The Battle of
Prairie Grove
The Battle of Prairie Grove was fought on December 7, 1862, between
Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman's Army of the Trans-Mississippi
and the Union General James Blunt's Army of the Frontier. It was the
last major Civil War battle in northwest Arkansas and the Confederate
defeat here paved the way for control of the region by the Federal army.
In the Battle of
Prairie Grove, the 19th Iowa Infantry made the first charge
of the battle alongside the 20th
Wisconsin.
In 15 minutes the 20th
Wisconsin
lost 49% of its men (1 man shy of half) and the 19th
Iowa
lost 39%, including their commander Lt. Col. Samuel McFarland and the
entire color guard.
James Clelland also died in that charge. He was killed in an
orchard by the Archibald Borden house.
The dead were buried
in mass graves on the battlefield, 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 100
feet long. The Union dead had boards with their names and units carved
into them. After the war the government paid local men to scour the
countryside and remove all the dead from the battles and take them to
what are now
National
Cemeteries
and
Confederate
Cemeteries.
Prairie Grove
Battlefield State Park includes much of the area where the heaviest
fighting occurred, and interprets the site and the battle through a
modern museum, visitor center, and a driving tour. The park is is
recognized nationally as one of America's most intact Civil War
battle-fields. The park is 10 miles west of Fayetteville, Arkansas on
Hwy 62.