~Welcome to Prairie Grove, Arkansas~ Prairie Grove is a small town in Northwest Arkansas with a lot of character. A historic Civil War battle took place
here in 1862 and our wonderful Prairie Grove Civil War Battlefield Park commemorates the battle. Prairie Grove offers the
comfort and friendliness of a small town and yet is within 10 minutes of the larger city of Fayetteville.
Prairie Grove is home to a unique shopping district, including some fantastic antique stores & flea
markets. We have 2 lakes great for fishing & boating, a wonderful aquatic park for summer fun and a beautiful
walking trail at the Battlefield Park.
The Battle of Prairie Grove
December 7, 1862
The Battle of Prairie Grove was the last time two armies of almost equal strength faced each
other for supremacy in northwest Arkansas. When the Confederate Army withdrew from the bloody battlefield
at Prairie Grove on the night of December 7th, it appeared that Missouri and northwest Arkansas would remain in
Federal hands.
Major General Thomas C. Hindman’s Confederate Army of
the Trans-Mississippi attacked the Union Army of the Frontier under the command of Brigadier Generals James G. Blunt and Francis
J. Herron about ten miles southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas near the Prairie Grove Church, for which the battle was named.
There were about twelve thousand Southern troops from Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, as well as the Cherokee and Creek
Nations. The Federal force had about ten thousand soldiers from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Wisconsin,
Missouri, Arkansas, as well as from the Cherokee and Creek Nations.
The fighting
began at dawn on a beautiful, mild Sunday morning when Confederate cavalry routed the forward cavalry regiments of General
Herron’s command about one mile south of the Prairie Grove Church. The Federals retreated towards
Herron’s main force coming from Fayetteville with the Southerners in pursuit. After a short skirmish
near Walnut Grove, the Confederate cavalry fell back to the Prairie Grove ridge.
Hindman’s Confederate infantry and artillery heard the fighting in the distance and formed a line of battle
on the wooded ridge northeast of the church overlooking the Illinois River valley. Herron’s troops
crossed the river under artillery fire; positioned their cannons; then returned fire at about 10 a.m. The
superior rifled artillery in the Union Army silenced the Southern batteries. Federal infantry charged up
the ridge near the home of Archibald Borden at about Noon only to be driven back by the Confederates who counterattacked into
the open farm fields where Union canister shot forced them to fall back into the woods. Another Union charge
and Southern counterattack followed, adding to the heavy casualties in both armies.
The arrival of General Blunt’s Kansas
Division at about 3 p.m. extended the line of battle the entire length of the Prairie Grove ridge, about two miles.
The heaviest fighting shifted to the vicinity of the William Morton house where four families hid in the cellar.
A final Confederate charge near sundown faced the wrath of all forty-four Union cannons and suffered heavy casualties.
Darkness ended the struggle with the Federal Army sleeping on the grounds without campfires and very few tents or blankets
despite freezing temperatures that night. A shortage of ammunition and food caused General Hindman to retreat
southward during the night. The Confederate Army lost 164 killed, 817 wounded, and 336 missing in action.
The Union Army lost 175 killed, 813 wounded, and 263 missing. While the battle was a tactical draw,
it was a strategic Union victory.
