Sedalia. All resulted in Confederate victories. As he made his way west, Price acquired an ever-expanding wagon train loaded down with looted and captured property and materiel, as well a large herd of horses and cattle. The presence of this cavalcade increasingly limited Price's tactical options, and it ultimately became what modern U.S. Army Major Dale Davis describes in his study of Price's Raid as "an albatross to [his] withdrawal" following his defeat at Westport (see below). Union forces in Missouri, under the command of Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, were rapidly organizing to oppose Price's incursion. Curtis organized militia units in Missouri and Kansas, together with regular infantry and cavalry units, into the Army of the Border, which contained about 35,000 men in all. Meanwhile, Price's force was being steadily eroded by desertions, losses and disease; by the time of the pivotal Battle of Westport, it only numbered 8,500. In addition to dealing with Unionist militia and Curtis' force Price was also being pursued by Union Cavalry under Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, nominally under Curtis' command, but operating independently of Curtis' main element. Price's first true test against this new Union force came at Lexington, where he drove elements of Curtis' army back toward the Little Blue River and the nearby city of Independence. Further triumphs at those two locations positioned Price's army near Westport, where Curtis' main army lay. Pleasanton finally caught up with Price at Independence, pinching the Army of Missouri between two Federal armies, each of which was larger than Price's own force. This brought on the Battle of Westport, also referred to as the "Gettysburg of the West", which saw Price's complete defeat and forced him to retreat southward through Kansas toward the Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma). Further defeats at the Marais des Cygnes River, Mine Creek, the Marmiton River and Newtonia followed, forcing Price to retreat all the way into Arkansas and eastern Texas (to avoid additional Federal troops at Fort Smith, Arkansas). The remnants of Price's weary army finally returned to Arkansas on December 2, having lost about 6,000 men. The Army of Missouri officially ceased to exist when these men were subsequently absorbed into the Army of the Trans-Mississippi where Price commanded its Cavalry Corps from December 3, 1864, to March 12, 1865. On to Mexico Instead of surrendering at the end of the Civil War in 1865, Price and his subordinate