When was pea ridge founded

Watie became known as a gifted field commander and a bold guerrilla leader. At the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas in March , his troops earned acclaim for capturing a Union battery in the midst of a Confederate defeat. On June 15, , his men scored a major victory by capturing the Union steamboat J.

The two statements that best describes the result of the battle of Pea Ridge are, Confederated forces were forced to flee back into Indian territory and Union forces took over Fort Davis in Arkansas and built Fort McCulloch. The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18—20, , between U. Table of Contents. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.

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You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Confederates launched a counter-offensive to try to regain control of northern Arkansas and Missouri. During the two-day battle, Union forces held off the Confederate attack, then drove the Confederate soldiers off the field. After the Battle of Pea Ridge was over, the Union would control both northern Arkansas and Missouri for the duration of the war.

This battle is one of the few where the number of soldiers in the Confederate army outnumbered the Union. Today, thanks to its largely rural setting, the Pea Ridge National Military Park is one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the nation. One hundred and fifty years ago today, in the normally quiet and peaceful countryside just east of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River…. Make a tax-deductible gift today to provide a brighter future for our national parks and the millions of Americans who enjoy them.

Skip to navigation Skip to main content Skip to footer. At this point, command of McCulloch's division would normally have devolved upon Elkanah Greer , the commander of the 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment, but due to the prevailing command confusion, he was not notified of his superior officers' death or capture for several hours. In the meantime, Brig. Albert Pike , technically outside the chain of command of McCulloch's division assumed command on the Leetown battlefield around p. At p. This movement took place in total confusion, several units being left behind on the field, some marching back towards Camp Stephens, others around Big Mountain towards Van Dorn and the rest of the army.

At least one regiment was at this point ordered to discard its arms and bury them for later recovery. It was only several hours later that Greer assumed command of the remaining forces and was at that point informed of Pike's actions.

Initially, he considered remaining on the battlefield but after consulting with Van Dorn decided to withdraw his forces as well and join the remainder of the army in Cross Timber Hollow. Around a. Soon after, Carr arrived at Elkhorn Tavern with Dodge's brigade right behind. Carr spread out his regiments facing north along the edge of the plateau near the tavern and pulled the 24th Missouri back to cover their left flank at the base of Big Mountain.

The Union 4th Division commander then sent the 1st Iowa Battery's four guns forward to slow the Confederate advance. At this point, Van Dorn, instead of rushing Carr's badly outnumbered force with all 5, of his available soldiers, he became cautious and ordered Price to fully deploy his division, with the Missouri State Guard divisions on the right and the Confederate Missouri brigades on the left. When the Northern guns began firing, Van Dorn ordered his own artillery into action.

Soon, 21 Southern guns were pounding the Iowa cannoneers. By the time Price's infantry finally began edging uphill toward the Yankee guns, they met Carr's men advancing downhill in an aggressive counterstroke.

The Confederate advance stalled near Elkhorn, but Price's left flank units were marching up Williams Hollow further to the east.

Once this force reached the plateau, Carr's right flank would be turned. By p. The Union division commander immediately launched this unit in a counterattack on Price's right flank.

Superior numbers of Southerners eventually forced Vandever to pull back a short distance uphill. At this time, Henry Little , on his own initiative, waved his 1st Missouri Brigade forward and the Rebel advance began to roll uphill. These events finally convinced Van Dorn to take more aggressive action. But more time was lost in reorganizing Price's division to attack. Meanwhile, Curtis was rushing small units to Carr's assistance as quickly as he could. Carr himself was wounded three times: in the ankle, neck and arm, but refused to leave the field.

In he would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions this day. When Price's left finally emerged from Williams Hollow and attacked about p. On the right, Dodge's brigade collapsed after putting up a terrific fight at Clemon's farm. On the left, in equally hard fighting, Vandever's men were steadily pushed back to the tavern and beyond. In the center, Little led his men forward into the teeth of Federal artillery.

After being forced back from position after position, Vandever's men finally halted the Confederate drive at Ruddick's field, over a quarter mile south of the tavern. There they were joined by Dodge's men, part of Alexander S. Asboth 's 2nd Division and Curtis. Temperatures fell rapidly after dark, making a very uncomfortable night for the men of both armies. Curtis called Davis' 3rd Division to Ruddick's field during the night. When Davis arrived he was put in line to the left of Carr.

Sigel marched the 1st and 2nd Divisions in circles all night but finally had them camp near Pratt's Store. Asboth, who was wounded in the last action of the day, believed that the Union army's position was hopeless and pressed Curtis several times during the night to retreat.

Though his army was now cut off from Missouri, Curtis refused to consider retreat and confidently predicted victory in the morning. Van Dorn did not yet realize that a mistaken order had caused his supply train to turn around and return to Camp Stephens during the previous afternoon and evening. In the morning, the Confederate reserve artillery ammunition would be hopelessly out of reach.

In the early morning, Sigel sent Osterhaus to scout the open prairie to the west of Elkhorn. The colonel discovered a knoll that promised to make an excellent artillery position and reported it to Sigel. Osterhaus also suggested that the 1st and 2nd Divisions simply march up the Telegraph Road and deploy on Davis' left, rather than retrace the route of the previous evening; Sigel agreed with his advice and his wing was put into motion.

In the meantime, Davis ordered an Illinois battery to fire a few salvos into the woods opposite his position. This provoked a sharp Confederate reaction.

Three Southern batteries opened fire, causing two Federal batteries to retreat and Davis to pull his men out of the open and back into the woods. This was followed by a Confederate probe which was quickly driven back. Soon Sigel's men extended in a long line to the left of Davis.

By a. It was possibly the only time during the war an entire army was visibly deployed in one continuous line of battle from flank to flank. With Sigel in personal control, the Federal artillery began an extremely effective fire against the 12 Southern guns opposed to them. When the Confederate gunners pulled back under the deadly fire, Van Dorn ordered two batteries to take their place.

After one of the new batteries panicked and fled, Van Dorn put its commander under arrest. But the Southern commander was unable to counter Sigel's devastating fire. Return fire from the Confederate artillery was ineffective and few Federals were killed.

With the opposing guns rendered nearly harmless, Sigel directed his gunners to fire into the woods at the Confederate infantry. Near the base of Big Mountain the projectiles created a deadly combination of rock shrapnel and wood splinters, driving the 2nd Missouri Brigade from its positions.

By this time Van Dorn found that his reserve artillery ammunition was with the wagon train, a six hour march away. The Southern commander bitterly realized that he had no hope of victory and decided to retreat via the Huntsville Road. This route led east from the tavern, then turned south. With Price wounded but still in command of the rear guard, Van Dorn's army began to move toward the Huntsville Road in some confusion. Osterhaus was resisted by Little's 1st Missouri Brigade.

Soon, Curtis ordered Davis to attack in the center. Not realizing that the Confederate army was retreating past his right flank, Curtis held Carr's mauled division in position on the right.

Van Dorn joined the retreat about a. Sometime around noon, Sigel's soldiers met Davis' men near Elkhorn Tavern and a great cry of "Victory" was sent up. From there the infantry retraced their steps on the Bentonville Detour. Several batteries marched northeast into Missouri then south through the Ozarks.

Thinking that Van Dorn had retreated via Cross Timber Hollow, he sent Sigel and some cavalry to pursue in that direction. Instead of taking the forces Curtis assigned for the pursuit, Sigel gathered both of his divisions and marched northeast toward Keetsville, Missouri.

Near there, he requested that Curtis send his supply train to that place. Federal forces reported killed, wounded and missing for a total of 1, casualties. Of these, Carr's 4th Division lost , almost all in its action on the first day, and Davis' 3rd Division lost Both Asboth and Carr were wounded but remained in command of their divisions.