded by militia officer M. Jeff Thompson and Colonels Sidney D. Jackman and Charles H. Tyler. The