Episode 101 · December 25, 1861–early March 1862 · Rolla, Lebanon, and Springfield, Missouri, to Fayetteville and the Boston Mountains in northwest Arkansas

PEA RIDGE (Part the First)

Samuel Curtis drove Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard out of Missouri. Curtis then kept the Army of the Southwest in northwest Arkansas, where Earl Van Dorn prepared to attack it with the combined forces of Price and Ben McCulloch

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Episode at a glance

Period coveredDecember 25, 1861–early March 1862

LocationRolla, Lebanon, and Springfield, Missouri, to Fayetteville and the Boston Mountains in northwest Arkansas

Historical contextSamuel Curtis drove Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard out of Missouri. Curtis then kept the Army of the Southwest in northwest Arkansas, where Earl Van Dorn prepared to attack it with the combined forces of Price and Ben McCulloch

Forces and losses

Reported figures retain the scope and estimates of the existing guide. They may cover different units or periods; missing breakdowns are not inferred.

Figures reported in this guide
Scope	Reported figure
United States force at Lebanon	Just over 12,000 men and 50 artillery pieces
Price at Springfield	About 7,000 men
Confederate advantage after concentrating	About 7,000 more men than Curtis, according to the episode

Source: Civil War Podcast episode 101 · National Park Service: The Pea Ridge Campaign · National Park Service: Samuel R. Curtis · National Park Service: Earl Van Dorn · National Park Service: Pea Ridge order of battle · Library of Congress: Pea Ridge battlefield map · Library of Congress: Samuel R. Curtis portrait · Library of Congress: Battle of Pea Ridge print

Step by step

Episode flow

Follow the discussion in order. Reference maps show the setting; they do not plot positions for each step.

The campaign region todayMap credit ↗

Step 1 of 24

The episode defines why Pea Ridge matters

Pea Ridge was fought in northwest Arkansas on March 7–8, 1862. The Confederate army outnumbered the United States army, included a substantial contingent of American Indian troops, and forced Curtis to reverse the direction of his defensive line.

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Maps

The campaign region todayRolla and Lebanon are in central Missouri. The Telegraph Road continued southwest through Springfield, crossed the Arkansas line, and ran through Cross Hollow and Fayetteville toward the Boston Mountains.Map source Interactive map: drag to pan and use the +/− controls to zoom.

National Park Service map of the Pea Ridge campaign in Missouri and Arkansas — **The Pea Ridge campaign**The National Park Service campaign map places the movement in the larger Trans-Mississippi theater. It marks Rolla, Lebanon, Springfield, Fayetteville, Pea Ridge, the Telegraph Road, and the roads and rivers connecting them.Open full-size map Map source

1876 map of the Pea Ridge battlefield showing roads, settlements, terrain, and troop positions — **Where the campaign was heading**A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers map of the Pea Ridge battlefield. The battle itself is covered in the following episodes; this map identifies the roads, settlements, and terrain toward which both armies were moving.Open full-size map Map source

People and command

United States

Department of the MissouriHenry W. HalleckDirected the Missouri and river campaigns

District of Southwest Missouri; Army of the SouthwestSamuel R. CurtisOverall field command

1st and 2nd DivisionsFranz SigelPeter J. Osterhaus and Alexander Asboth

3rd DivisionJefferson C. DavisUnder Curtis’s direct control

4th DivisionEugene A. CarrUnder Curtis’s direct control

QuartermasterPhilip H. SheridanManaged the supply line from Rolla

Confederacy

Confederate presidentJefferson DavisCreated the Trans-Mississippi District

Trans-Mississippi DistrictEarl Van DornOverall command of Price and McCulloch

Missouri State GuardSterling PriceRetreated from Springfield into Arkansas

Confederate forces in northwest ArkansasBenjamin McCullochWintered near Cross Hollow and Strickler Station

Other people

United States
Samuel R. Curtis
Organized and led the Army of the Southwest from Rolla into northwest Arkansas
Confederacy
Earl Van Dorn
Took command of the Trans-Mississippi District and concentrated Price’s and McCulloch’s forces
United States
Franz Sigel
Curtis’s second in command and commander of the Army of the Southwest’s 1st and 2nd Divisions
HW
United States
Henry W. Halleck
Department commander who ordered Curtis to drive Price out of Missouri
SP
Confederacy
Sterling Price
Led the Missouri State Guard from Springfield into northwest Arkansas
BM
Confederacy
Benjamin McCulloch
Commanded Confederate troops wintering in northwest Arkansas and argued for withdrawing south
CF
Confederacy
Claiborne Fox Jackson
Pro-Confederate Missouri governor who assembled the rump legislature at Neosho
PH
United States
Philip H. Sheridan
Served as the quartermaster responsible for Curtis’s long supply line

Historical images

Kurz & Allison published this popular print of the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1889. It is a later artistic interpretation, not an eyewitness image. · Image source and credits

The campaign map shows the long route connecting Curtis’s railhead at Rolla to the Confederate camps in northwest Arkansas. · Image source and credits

Sources and image credits

PEA RIDGE (Part the First)

Episode at a glance

Forces and losses

Episode flow

The episode defines why Pea Ridge matters

Maps

People and command

United States

Confederacy

Other people

Samuel R. Curtis

Earl Van Dorn

Franz Sigel

Henry W. Halleck

Sterling Price

Benjamin McCulloch

Claiborne Fox Jackson

Philip H. Sheridan

Historical images

1889 chromolithograph of United States and Confederate troops fighting at Pea Ridge

National Park Service campaign map showing the route from Rolla to Pea Ridge