What Is Pea Ridge National Military Park?
This park preserves the Civil War battlefield on the Pea Ridge plateau where the Union saved Missouri from capture by the Confederacy!
What Makes It Historical?
Missouri was a pro-slavery state from admission in 1820, and it was home to the Dred Scott decision stripping enslaved folks of legal rights because they weren’t citizens. Despite all this, by the start of the Civil War, enough non-slaveholding folks had moved into Missouri that the state voted to remain part of the Union, while taking no side in the military actions to come. Still, possession of Missouri meant possession of crucial ports along the Mississippi River, like St. Louis. Capturing that city, and the Show-Me State as a whole, was the objective of Major General Sterling Price, the man who had led the pro-secession campaign, as he gathered the Missouri State Guard in March of 1862 for assault on this disputed territory!
Joining forces with Brigadier General Ben McCulloch and Major General Earl Van Dorn, this 16,000-strong army, including two Cherokee regiments, planned a two-pronged attack on the 10,500 Union troops under Brigadier General Samuel Curtis, whose sole objective was to keep them from crossing the Arkansas border! By this time, the Confederate troops had marched three days and were very delayed in their arrival, which gave General Curtis ample time to prepare. When fighting broke out at Leetown, Generals McCulloch and McIntosh were both killed and the ranking colonel captured, meaning the western flank was without orders for over an hour!
On the eastern flank, fighting was more even, spanning the night between March 7th and 8th, but General Curtis launched his counter attack from Elkhorn Tavern first thing in the morning on March 8th. Between intense bombardment by artillery and concentrated attacks by the infantry, the battle was over in two hours, and the Confederates withdrew back into Arkansas. Both sides would go on to fight more battles, but east of the Mississippi!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Pea Ridge National Military Park!
- Become a member of the Pea Ridge National Military Park Foundation!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
15930 National Park Dr
Garfield, AR 72732
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The battlefield is open daily from 6:00 AM until sunset, though the visitor centers are only open from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM, except on federal holidays!
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