VISIT ARKANSAS!

It seems to be taking me as long to get out of Arkansas and it did to get out of Texas -- and Texas is a much bigger state.  I have one thing to say about Arkansas-- VISIT ARKANSAS! What a great place!

Early AM, Sep 1, I headed to the Pea Ridge Battlefield.  In reading about the battle, I found a few interesting tidbits about the park, the battle and the area.

The name "Pea Ridge" came from a variety of wild peas which grew on the ridges. The Indian groups and settlers valued these as a food source for families and as a forage crop for livestock. The peas, commonly known as hog peanuts or turkey peas, are still found.

On March 7-8, 1862, 26,000 soldiers fought to decide the fate of Missouri and the West.  The 4,300 acre battlefield is the site of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War.  It is the most intact Civil War battlefield in the US.

PRELUDE TO BATTLE
The key to winning the war in the west was control of Missouri. Missouri was an easy invasion route, north or south, and controlled the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers.  Abundant natural resources, especially lead and iron ore, a large military-aged population and the Saint Louis Arsenal, with over 60,000 muskets, made Missouri a prize conquest. 

In December, 1861, the situation in Missouri was deadlocked. The Missouri State Guard, the pro-secession militia army, controlled the southern and western parts of the state; the Federal Army controlled the northern and eastern parts, as well as the railroads & waterways. The Missouri State Guard had won important victories at Carthage, Lexington, and Wilson's Creek, but had failed to force Missouri to secede from the Union.

The Federal commander, Major General Henry Halleck, knew that the State Guard was a symbol of open defiance to Federal authority and it encouraged secession. Halleck gathered all available forces at Lebanon, MO, and, on Dec 25, 1861, placed Brigadier General Samuel Ryan Curtis in command. Curtis' orders were to destroy the Missouri State Guard quartered in Springfield or drive it from the state.

Curtis' Army of the Southwest began its campaign on Feb 10, 1862. The army quickly marched over the rough, frozen roads, and caught the Guard, and its commander. Major General Sterling Price abandoned Springfield on Feb 13, and retreated south into Arkansas. The 2 armies fought a series of skirmishes along the way and on Feb 17 Curtis telegraphed Halleck, "The flag of our Union again floats in Arkansas." As the Federals crossed the border into Arkansas, a brass band played "Yankee Doodle" and "The Arkansas Traveler".