Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide, with a Section on Wire Road (This Hallowed Ground: Guides to Civil War Battlefields) - Softcover

Earl J. Hess; William L. Shea; William G. Piston; Richard W. Hatcher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0803273665 ISBN 13: 9780803273665

Publisher: Bison Books, 2006

Synopsis

Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove were three of the most important battles fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. They influenced the course of the first half of the war in that region by shaping Union military efforts while significantly contributing to Confederate defeat. Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove, the first book to provide a detailed guide to these battlefields, takes the visitor step-by-step through the major sites of each engagement. With numerous maps and illustrations that enhance the authors’ descriptions of what happened at each stop, the book also includes analytical accounts explaining tactical problems associated with each battle as well as vignettes evoking for readers the personal experience of those who fought there.

 

An indispensable companion for the battlefield visitor, this guide offers not only touring information and driving tours of sites associated with the campaigns that led to the battles, but also a brief history of each battle and an overview of the larger strategy and tactics of the military action in which these battles figured.

About this title

About the Author

William L. Shea is author and coauthor of numerous books on the Civil War, including Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West, Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign, and Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River (Nebraska, 2005).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove

A Battlefield Guide, with a Section on Wire RoadBy Earl J. Hess Richard W. Hatcher III William Garrett Piston William L. Shea

University of Nebraska Press

Copyright © 2006 University of Nebraska Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8032-7366-5

Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................................................ixIntroduction...........................................................................................xiHow to Use This Guide..................................................................................xiiiWilson's Creek.........................................................................................1OVERVIEW...............................................................................................3Lyon's Attack and the Southern Response................................................................11STOP 1 Visitor Center..............................................................................11STOP 2 Elias B. Short Farm, 4:45-5:30 A.M..........................................................13STOP 3 Gibson Mill, 5:30-6:30 A.M. (NB1)...........................................................15STOP 4 Ray Cornfield Trail, North Access...........................................................19STOP 5 Ray House, 7:00 A.M. (NB2)..................................................................20STOP 6 Ray Springhouse.............................................................................23STOP 7 Ray Cornfield, 6:45-8:40 A.M................................................................24STOP 8 East Battlefield Overlook (NB3).............................................................27STOP 9 Edwards Cabin / Price's HQ, 5:00-6:00 A.M...................................................29STOP 10 Fort Smith Light Battery / Pearce's HQ, 5:00-8:00 A.M.......................................33STOP 11 Winn Farm / McCulloch's HQ, 4:45-5:00 A.M...................................................36STOP 12 Pulaski Light Battery, 5:30-6:30 A.M........................................................37Sigel's Attack and the Southern Response...............................................................40STOP 13 Sigel's Second Position, 7:00-7:30 A.M. (NB4)...............................................40Optional Excursion: Dixon Farm.........................................................................43STOP 14 Sigel's Final Position (Sharp Farm), 8:00-8:30 A.M. (NB5)...................................46STOP 15 McCulloch's Attack, 8:30-9:00 A.M...........................................................48Optional Excursion: Sigel's Retreat, 9:00-9:45 A.M.....................................................51Bloody Hill............................................................................................53STOP 16 Guibor's Battery, 5:15-8:00 A.M. (NB6)......................................................53STOP 17 Bloody Hill, 5:15-8:00 A.M. (NB7)...........................................................61STOP 18 Totten's Battery, 9:00 A.M..................................................................64STOP 19 The Lyon Marker, 9:00 A.M...................................................................66STOP 20 Loop Trail Overlook, 9:00 A.M...............................................................67STOP 21 The Sinkhole, 6:30-11:00 A.M................................................................68STOP 22 Bloody Hill, 9:00-11:00 A.M.................................................................70Optional Excursion: Greer Attacks Lyon's Right, 9:00-10:00 A.M.........................................74STOP 23 Historic Overlook, 5:00-6:00 A.M.; 11:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. (NB8)..............................77Pea Ridge..............................................................................................79OVERVIEW...............................................................................................81Leetown, March 7, 1862.................................................................................86STOP 1 Visitor Center..............................................................................86STOP 2 Pratt's Store, March 7-8....................................................................88STOP 3 Site of Leetown, March 7....................................................................91STOP 4 Oberson's Field, March 7, afternoon.........................................................92STOP 5 Morgan's Woods, March 7, afternoon..........................................................97STOP 6 Foster's Farm, March 7, midday..............................................................101Elkhorn Tavern, March 7, 1862..........................................................................105STOP 7 East Overlook, March 7-8....................................................................105STOP 8A Elkhorn Tavern, March 7, late morning.......................................................108STOP 8B Jones's Battery, March 7, early afternoon...................................................110STOP 8C Tanyard, March 7, morning and early afternoon...............................................113STOP 8D Huntsville Road, March 7, late afternoon....................................................115STOP 8E Clemon's Field, March 7, 4:30-6:00 P.M......................................................117STOP 8F Elkhorn Tavern, March 7, evening............................................................121STOP 9 Ruddick's Field, March 7, evening...........................................................123Victory and Defeat, March 8, 1862......................................................................127STOP 10A Ruddick's Field, March 8, morning...........................................................127STOP 10B Skirt of Timber, March 8, morning...........................................................131STOP 10C Welfley's Knoll, March 8, morning...........................................................134Optional Excursion: Driving Tour of Pea Ridge Campaign.................................................137STOP 11 Curtis's Fortifications at Little Sugar Creek, March 6-8....................................139STOP 12 Skirmish at Little Sugar Creek, February 17.................................................141STOP 13 Cross Hollow, February 17-19................................................................145Sigel's Retreat from Bentonville, March 6..............................................................149STOP 14A McKissick's Creek...........................................................................149STOP 14B Bentonville.................................................................................151STOP 14C The Ridge...................................................................................154STOP 14D The Y Junction..............................................................................155Van Dorn's Flanking Movement, March 6-7................................................................159STOP 15A Bentonville Detour..........................................................................159STOP 15B Twelve Corner Church........................................................................162STOP 15C Bentonville Detour Meets Wire Road..........................................................164STOP 16 Pott's Hill, February 16, 1862..............................................................167Prairie Grove..........................................................................................169OVERVIEW...............................................................................................171Battle for the Wooded Ridge............................................................................175STOP 1A Visitor Center..............................................................................175STOP 1B The Confederate Center......................................................................177STOP 2 Latta Homestead (The Lord's Vineyard).......................................................180STOP 3 The Ravine..................................................................................181STOP 4 Borden House................................................................................182STOP 5 Carnage in the Orchard (Herron's First Attack)..............................................185STOP 6 Confederate Right Flank (Herron's Second Attack)............................................188STOP 7 Borden Wheatfield...........................................................................191STOP 8 Illinois River Ford.........................................................................195STOP 9 Borden Cornfield............................................................................196STOP 10 Position of 20th Iowa.......................................................................198STOP 11 Confederate Left (West Overlook)............................................................200STOP 12 Morton House................................................................................205STOP 13 Confederate Left Flank......................................................................206STOP 14 Prairie Grove Church........................................................................207Optional Excursion: Driving Tour of Prairie Grove Campaign, November-December 1862.....................208STOP 15 Herron's Approach on Fayetteville Road, December 7, 1862....................................210STOP 16 Battle of Cane Hill, November 28, 1862......................................................213STOP 17 Skirmishes on Reed's Mountain, November 28 and December 5-6, 1862...........................216STOP 18 Morrow House, March 2 and December 6, 1862..................................................218STOP 19A Cove Creek Road.............................................................................220STOP 19B Cove Creek Road.............................................................................221STOP 20 Hog Eye Road Intersection, December 7, 1862.................................................222STOP 21 Blunt Reaches Rhea's Mill, December 7, 1862.................................................223STOP 22 Blunt's Approach to Prairie Grove, December 7, 1862.........................................225Wire Road..............................................................................................227OVERVIEW...............................................................................................229Driving Tour of Wire Road: Springfield, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas..............................232SECTION 1 Springfield, Missouri, to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield...............................233SECTION 2 Wilson's Creek to Madry, Missouri...........................................................235SECTION 3 Madry to Missouri-Arkansas state line.......................................................239SECTION 4 State line to Cross Hollow, Arkansas........................................................245SECTION 5 Cross Hollow to Strickler's Station, Arkansas...............................................246SECTION 6 Strickler's Station to Fort Smith, Arkansas.................................................252APPENDIX Orders of Battle............................................................................261Notes..................................................................................................269Sources................................................................................................275For Further Reading....................................................................................279

Introduction

The battles of Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove were three of the most significant engagements of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. They influenced the course of the first half of the war in that region and helped shape Union military efforts to control the Trans-Mississippi while significantly contributing to Confederate defeat. It was essential that the Federals dominate Missouri and northern Arkansas in order to support their major effort to control the Mississippi Valley. While the Yankees never completely defeated Rebel forces in Missouri and Arkansas, they were able to deny the Confederates an opportunity to dominate this vital region and use its resources for the Southern war effort. The campaigns that led to Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge progressively drove Confederate forces out of Missouri during the first year of the war, and the Prairie Grove campaign kept them in central Arkansas during the middle part of the conflict. Although these campaigns garnered less attention in the public mind than more-famous battles in the East, they were absolutely vital in maintaining the relentless Union pressure in the western theater that resulted in spectacular victories such as Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's capture of Vicksburg in July 1863.

Two of the three battlefields covered by this book are protected by the U.S. National Park Service. Pea Ridge National Military Park encompasses nearly all the land that saw any action, while Wilson's Creek National Battlefield encloses about 70 percent of the contested ground. This is far more than is typical for the larger engagements east of the Mississippi River. While the same has not been true of the Prairie Grove battlefield, dedicated park personnel and local supporters are protecting more acres every year. As a result, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park will not only preserve more historic ground over time but also present a more complete vision of the battle to visitors.

There are no major tour guides in print for any of the three battlefields except for those published in Blue and Gray, a magazine providing self-guided tours for a variety of Civil War sites. This book is an effort to provide much more than is possible in a magazine article. It will offer the reader a complete guide to the ground, information to understand the larger strategic and grand tactical background of the military action, and vignettes to appreciate the personal experience of participants. The format is generally that provided by the other books in this successful series, This Hallowed Ground: Guides to Civil War Battlefields. We have altered that format a bit to include driving tours for the sites associated with the campaigns that led up to Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove so the reader may understand how the road system and topography of the Trans-Mississippi affected Civil War campaigning. Also, Wire Road itself, which made these campaigns possible, is treated with a driving tour that traverses 150 miles of Ozark terrain.

The authors have collaborated by writing sections of this guide that match their special knowledge of these three related battles. William Garrett Piston and Richard W. Hatcher III wrote the tour of Wilson's Creek, Earl J. Hess the tour of Pea Ridge, and William L. Shea the tour of Prairie Grove. Hess also wrote the guide to Wire Road, with help from his colleagues-Piston contributed the segment from Springfield to Madry, Missouri (and test drove the entire route), while Shea revised the section dealing with the area from Dripping Springs to Van Buren, Arkansas.

More than just a tour guide, this book also provides mini-histories of Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove. With coverage of the associated campaigns, it also provides a history of Civil War operations in the Ozark region of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas during the first eighteen months of the war. This area was the center of conflict in the upper Trans Mississippi during 1861 and 1862 and witnessed events that not only changed the region but also affected the entire course of the Civil War.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Groveby Earl J. Hess Richard W. Hatcher III William Garrett Piston William L. Shea Copyright © 2006 by University of Nebraska Press . Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bison Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803273665
• ISBN 13: 9780803273665
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288