Return to Pea Ridge

[bankerpapaw]

Wonderful pictures and commentaries. Thanks.

 

[James N.]

Another anniversary *BUMP* for this thread as well!

Expired Image Removed

 

[James N.]

Just in time for the anniversary of the battle, here are some newly-made scans of photos taken back in the 1990's during a visit in late spring or early summer. Above and below is the area around Elkhorn Tavern.

Above, Union artillery on the Leetown battlefield of the first day's battle; below, more of Franz Sigel's Federal guns facing Elkhorn Mountain in the background with the park road at the right.

 

[Lusty Murfax]

The official narrative is very different from several of the personal accounts of Missourians involved, including some of regiment commanders.

 

[mofederal]

I love the pictures and text James N. I like Pea Ridge quite a bit. I was last there in the early 90's. You are definitely in the middle of nowhere at the park. The wire or telegraph road runs from Jefferson Barracks all the way to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Of course during the war it was cut often. From Fort Smith, I believe it runs on down to Texas, but not sure. Thanks gain for the outstanding tour. Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing everyone.

 

[LtTBReeves]

I love your photos from the Pea Ridge Battlefield, James N. My wife and I moved to the town of Pea Ridge just a few years ago and we have visited this very well-preserved battlefield 3 times. I like to look up various soldiers that were in this battle online to find out what happened to them both in the battle and beyond.

Example: William Jackson Smart. He was a Confederate wagon driver that got captured at Pea Ridge. He became a Union wagon driver when given a choice between that or a prison camp. He was the inspiration for his daughter Sonora for the first Father's Day (which was in Spokane, Washington).

 

[LtTBReeves]

Another is Jefferson Davis. He is best known for having the same name as the president of the Confederacy. He was promoted to Brigadier General after the battle.

Later that year, he got in a dispute with his commanding officer, William "Bull" Nelson, regarding recruitment of locals to help defend Louisville, Kentucky. A few days later, after having demanded of Nelson to treat him "with the courtesy due my rank", Davis shot the unrepentant and unarmed Nelson. Nelson died within a half hour. Davis was arrested for the killing, but he was never tried as the Union needed experienced officers such as Davis.

 

[James N.]

I love your photos from the Pea Ridge Battlefield, James N. My wife and I moved to the town of Pea Ridge just a few years ago and we have visited this very well-preserved battlefield 3 times. I like to look up various soldiers that were in this battle online to find out what happened to them both in the battle and beyond.

Example: William Jackson Smart. He was a Confederate wagon driver that got captured at Pea Ridge. He became a Union wagon driver when given a choice between that or a prison camp. He was the inspiration for his daughter Sonora for the first Father's Day (which was in Spokane, Washington).

Thank you and welcome to the forums! Personally, because of reenacting I've read the books of letters by the captains of what was variously known as Good's Texas Battery (at Elkhorn) and later Douglas' Texas Battery (from Corinth in '62 to Nashville in '64), John J. Good of Dallas, Tex., and James P. Douglas of Tyler, Tex.

 

[LtTBReeves]

Thank you and welcome to the forums! Personally, because of reenacting I've read the books of letters by the captains of what was variously known as Good's Texas Battery (at Elkhorn) and later Douglas' Texas Battery (from Corinth in '62 to Nashville in '64), John J. Good of Dallas, Tex., and James P. Douglas of Tyler, Tex.

Thanks for those resources!

 

[tbuckley]

Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Wilson's Creek are at the top of my bucket list. I need to start planning.

 

[James N.]

Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Wilson's Creek are at the top of my bucket list. I need to start planning.

They can all easily be visited on the same vacation trip - I've done it before!

 

[LtTBReeves]

Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Wilson's Creek are at the top of my bucket list. I need to start planning.

Another battlefield you might check out during your visit in this area is Cane Hill. The conflict, fought in November, 1862, was a running battle that extended several miles. Confederate General John Marmaduke's forces of 2,000 cavalry were surprised by General Blunt's 5,000 men, with many Confederates captured. This battle was a prelude to Prairie Grove.

The battlefield is located about 8 miles SW of Prairie Grove. Our favorite thing to see there at Cain Hill is the Cane Hill College building, now being renovated. Built in 1834, it was the first institute of higher learning in Arkansas. It is a beautiful building in good shape. Another to see is the Methodist Manse building, also built in 1834.

Another interesting but tragic event happened in 1839. A man named William Wright and four of his children were murdered, resulting in the hanging of three men without a trial.

 

[LtTBReeves]

Another participant in the battle of Pea Ridge was Henry F. Washburn, a Lieutenant Colonel at the time of the battle. He led the 18th Indiana regiment in a counterattack to reclaim 2 cannon captured previously. He later served under Grant and Sheridan. He was eventually promoted to brevet Major General in 1866.

After the war, he served as a Congressman from 1866 to 1869.

In 1870, he led the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, creating detailed maps of Yellowstone Park. This expedition also noted the regularity of one geyser there, naming it Old Faithful. Mount Washburn in the Park was named after him. He passed away just a few months later, in January, 1871.

 

[LtTBReeves]

A few weeks before he fought at Pea Ridge, Union General Alexander Asboth, an immigrant from Hungary, led his men to occupy the town of Bentonville, Arkansas (the home of Walmart) capturing about 30 men, some horses, and the 17th Arkansas battle flag. Asboth then forced the citizens of Bentonville to take an oath of allegiance to the Union.

During this occupation, a Union cavalryman was shot by a Confederate. The citizens of Bentonville hid the body in an outhouse. After finding the body, Asboth ordered the town to be burned to the ground.

Asboth was badly wounded at the Battle if Marianna in 1864. He died in Buenas Aires, Argentina while serving as US Minister to that country in 1868.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Great thread !

As I've said before, I've passed by this battlefield going and coming from a football game in Missouri.
Although we had plenty of time for a tour, I wasn't driving and the majority of my group had no interest in history.

Oh well . . . maybe one day I'll make it to Pea Ridge.

 

[James N.]

Thanks for those resources!

Briefly, Capt. Good was promoted after Pea Ridge becoming Judge Advocate General for John C. Pemberton's army in Mississippi; following the war he was active in Masonic circles becoming commander of the Knights Templar in Texas and served as mayor of Dallas, Tex. from 1880 until his death in 1881. Capt. Douglas served throughout the war commanding his battery, attached for a time to Cleburne's Division, and later a battalion of artillery; following the war he was an important newspaper publisher and civic leader in Tyler, Tex.

 

[JOHN42768]

A few weeks before he fought at Pea Ridge, Union General Alexander Asboth, an immigrant from Hungary, led his men to occupy the town of Bentonville, Arkansas (the home of Walmart) capturing about 30 men, some horses, and the 17th Arkansas battle flag. Asboth then forced the citizens of Bentonville to take an oath of allegiance to the Union.

During this occupation, a Union cavalryman was shot by a Confederate. The citizens of Bentonville hid the body in an outhouse. After finding the body, Asboth ordered the town to be burned to the ground.

Asboth was badly wounded at the Battle if Marianna in 1864. He died in Buenas Aires, Argentina while serving as US Minister to that country in 1868.

Welcome, enjoy

 

[JOHN42768]

Some great photos, thanks

 

[LtTBReeves]

Speaking of Freemasons, one reknowned soldier/journalist/lawyer/writer/poet who fought at Pea Ridge was Albert Pike. Notable for his 6 foot height, size (300 pounds) and long hair and beard, he trained 3 regiments of Native American cavalry and led them in the battle as a brigadier general for the Confederacy. During the first day of the battle, the regiments were successful in an attack but later defeated in a counterattack. After the battle, several of his men were accused of scalping Union soldiers, and the general faced charges for that and other crimes. The charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence, but in the meanwhile, he escaped and lived in the hills for a time.

He submitted his resignation soon afterward, but was under arrest for a short time in November until his resignation came through.

He joined the Freemasons in 1940 and was a member for life, witing a book about the group in 1871.

He died in 1891. A Masonic temple built in his name is in Little Rock, Arkansas and has the only statue of a Confederate officer licated in DC.

Notable works of Pike include "Hymns to the Gods", "Lyrics and Love Songs", "State or Province, Bond or Free?", "Poetry of Freemasonry", and the lyrics to the Confederate military tune, "Dixie to Arms!"

 

[major bill]

Elkhorn Tavern

View attachment 37578
The small building above which stands on the foundations of Elkhorn Tavern replaces the original which survived the battle only to be burned the following year by guerrillas. The heaviest fighting swirled around it on March 7 and 8 as it fell first to Van Dorn's Confederates and later back to Curtis' Federals. Of the four Federal divisions engaged in the battle here, by far the heaviest fighting and over half the combined Union casualties were suffered by that of Col. Eugene Carr who Curtis sent back toward the tavern to protect the army's supply trains nearby.

View attachment 37581

Like Osterhaus at Leetown, Carr was an aggressive fighter who chose to attack and blunt the Confederate drive, catching the normally combative Van Dorn by surprise. I had never visited this part of the park before, so was unaware of the four guns above, representing the 1st Iowa Battery who dueled here with many times their number of Missouri cannon on a nearby ridge. This is accessed only by the historic trace of the Wire Road north from Elkhorn Tavern and nothing suggests that the display is here. These guns are replica six-pounders, though all the other cannon in the park are originals.

View attachment 37580

Carr looked in vain all afternoon for reinforcements from Curtis, steadily falling back to and finally past the tavern as Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri State Guard and Missouri Confederate troops pushed forward late in the day. Carr made a stand in the woods bordering this field as Price's exhausted men made one final attack in the twilight.

View attachment 37582

The next morning found Curtis' entire army assembled in a line of battle facing north around Van Dorn and Price's played-out force. Only a few of McCullough's men took part in the second day's fight, among them the 1st Texas Battery led by Capt. John J. Good whose position is shown in these photos. The park is continuing to return the landscape to its wartime appearance and work over this past winter is evident in the recently removed treeline which formerly backed this spot; the area with dead grass at right marks where the trees formerly stood.

View attachment 37583

Good remained in position until his ammunition was virtually exhausted and was replaced by the Arkansas battery of Capt. Hart which was then overrun by assaulting Missouri Federals. The Confederate artillery was severely handled by the Federal artillery in counter-battery fire which successively knocked out the Southern guns.

View attachment 37579

Curtis' line stretched entirely across the cleared area seen above and below; from left-to-right stood the divisions of Carr, Davis, Asboth, and Osterhaus. Cannon can be seen in the field denoting the positions of the Federal batteries which were supervised to devastating effect by Brig. Gen. Franz Sigel. Curtis correctly figured Van Dorn's army had exhausted itself in the furious attacks of the previous afternoon and sent his army forward to drive the Confederates away and restore his own line of communications.

View attachment 37584

Unfortunately for Van Dorn his own supply and ammunition trains had withdrawn westward and were nowhere near, while Price's Missourians were almost out of ammunition and none of the Confederates had gotten any rest for the past several days spent marching and fighting in the wintery conditions of snow and mud. They broke before the federal charge and scattered to the north, east, and west before coming together again back at Van Buren far to the south near Fort Smith.

Col. Eugene Carr was my ancestor's nephew and I share his last name.