Van Buren, Arkansas - Before the Battle of Prairie Grove

Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren

In November of 1862, Confederate General Thomas Hindman began to prepare for a move from the Arkansas River Valley across the Boston Mountains into the Ozarks Plateau of Northwest Arkansas. He hoped to return a large area of Arkansas to Confederate control, while also opening the door for further operations into Missouri.
The launching point for this planned campaign was Van Buren, a charming town on the Arkansas River. The location of important steamboat landings and a ferry that crossed over to Fort Smith, Van Buren had supported the Southern cause since the earliest days of secession.

Militia troops from the city had joined in the taking of Fort Smith from U.S. forces in 1861 and it had served as a base of operations for troops moving north across the mountains before both the Battle of Wilson's Creek and the Battle of Pea Ridge. Wounded Confederate soldiers were brought back to Van Buren after both battles and the graves of those that did not survive can be seen today in rows at Fairview Cemetery.

Van Buren from above.

In November of 1862, Van Buren took on a critical role as Hindman planned his move into Northwest Arkansas. A large force of cavalry was positioned just north of town under General John S. Marmaduke. His command included Captain William Clark Quantrill's Missouri guerrillas. Jesse James, then only 14, was not yet part of the command, but other men with names that still echo through history were there. Among them were Frank James and Cole Younger.

Downtown Van Buren, Arkansas

With Markaduke's command in place to block in Federal movement or probe on Van Buren, Hindman began stockpiling provisions, ammunition and other supplies in the city. These would be used by his army as it crossed over the mountains. Troops also began the slow process of moving across the Arkansas River from their camps on Massard Prairie. They knew that combat was coming, but did not yet know that they would remember the name "Prairie Grove" for the rest of their lives.

I will continue posting on the Prairie Grove Campaign over coming weeks.  Until the next post, you can read more about historic Van Buren at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vanburen.

Read more about the Battle of Prairie Grove at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ArkansasPG1.

Dripping Springs, Part Two

Continuing our look at the Battle of Dripping Springs, Arkansas, this photo shows the historic Cove Creek Road. The old road still leads south from Prairie Grove into Crawford County, passing through the spectacular scenery of the Boston Mountains.

This was the road followed by General J.G. Blunt's men as they pushed south from Cane Hill to a planned junction with General F.J. Herron's force at Oliver's Store north of Dripping Springs. Blunt's troops passed down this section of the road on the morning of December 27, 1862.

Although this photograph was taken during the summer, the 1862 movement was actually made in the dead of winter. Soldiers wrote in their journals and letters home that the mountains were covered with snow and ice and that Cove Creek was filled with freezing water and slushy ice.

Blunt and Herron undertook the expedition despite the severe weather in hopes of surprising the Confederate forces camped in and around Van Buren. A Confederate cavalry force was camped at Dripping Springs north of Van Buren to watch for such movements, but the advancing Federals did not encounter Southern horsemen until the next morning.

Our look at the Battle of Dripping Springs will continue, but in the meantime you can read more and see additional photographs by going to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and looking for the link under the Battlefields and Forts heading in the left hand column.

Prairie Grove Battlefield - Union Lines

This view, taken from the Battlefield Trail, at Prairie Grove shows the ground on which General F.J. Herron's Union forces formed before assaulting the Confederate positions on Prairie Grove Ridge.

The Union artillery formed in the distance shown here and began shelling the Confederates on the ridge while the infantry formed ranks.

In the early afternoon, the Union infantry advanced from right to left across the open ground seen here, taking heavy fire from the Confederates on the ridge. It was the first major assault of the Battle of Prairie Grove. Reaching about the position from which the photograph was taken, they began their push up the ridge into the face of fierce musketry from General Hindman's Confederates.

We will continue our tour of the Prairie Grove Battlefield as this week goes along, but in the meantime you can read and see more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com. Just scroll down the page to the Index section and look for the "Battle of Prairie Grove" link under the "Arkansas" heading.

Prairie Grove Battlefield - More on the Right Flank

This view at Prairie Grove Battlefield was taken from the Battlefield Trail looking across the open prairie from the position held by the Confederate cavalry under "Fighting Jo" Shelby on the right flank. The Union troops formed in this prairie and then attacked the Confederate lines.

Shelby's men had brought on the battle by opposing the approach of General F.J. Herron's Union column to the crossing over the Illinois River (off to the right of this photograph). After delaying the Federals for some time, the Confederates under Shelby fell back to this position and formed the right flank of General Thomas Hindman's line on Prairie Grove Ridge.

Shelby's men were heavily engaged in the fighting throughout the day of December 7, 1862, and still held this position when the Battle of Prairie Grove came to an end that evening.

From this point, the Battlefield Trail curves down to the bottom of the ridge and then leads along ground across which the Union forces charged. We'll continue over the next few days with looks at that part of the battlefield, but in the meantime you can explore the Prairie Grove Battlefield in its entirety by going to www.exploresouthernhistory.com. When you get there, just scroll down the page to the Index section and look for the Battle of Prairie link under the "Arkansas" heading.

Prairie Grove Battlefield - First Union attacks

This view from the Battlefield Trail at Prairie Grove Battlefield shows the well preserved ground across which the Union army launched its massive attacks on the ridge top positions of General Hindman's Confederate Army.

The Confederate line was positioned atop the ridge from the spot where this photograph was taken. The Union forces formed on the prairie below and advanced in formation to the foot of the ridge before charging up into the face of the Southern artillery and muskets.

There were repeated charges up and down this ridge throughout the day of December 7, 1862. The Union troops would charge up and be thrown back. The Confederates would then counterattack but be forced back themselves by fierce Federal fire. The scene was enacted repeatedly through the course of the day, but by sundown the two armies retained their primary positions and the battle on the Confederate right flank, where this fighting took place, had ended in a tactical draw.

We'll continue to post more on the Prairie Grove battlefield over the next few days, but until then you can read more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com and scrolling down to the Index section and following the "Battle of Prairie Grove" link under the "Arkansas" heading.

Prairie Grove Battlefield - Prairie Grove, Arkansas

The photograph at right shows the entrance to the Battlefield Trail at Prairie Grove Battlefield, a state park in the picturesque community of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.

One of the key features of the park, the one mile paved trail loops around the ridge where the Confederate right flank was posted during the December 7, 1862, battle. This was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

The Battle of Prairie Grove took place when Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman pushed north across the Boston Mountains, hoping to catch the divided Union Army of the Frontier by surprise. He wound up battling both wings of the Northern army at Prairie Grove, where the Confederates were able to use a strong position to beat back repeated attacks by the Federal forces. By sundown on December 7th, tens of thousands of men had spent the day slaughtering each other on the now hallowed ground at Prairie Grove.

I'll be posting more on the Prairie Grove Battlefield over the next few days, but in the meantime please visit my Prairie Grove site at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ArkansasPG1 for photographs, official reports and an in depth account of the Battle of Prairie Grove.