Kind of late notice to those who might be interested, but the activities recognizing the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Pea Ridge will take place Friday & Saturday & Sunday, March 9th and 10th and 11th (THIS weekend) at and near Pea Ridge National Military Park, Pea Ridge, Arkansas. This Civil War battle was the largest west of the Mississippi, and the battlefield is one of the best preserved in the nation. The Union forces won the battle, securing Missouri and keeping it safe from Confederate occupation. If the Confederates would have won, they would have pushed back on up to Springfield, MO, then move right toward St. Louis to capture the Jefferson Barracks Arsenal there. I live only about 5 miles from the park and will be at some of the activities Friday and Saturday. Here is a line up of what is scheduled for this weekend: FRIDAY: re-enactment of the Bentonville, AR skirmish at the Bentonville square at 10:30am. A concert featuring Civil War era music at 7pm at the Shewmaker Center, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Bentonville/Rogers, AR. SATURDAY: Federal and Confederate infantry and calvary demonstrations at the park at Pea Ridge throughout the day, a program about battle flags, and a battlefield candle luminary program. SUNDAY: artillery, infantry and calvary demonstrations at the park. Everyone likes the top ten lists on this site, so here are a few about the Battle of Pea Ridge:
1) This battle featured Confederate use of Cherokee fighters, one of only a handful of battles to feature Native Americans.
2) Elkhorn Tavern was used as a field hospital. Civilians hiding in the cellar abandoned it and ran for other cover when blood dripping
through floor cracks made it unbearable to stay in the cellar.
3) Soldiers on both sides were amazed to see U.S. Brigadier General Alexander Asboth's dog, "York" trotting alongside his horse as the battle raged.
4) Brigadier General Ben McCulloch was surveying the battle from horseback and came into an open area to get a better look and was shot dead
by a Confederate sharpshooter after exposing himself.
5) Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn was later killed in Tennessee by a jealous husband. He's the only general on either side of the war to
die at the hand of a civilian.
6) Many of the soldiers at Pea Ridge spoke German as a first language. There was a large detachment of Germans fighting for (I think) the Federals.
7) Sometimes small children visting the battlefield today scream in terror and throw fits. Park rangers say little kids, sensitive to their surroundings,
occasionally hear the sounds of the battle and won't calm down until they get to the visitors center located on the edge of the field of war.
Elkhorn Tavern was a stopping place for food and lodging along the Butterfield Stagecoach Company route.
9) Elkhorn Tavern was a stopping place for Native Americans on their forced walk along the "Trail of Tears." The Indians recieved their last
Federal rations on their march prior to entering Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
10) Thousands of Confederate troops hid the night before the battle in a cave at Bentonville.
Pea Ridge National Military Park is located just north of Rogers, AR, and is the gateway attraction leading into Eureka Springs and a little further down the road, Branson. Come on by and visit sometime. Everyone should explore the places where our American history was shaped, and Pea Ridge is one of the best places you can come to learn about the struggle our country went through 150 years ago!
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