The first Burning of Platte City, Missouri occurred during the American Civil War on December 16, 1861, after Union troops attempted to capture the bushwhacker Silas M. Gordon.
Gordon with 30 to 40 men captured Weston, Missouri, in early December and carried off two Federal soldiers as captives.
Gordon stole county records from the courthouse and threatened to kill the district judge if he came to Platte City.
Union General David Hunter issued an order from neighboring Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for Platte County to either deliver Gordon or have the city burned.
In early December, Colonel W. James Morgan of the 18th Missouri Infantry USA marched from St. Joseph to Platte City and set fire to the city and courthouse and captured three Confederate soldiers either home on furlough or returned home following the expiration of the terms of their enlistment.