In retribution for the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy, Union soldiers attempt to capture Missouri bushwhacker Silas M. Gordon. Gordon, suspected of planning the sabotage of the Platte Bridge, skirmishes with his pursuers at Bee Creek before escaping. Two Union soldiers are killed in the skirmish, Colonel W. James Morgan marches from St. Joseph to Platte City. Once there, Morgan burns the city and takes three prisoners -- all furloughed or discharged Confederate soldiers. Morgan leads the prisoners to Bee Creek, where one is shot and a second is bayonetted, while the third is released.