The Battle of Prairie Grove - In Depth
Rhea's Mill - Prairie Grove
The chimney from Rhea's Mill
was moved to the battlefield from
its original location and now
serves as a monument to
memorialize the Battle of Prairie
Grove.
The chimney from Rhea's Mill
was moved to the battlefield from
its original location and now
serves as a monument to
memorialize the Battle of Prairie
Grove.
Scene of Heavy Fighting
The state of Arkansas has
preserved a significant part of the
ground over which the Battle of
Prairie Grove was fought.
The state of Arkansas has
preserved a significant part of the
ground over which the Battle of
Prairie Grove was fought.
Battle of Prairie Grove - Arkansas
On December 7, 1862, Union and Confederate armies collided along a low ridge
on the northern edge of Arkansas' Boston Mountains. Neither side planned to fight
here. Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman was trying to flank a large
Union force at nearby Cane Hill and cut them off from reinforcements. Had he
succeeded, he would likely have destroyed the divided wings of the Federal Army
of the Frontier in detail. Hindman did succeed in stealing a march on Brigadier
General James G. Blunt's divisions at Cane Hill, but he ran head on into Brigadier
General Francis J. Herron's oncoming reinforcements. Determining to fight it out,
Hindman put his men into position atop the ridge at Prairie Grove and dared the
Federals to come knock him off.
Although the Federals believed he had as many as 28,000 men, Hindman actually
opened the battle with a force of 9,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 22 pieces of
artillery. It was a hastily assembled army. Hindman had been directed to organize
Confederate forces in Arkansas in the wake of the disaster earlier that year at Pea
Ridge. The fact that he put as many men in the field as he did in such a short
period of time and actually led them across the mountains from the Arkansas
River and into battle was, in itself, quite remarkable. The fight these poorly-trained
and under-supplied Southerners gave at Prairie Grove speaks well of both the
men and officers.
The battled opened when Hindman's troops came pouring out of the Cove Creek
Valley. Having left a small force to demonstrate and hold Blunt's men in place at
Cane Hill, Hindman pushed ahead and put his army astride the vital Fayetteville to
Cane Hill road, blocking the advance of Herron's rapidly approaching divisions
and preventing that officer from immediately linking up with Blunt as planned.
Learning that the advance elements of Herron's force were approaching,
Hindman sent his cavalry up the Fayetteville road under Brigadier General John S.
Marmaduke and Colonel "Fighting Jo" Shelby. Shelby proved his name was
well-earned that day. Setting upon Herron's cavalry east of the Illinois River
crossing, the Confederate horsemen drove them back on the main body and then
contested the march of Herron's powerful infantry all the way to Prairie Grove.
By the time the Confederate cavalry withdrew back across the Illinois, Hindman
had his main force in position atop the ridge at Prairie Grove. Herron crossed the
river under artillery fire from Confederate guns and formed his men on the wide
prairie below the ridge.
A fierce cannonade erupted as superior Federal artillery shelled the Confederate
lines atop the east end of the ridge. Finally, at 1p.m., Herron advanced up the
ridge. Hindman reported that he let the Federal troops come in close before
ordering his men to open fire:
...It was permitted to approach within 60 yards, and then, as it charged, making
gallantly past one of our batteries, and having it a moment in possession, Fagan's
Arkansas brigade, part of McRae's brigade, and the Missourians, under Shelby,
delivered a terrific fire from their shot-guns, rifles, and muskets and charged the
enemy furiously. Hawthorn's regiment of Arkansians retook the battery. The
Federals broke and fled.
The battle, however, was far from over. The Confederate lines swept down the
ridge in pursuit, but were soon driven back up the ridge by Union fire. The Union
lines then reformed and attacked again, only to be sent back down the hill once
again by intense Confederate fire.
Some of the most intense fighting on this part of the field took place in and around
the orchard just to the rear of the Borden House. Federal troops pushed over the
crest of the ridge and poured into the orchard, but the Confederates ringed the
grove from three sides and poured in a brutal cross-fire. Left with no choice but to
withdraw, the Federals again fell back down the hill. One officer later estimated
that 250 men fell in the yards of the Borden House.
By this time, General Blunt at Cane Hill had realized his true situation and
withdrawn his force back to Rhea's Mills northwest of Prairie Grove. Leaving some
of his men here to guard the supply wagons, he marched most of his command
to the sound of the guns. Blunt's men arrived on the field from the northwest and
quickly linked up with the right flank of Herron's command. Being the senior officer
on the field, Blunt took command.
The two determined armies now faced each other along lines that stretched for
miles along the curving ridge. The Confederates maintained their position at the
top, while the Federals lined up at the bottom. As Hindman noted, the Battle of
Prairie Grove evolved into a fierce stand-up fight:
...There was no place of shelter upon any portion of the field. Wounds were given
and deaths inflicted by the enemy's artillery in the ranks of the reserves as well as
in the front rank. During five hours, shell, solid shot, grape and canister, and
storms of bullets swept the entire ground. Many gallant officers, and many soldiers
equally brave fell dead or wounded, but their comrades stood as firm as iron.
Volunteers maintained their reputation. Conscripts rose at once to the same
standard, and splendidly refuted the slanders put upon them by the class of
exempts.
The battle raged back and forth until sunset. Federal troops would attack and be
driven back. Confederates would then counterattack and, in turn, be driven back
themselves. General Blunt, of the Union army, described the situation poignantly:
...The rattling of the musketry, uninterrupted for fully three hours, was terrific. The
contending armies swayed to and fro, each alternately advancing and retiring.
Some rebel sharpshooters, firing from the windows of a house situated in the edge
of the wood and a little to my left, were evidently directing their compliments
specially to myself and staff. I directed Captain Rabb to open upon it with shell,
and in a few moments the house was in flames.
The final action of the day came on the western end of the field, when
Confederates swept across open ground in a final effort to shatter the Union lines.
Driven back by a storm of shot and shell, they resumed their positions on the
ridge and darkness mercifully brought the battle to a close.
Although the fighting itself ended in a draw, Hindman knew that he could not hope
to prevail if the battle resumed the next morning. His men were exhausted and on
the verge of starvation. His ammunition was nearly gone and he knew the Federal
force was too strong to overwhelm. Consequently, even though the day ended with
the Confederates holding the ground they had occupied when the battle started,
Hindman decided to withdraw during the night. His army was on its way back over
the Boston Mountains before the Federals knew the battle was over.
Although both sides seriously over-estimated the strength and losses of their
opponents, the battle was without doubt a bloody affair. The Confederates lost
164 killed, 817 wounded and 336 missing or captured. The Federals reported
similar losses of 175 killed, 813 wounded and 264 missing or captured. The
wounded from both sides were treated in makeshift hospitals both on the field
and in nearby Fayetteville. Hundreds of them died from their wounds.
The Battle of Prairie Grove was one of the bloodiest ever fought west of the
Mississippi. With the nearby Battle of Pea RIdge earlier in the year, it decided the
fate of Northwest Arkansas for the rest of the war. Hindman's force withdrew
across the Arkansas River to Fort Smith. Blunt and Herron consolidated their
position and followed up on their strategic victory by capturing Van Buren in
December.
on the northern edge of Arkansas' Boston Mountains. Neither side planned to fight
here. Confederate Major General Thomas C. Hindman was trying to flank a large
Union force at nearby Cane Hill and cut them off from reinforcements. Had he
succeeded, he would likely have destroyed the divided wings of the Federal Army
of the Frontier in detail. Hindman did succeed in stealing a march on Brigadier
General James G. Blunt's divisions at Cane Hill, but he ran head on into Brigadier
General Francis J. Herron's oncoming reinforcements. Determining to fight it out,
Hindman put his men into position atop the ridge at Prairie Grove and dared the
Federals to come knock him off.
Although the Federals believed he had as many as 28,000 men, Hindman actually
opened the battle with a force of 9,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 22 pieces of
artillery. It was a hastily assembled army. Hindman had been directed to organize
Confederate forces in Arkansas in the wake of the disaster earlier that year at Pea
Ridge. The fact that he put as many men in the field as he did in such a short
period of time and actually led them across the mountains from the Arkansas
River and into battle was, in itself, quite remarkable. The fight these poorly-trained
and under-supplied Southerners gave at Prairie Grove speaks well of both the
men and officers.
The battled opened when Hindman's troops came pouring out of the Cove Creek
Valley. Having left a small force to demonstrate and hold Blunt's men in place at
Cane Hill, Hindman pushed ahead and put his army astride the vital Fayetteville to
Cane Hill road, blocking the advance of Herron's rapidly approaching divisions
and preventing that officer from immediately linking up with Blunt as planned.
Learning that the advance elements of Herron's force were approaching,
Hindman sent his cavalry up the Fayetteville road under Brigadier General John S.
Marmaduke and Colonel "Fighting Jo" Shelby. Shelby proved his name was
well-earned that day. Setting upon Herron's cavalry east of the Illinois River
crossing, the Confederate horsemen drove them back on the main body and then
contested the march of Herron's powerful infantry all the way to Prairie Grove.
By the time the Confederate cavalry withdrew back across the Illinois, Hindman
had his main force in position atop the ridge at Prairie Grove. Herron crossed the
river under artillery fire from Confederate guns and formed his men on the wide
prairie below the ridge.
A fierce cannonade erupted as superior Federal artillery shelled the Confederate
lines atop the east end of the ridge. Finally, at 1p.m., Herron advanced up the
ridge. Hindman reported that he let the Federal troops come in close before
ordering his men to open fire:
...It was permitted to approach within 60 yards, and then, as it charged, making
gallantly past one of our batteries, and having it a moment in possession, Fagan's
Arkansas brigade, part of McRae's brigade, and the Missourians, under Shelby,
delivered a terrific fire from their shot-guns, rifles, and muskets and charged the
enemy furiously. Hawthorn's regiment of Arkansians retook the battery. The
Federals broke and fled.
The battle, however, was far from over. The Confederate lines swept down the
ridge in pursuit, but were soon driven back up the ridge by Union fire. The Union
lines then reformed and attacked again, only to be sent back down the hill once
again by intense Confederate fire.
Some of the most intense fighting on this part of the field took place in and around
the orchard just to the rear of the Borden House. Federal troops pushed over the
crest of the ridge and poured into the orchard, but the Confederates ringed the
grove from three sides and poured in a brutal cross-fire. Left with no choice but to
withdraw, the Federals again fell back down the hill. One officer later estimated
that 250 men fell in the yards of the Borden House.
By this time, General Blunt at Cane Hill had realized his true situation and
withdrawn his force back to Rhea's Mills northwest of Prairie Grove. Leaving some
of his men here to guard the supply wagons, he marched most of his command
to the sound of the guns. Blunt's men arrived on the field from the northwest and
quickly linked up with the right flank of Herron's command. Being the senior officer
on the field, Blunt took command.
The two determined armies now faced each other along lines that stretched for
miles along the curving ridge. The Confederates maintained their position at the
top, while the Federals lined up at the bottom. As Hindman noted, the Battle of
Prairie Grove evolved into a fierce stand-up fight:
...There was no place of shelter upon any portion of the field. Wounds were given
and deaths inflicted by the enemy's artillery in the ranks of the reserves as well as
in the front rank. During five hours, shell, solid shot, grape and canister, and
storms of bullets swept the entire ground. Many gallant officers, and many soldiers
equally brave fell dead or wounded, but their comrades stood as firm as iron.
Volunteers maintained their reputation. Conscripts rose at once to the same
standard, and splendidly refuted the slanders put upon them by the class of
exempts.
The battle raged back and forth until sunset. Federal troops would attack and be
driven back. Confederates would then counterattack and, in turn, be driven back
themselves. General Blunt, of the Union army, described the situation poignantly:
...The rattling of the musketry, uninterrupted for fully three hours, was terrific. The
contending armies swayed to and fro, each alternately advancing and retiring.
Some rebel sharpshooters, firing from the windows of a house situated in the edge
of the wood and a little to my left, were evidently directing their compliments
specially to myself and staff. I directed Captain Rabb to open upon it with shell,
and in a few moments the house was in flames.
The final action of the day came on the western end of the field, when
Confederates swept across open ground in a final effort to shatter the Union lines.
Driven back by a storm of shot and shell, they resumed their positions on the
ridge and darkness mercifully brought the battle to a close.
Although the fighting itself ended in a draw, Hindman knew that he could not hope
to prevail if the battle resumed the next morning. His men were exhausted and on
the verge of starvation. His ammunition was nearly gone and he knew the Federal
force was too strong to overwhelm. Consequently, even though the day ended with
the Confederates holding the ground they had occupied when the battle started,
Hindman decided to withdraw during the night. His army was on its way back over
the Boston Mountains before the Federals knew the battle was over.
Although both sides seriously over-estimated the strength and losses of their
opponents, the battle was without doubt a bloody affair. The Confederates lost
164 killed, 817 wounded and 336 missing or captured. The Federals reported
similar losses of 175 killed, 813 wounded and 264 missing or captured. The
wounded from both sides were treated in makeshift hospitals both on the field
and in nearby Fayetteville. Hundreds of them died from their wounds.
The Battle of Prairie Grove was one of the bloodiest ever fought west of the
Mississippi. With the nearby Battle of Pea RIdge earlier in the year, it decided the
fate of Northwest Arkansas for the rest of the war. Hindman's force withdrew
across the Arkansas River to Fort Smith. Blunt and Herron consolidated their
position and followed up on their strategic victory by capturing Van Buren in
December.
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| Copyright 2005 by Dale A. Cox |
by: Dale A. Cox