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Prairie Grove
Battlefield
Prairie Grove,
Washington County, Arkansas
Confederate Headquarters
Morrow House
This house, built about 1855, was the home of the John Morrow family,
and originally stood on Cove Creek 9 miles south of here. On the night
before the battle of Prairie Grove, Confederate General T.C. Hindman met
with his division and brigade commanders in this house and made final
plans for battle. The army left the Morrow farm for Prairie Grove at 4
o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1862. This house also sheltered
General Sterling Price in February 1862 when Price's army was enroute to
the battle of Pea Ridge.
Morrow House
Colonel Joseph O. Shelby, C.S.A.
Missouri cavalry and artillery guarded the Confederate right flank and
helped turn back the Union attacks while under the command of Colonel
Joseph O. Shelby who stated:
"...All along the lines the near fire of the infantry rose, crash upon
crash, the dense smoke filling the air and the wild powder gloom getting
darker and darker. This terrible fire soon rippled out in one vast
mighty weave of bullets, that circled and roared like a storm at sea,
varied incessantly by the thunder of impatient cannon and the yell of
exultant and furious combatants.
On the right, four regiments of Federal infantry formed in the open
field, and came up in splendid order with flaunting banners and waving
pennons...My skirmishers were steadily driven in, and down to meet them
like an avalanche our own infantry swept. They met, the shock was
terrible, but broken and rent, our boys drove them back and followed at
the charge. Again and again they returned to the fight, and again and
again were they repulsed with great slaughter."
The heaviest casualties were around the Archibald
Borden house and orchard. The first house was burned the day after the
battle. Mr. Borden built this house on the site of the original in 1872.
Charles W. Walker, 34th Arkansas Infantry, recalled:
"The once peaceful valley, now a field of carnage was swept with shot,
shell, grape, and canister. The shriek of the wounded and the groan of
the dying often rose above the din of battle. The Borden Orchard...was
the storm center around which the battle raged furiously. Charge after
charge across the valley and up the hill on which was Borden's house was
made by the gallant boys in blue, only as often to be repulsed by the
boys in gray."
Stop #4
Borden House & Orchard
The heaviest fighting of the day took place around this house and
orchard. After the battle, General Herron reported 250 dead within a
100-yard radius of the house. One soldier stated the ground was "muddy
with blood" on the hillside where the Confederate cannons under the
command of Captain William D. Blocher sat during the battle.
This is the only structure in the Park that is located on the original
site.
Blocher's Arkansas Battery was the focal point of the
Union attacks. A sergeant in the battery reported:
"...The enemy advanced upon us with their artillery under cover of their
infantry, until within range of our battery when they opened a most
disastrous fire on us from both arms. Hail from Heaven near fell thicker
than the shot, shell, and minie balls did for minutes. Having no
support, Captain Blocher ordered our men to fall back and save
themselves....we discovered our men forming about 200 yards in rear of
our battery...Our men then charged and drove them from our guns with
considerable loss to the enemy."
Herron's Attack
From this spot the observer is viewing the fields over which General F.J.
Herron's army advanced on the morning of December 7, 1862, to attack the
Confederates position on this ridge. Because the ford of the Illinois
River was under artillery fire. Herron crossed northwest of the ford, or
almost directly north of this spot. His army consisted of troops from
Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Arkansas. Herron's
divisions bore the brunt of the battle until 2 p.m., when Blunt's army
came to his aid. Blunt's army entered the battle one mile west of this
spot.
Brothers Columbus and Ad Gray of Company D, 29th Arkansas Infantry
withstood the first Union assault and counterattacked with Sergeant Ad
Gray in the lead. Columbus Gray wrote home after seeing his brother fall
mortally wounded:
"I stopped, squatted down by him, and laid my hand on his head and I
said, 'Oh my brother whare[sic] are you hurt?' I saw that he was
breathing his last....It almost run me distracted. I did not know what
to do. I knew I could not do him any good by staying there with him, so
I jumped up and run on with the company."
The Dead of Prairie Grove
The men who died on this field on December 7, 1862 are buried in the
soldier cemeteries in Fayetteville. 700 unknown Confederate soldiers are
in the cemetery maintained by the Southern Memorial Association on East
Mountain. The Union dead are in the Fayetteville National Cemetery. The
commanding Generals reported 339 dead and 1,630 wounded in action. The
records show that many of the wounded died - 430 in the army hospitals
of Fayetteville, 150 in the churches and homes of Cane Hill, and others
in homes along the Cove Creek and Telegraph roads. The losses were about
10 per cent of the troops engaged.
Blunt's Attack
From this spot the observer is viewing the terrain over which General
James C. Blunt's 1st Division advanced on the afternoon of December 7,
1862, to attack the Confederate left and relieve the pressure on General
F.J. Herron's 2nd and 3rd Divisions which had been engaged since early
morning. Blunt had been in camp at Cane Hill and was bypassed by General
T.C. Hindman's army on the night of December 6. Blunt marched his men to
Rhea's Mill on Sunday morning, December 7, and entered the battle here
at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
34th Arkansas Regiment
Confederate Infantry
Washington County's best known Confederate Regiment, the 34th Arkansas,
received its baptism of fire in the battle of Prairie Grove. The
regiment, composed largely of Washington County men, later fought in the
battles of Jenkin's Ferry and Helena. Its officers at Prairie Grove on
December 7, 1862 were:
Colonel W.H. Brooks
Lt. Colonel T.M. Gunter
Major F.R. Earles
Surgeons W.B. Welch and J.M. Lacy
Co. A - Captain J. Wythe Walker
Co. B - Captain James Mitchell
Co. C - Captain Sam Smithson
Co. D - Captain William Owsley
Co. E - Captain James E. Wright
Co. F - Captain Cyrus Pickens
Co. G - Captain James Hensley
Co. H - Captain Wallace
Co. I - Captain A.V. Edmondson
Co. K - Captain J.R. Pettigrew
The 34th Arkansas Infantry faced the brunt of General Herron's attack.
Concerning the first Union Charge, Colonel William H. Brooks stated:
"...ordering my men to kneel and wait for the command 'fire', and taking
advantage of the ground to conceal them as much as possible. I awaited
their approach until within fifty or sixty yards, and then opened upon
them a murderous fire, killing, and wounding many, their lines wavered
and without further orders, I immediately ordered by regiment forward.
Washington County
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