Battle of Prairie Grove
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The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on 7 December 1862, that resulted in a tactical stalemate but essentially secured northwest Arkansas for the Union.
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[edit] Strategic situation: Union
In late 1862 Confederate forces had withdrawn from southwest Missouri and were wintering in the wheat-rich and milder climate of northwest Arkansas. Many of the regiments had been transferred to Tennessee, after the defeat at the Battle of Pea Ridge in March, to bolster the Army of Tennessee.
Following Pea Ridge, the victorious Union General Samuel Curtis pressed his invasion of northern Arkansas with the aim of occupying the capital city of Little Rock. Curtis's army reached the approaches to the capital, but decided to turn away after a minor yet psychologically important Confederate victory at the Battle of Whitney's Lane near Searcy, Arkansas.
Curtis reestablished his supply lines at Helena, Arkansas, on the Mississippi River and ordered his subordinate, General John M. Schofield at Springfield, Missouri, to drive Confederate forces out of southwestern Missouri and invade northwestern Arkansas.
Schofield divided his Army of the Frontier into two parts, one to remain near Springfield commanded by General Francis J. Herron, and the other commanded by General James G. Blunt to probe into northwest Arkansas. Schofield soon fell ill and overall command passed to General Blunt. As Blunt took command, the two wings of his army were dangerously far apart.
[edit] Strategic situation: Confederates
Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman was an aggressive commander who had just been relieved of overall command of the Trans-Mississippi District. Hindman had issued a series of unpopular, but effective, military decrees which gave political opponents ammunition to have him removed from overall command.
Hindman maintained a field command of Arkansas troops and, becoming aware of the Union Army's precarious tactical position, convinced his replacement to allow him to mount an expedition into northwest Arkansas. Hindman hoped to catch the Union army in its divided state, destroy it in detail, and open the way for an invasion of Missouri.
[edit] Maneuvering to battle
Hindman's force gathered at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and sent out approximately 2,000 cavalry under General John S. Marmaduke to harass Blunt's forces and screen the main Confederate force.
Unexpectedly Blunt moved forward with his 5,000 men and 30 artillery pieces to meet Marmaduke. The two clashed in a nine-hour running battle known as the Battle of Cane Hill on [[28 November, 1862. Marmaduke was pushed back but Blunt found himself 35 miles deeper into Arkansas and that much farther from the remainder of his army.
On 3 December Hindman started moving his main body of 11,000 poorly equipped men and 22 cannon across the Boston Mountains toward Blunt's division. Blunt, disturbed by his precarious position, telegraphed Herron and ordered him to march immediately to his support from Springfield. Blunt did not fall back towards Missouri but instead set up defensive positions around Cane Hill to wait for Herron.
Hindman's intention was for Marmaduke's cavalry to strike Blunt from the south as a diversion. Once Blunt was engaged, Hindman intended to hit him on the flank from the east.
On 6 December Hindman learned of Herron's movement out of Springfield and realized that he could not attack Blunt from the east as planned. He decided that he would move north and intercept Herron before he could arrive to reinforce Blunt. During the night of 6 and 7 December Hindman bypassed Blunt's force and moved northward with Marmaduke's cavalry in the fore.
Meanwhile, Herron's divisions had performed an amazing forced march to come to Blunt's rescue and met Marmaduke's probing cavalry south of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Hindman's characteristically aggressive nature seems to have failed him at this moment. Afraid that Blunt would be able to attack his rear, and facing Herron to the north, Hindman chose instead to set up a defensive position atop a line of low hills near Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
[edit] The battle
The battle opened on the morning of 7 December with Union General Herron crossing the river and deploying his footsore troops on Hindman's right. Herron opened an intense two hour artillery barrage on the Confederate position singling out individual Confederate cannon and concentrating on taking them out of action one at a time. By noon, the devastating barrage had disabled most of the Confederate artillery and forced many of the Confederate troops to shelter on the reverse slopes.
Seeing the effect of his artillery, Herron ordered an advance on the hill rather than waiting for Blunt to arrive. When his men arrived on the hill they found themselves under a fierce Confederate counterattack from three sides by Maramaduke and Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup. Half of the attacking Federals were wounded or killed within minutes, most near the Borden House.
As the surviving Federals rolled back down the hill toward the safety of Union lines, Confederate soldiers spontaneously pursued and attempt to break Herron's lines. Herron's artillery loaded with canister caused terrible damage to the unorganized Confederates and repulsed their attack.
Meanwhile, Blunt realized that Hindman had gotten past his flank and intercepted Herron. Furious, he ordered his men to march to the sound of the guns. Blunt's forces arrived on the field just as Hindman was ordering another attack on Herron's forces. Blunt's division slammed into the surprised Confederates and drove them back onto the hill. The heaviest casualties of the battle were felt during this attack by the 10th Missouri Confederate Infantry, which was caught in the open, at the flank of the confederate forces.
During the night of 7 December and 8 December Blunt began to call up his reserves. Hindman on the other hand had no reserves remaining, was low on ammunition and food, and had lost much of his artillery firepower. Hindman had no choice but to withdraw under cover of darkness back towards Van Buren, Arkansas. The Confederates reached Van Buren on 10 December, demoralized, footsore, and ragged.
By 29 December Blunt and Herron would threaten Hindman at his Van Buren sanctuary and drive him from northwest Arkansas permanently.
[edit] The aftermath
Federal forces suffered 1,251 casualties and Confederate forces suffered 1,317 casualties. In addition, Confederate forces suffered from severe demoralization and lost many conscript soldiers during and after the campaign.
Though the battle was a tactical draw, it was a strategic victory for the Federal army as they remained in possession of the battlefield and Confederate fortunes in northwest Arkansas declined markedly from that point on.
The Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is nationally known as one of the most intact Civil War battlefields. Active efforts are underway to acquire additional land for the park and preserve its integrity. The park is located just outside of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, about 10 miles west of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
[edit] Order of battle
[edit] U.S. Army of the Frontier
Major General John M. Schofield (absent in St. Louis) (9,216 men on the battlefield)
1st Division: Brigadier General James G. Blunt, Field Command (commanding 3,144 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Brigadier General Frederick Salomon (commanding 752 men on the battlefield)
- 9th Wisconsin Infantry - Colonel Charles E. Salomon (stationed at Rhea's Mill)
- 2nd Ohio Cavalry - Colonel Augustus V. Kautz (stationed at Rhea's Mill)
- 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry - Colonel William A Bartow (333 men)
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- Attached Artillery Section (21 men, two 12 pound mountain howitzers)
- 6th Kansas Cavalry - Colonel William P. Judson (180 men)
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- Attached Artillery Section - Lt. Brainard D. Benedict (21 men, two 12 pound mountain howitzers)
- 9th Kansas Cavalry - Colonel Edward Lynde (197 men)
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- Attached Artillery Section - Lt. Henry H. Opedyke (stationed at Rhea's Mill)
- Stockton's Ohio Battery - Captain J. B. Stockton (stationed at Rhea's Mill)
- 2nd Kansas Battery - Captain E. A. Smith (stationed at Rhea's Mill)
2nd Brigade: Colonel William A. Weer (commanding 902 men on the battlefield)
- 3rd Indian Home Guard - Colonel William Phillips (44 men)
- 10th Kansas Infantry - Major Henry H. Williams (387 men)
- 13th Kansas Infantry - Colonel Thomas M. Bowen (375 men)
- 1st Kansas Battery - Captain Marcus D. Tenney (96 men, six 10 pounders)
3rd Brigade: Colonel William F. Cloud (commanding 1490 men on the battlefield)
- 1st Indian Home Guard - Lt. Colonel Stephen H. Wattles (337 men)
- 11th Kansas Infantry - Colonel Thomas Ewing, Jr. (608 men)
- 2nd Kansas Cavalry - Lt. Colonel Owen A. Bassett (344 men)
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- Attached Artillery Section - Lt. Elias S. Stover (22 men, two 12 pound Mountain Howitzers)
- 2nd Indiana Battery - Captain John W. Rabb (126 men, 4 James cannon, two 6 pound smooth bore cannon)
- 3rd Kansas Battery - Captain Henry Hopkins (53 men, three 6 pound smooth bore cannon, one 12 pound field howitzer)
2nd Division: Brigadier General James Totten (Absent), Colonel Daniel Huston, Jr. (commanding 2118 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Colonel John G. Clark (commanding 938 men on the battlefield)
- 18th Iowa Infantry - Colonel J. Edwards (stationed in Springfield, MO)
- 26th Indiana Infantry - Colonel John G. Clark (445 men)
- 7th Missouri Cavalry - Major Eliphalet Bredett (453 men)
- Battery 'A', 2nd Illinois Light Artillery - Lt. H. Borris (40 men, one 6 pound smooth bore cannon, one 12 pound field howitzer)
2nd Brigade: Colonel William McEntyre Dye (commanding 1175 men on the battlefield)
- 20th Iowa Infantry - Lt. Colonel Joseph B. Leake (293 men)
- 37th Illinois Infantry - Lt. Colonel John Charles Black (401 men)
- 1st Missouri Cavalry - Major Charles Banzhaf (165 men)
- 6th Missouri Cavalry - Major Samuel Montgomery (206 men)
- Company F, 1st Missouri Light Artillery - Captain David Murphy (110 men, four 3 pound 'rifles', two James cannon)
3rd Division: Brigadier General Francis J. Herron (commanding 3950 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Lt. Colonel Henry Bertram (commanding 1765 men on the battlefield)
- 20th Wisconsin Infantry - Major Henry A. Starr (436 men)
- (*) 1st Iowa Cavalry - Major J. O. Gower (500 men)
- (*) 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry - Major William H. Miller (88 men)
- (*) 10th Illinois Cavalry - Lt. Colonel James Stuart (612 men)
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- Attached Artillery Battery (43 men, four 12 pound mountain howitzers)
- Company L. 1st Missouri Light Artillery - Captain Frank Backof (86 men, four James cannon, two 12 pound field howitzers)
2nd Brigade: Colonel William W. Orme (commanding 1600 men on the battlefield)
- 19th Iowa Infantry - Lt. Colonel Samuel McFarland (500 men)
- 94th Illinois Infantry - Lt. Colonel John McNulta (589 men)
- (*) 8th Missouri Cavalry - Colonel Washington Geiger (400 men)
- Company E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery - Lt. Joseph Foust (111 men, four 10 pound Prussian cannon, two 3 pound 'rifles')
Unattached units (585 additional men)
- 14th Missouri State Militia Cavalry - Colonel John M. Richardson (100 men)
- 1st Arkansas Cavalry - Colonel Marcus LaRue Harrison (485 men)
Units marked by (*) joined together to form Colonel Dudley Wickersham's Cavalry Brigade
[edit] I Corps, Confederate Trans-Mississippi Army
Major General Thomas C. Hindman (commanding 11,059 men on the battlefield)
First Division: Brigadier General John S. Roane (commanding 2132 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Colonel Stand Watie (guarding Confederate supply train at Evansville)
- Mounted Cherokee Rifles (guarding Confederate supply train at Evansville)
- Mounted Creek Rifles (guarding Confederate Supply train at Evansville)
- Osage, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw and Comanche Indian Companies (guarding Confederate supply train at Evansville)
2nd Brigade: Brigadier General John S. Roane (commanding 2132 men on the battlefield)
- 20th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) - Colonel Thomas C. Bass (228 men)
- 22nd Texas Cavalry (dismounted) - Major Robert D. Stone (429 men)
- 31st Texas Cavalry (dismounted) - Lt. Colonel George W. Guess (284 men)
- 34th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) - Colonel A. M. Alexander (491 men)
- 9th Missouri Infantry - Colonel John B. Clark (564 men)
- Reid's Arkansas Battery - Captain John G. Reid (37 men, two 6 pound smooth bore cannon)
- Shoup's Arkansas Battery - Captain James C. Shoup (98 men, three mountain howitzers, two 25 pound mountain howitzers)
Second Division: Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup (commanding 3219 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Brigadier General James F. Fagan (commanding 1555 men on the battlefield)
- Hawthorn's Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Alexander T. Hawthorn (291 men)
- 22nd (35th) Arkansas Infantry - Colonel James P. King (400 men)
- 29th (37th) Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Joseph C. Pleasants (304 men)
- 34th Arkansas Infantry - Colonel William H. Brooks (400 men)
- Chew's Arkansas Infantry Battalion - Major Rober E. Chew (115 men)
- Blocher's Arkansas Battery - Captain William D. Blocher (45 men, two 6 pound smooth bore cannon, two 12 pound field howitzers)
2nd Brigade: Brigadier General Dandrdge McRae (commanding 1664 men on the battlefield)
- 26th Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Asa S. Morgan (412 men)
- 28th (36th) Arkansas Infantry - Lt. Colonel John E. Glenn (497 men)
- 30th (39th) Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Archibald J. McNeill (304 men)
- 32nd Arkansas Infantry - Lt. Colonel Charles L. Young (370 men)
- Marshall's Arkansas Battery - Captain John G. Marshall (78 men, two 6 pound smooth bore cannon, two 12 pound field howitzers)
Third Division: Brigadier General Daniel M. Frost (commanding 3926 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons (commanding 3111 men on the battlefield)
- Mitchell's Missouri Infantry - Lt. Colonel Charles S. Mitchell (440 men)
- 7th Missouri Infantry - Colonel Josiah H. Caldwell (754 men)
- 8th Missouri Infantry - Colonel Dewitt C. Hunter (684 men)
- 9th Missouri Infantry - Lt. Colonel Willis M. Ponder (476 men)
- 10th Missouri Infantry - Colonel Alexander E. Steen (560 men)
- 9th Missouri Sharpshooters - Major Lebbeus A. Pindall (123 men)
- Tilden's Missouri battery - Captain Charles B. Tilden (74 men, two 6 pound smooth bore cannon, two 12 pound field howitzers)
2nd Brigade: Colonel Robert G. Shaver (commanding 815 men on the battlefield)
- Adams' Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Charles W. Adams (305 men)
- 27th Arkansas Infantry - Colonel James R. Shaler (stationed at Ft. Smith, Arkansas)
- 33rd Arkansas Infantry - Colonel Hiram L. Grinstead (306 men)
- 38th Arkansas Infantry Battalion - Lt. Colonel William C. Adams (140 men)
- Roberts' Missouri Battery - Captain Westley Roberts (64 men, two 14 pound James cannon, two six pound smooth bore cannon)
Fourth Division (Cavalry): Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke (commanding 1782 men on the battlefield)
1st Brigade: Colonel James C. Monroe (commanding 500 men on the battlefield)
- Carroll's Arkansas Cavalry - Lt. Colonel Lee. L. Thomson (225 men)
- Monroe's Arkansas Cavalry - Major A. N. Johnson (225 men)
2nd Brigade: Colonel Joseph O. Shelby (Shelby's Raiders) (commanding 1475 men on the battlefield)
- 4th Missouri Cavalry - Colonel Beal G. Jeans (334 men)
- 5th Missouri Cavalry - Colonel Benjamin F. Gordon (338 men)
- 6th Missouri Cavalry - Colonel Gideon W. Thompson (333 men)
- Elliot's Missouri Cavalry battalion - Captain Benjamin Elliott (101 men)
- Quantrill's Company - Lt. William Gregg (33 men) (Included Frank and Jesse James)
- Bledsoe's Missouri Battery - Captain Joseph Bledsoe (36 men, two six pound smooth bore cannon)
3rd Brigade: Colonel Emmett MacDonald (commanding 807 men on the battlefield)
- MacDonald's Missouri Cavalry - Lt. Colonel Merrit L. Young (202 men)
- Crump's Texas Cavalry - Lt. Colonel R. Phillip Crump (544 men)
- West's Arkansas Battery - Captain Henry C. West (61 men, one 6 pound smooth bore cannon, two 12 pound field howitzers)
[edit] References
[edit] External Links
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