— Ch. 1 · Strategic Context And Background —
Battle of Pea Ridge.
~12 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In the spring of 1862, Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis led approximately 10,250 soldiers and fifty artillery pieces into Benton County, Arkansas. His Army of the Southwest consisted primarily of men from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Over half of these Union soldiers were German immigrants grouped into the First and Second Divisions under Brigadier General Franz Sigel. Sigel had expected to command the army forces into Arkansas but threatened to resign when Curtis was appointed overall commander. The predominantly native-born regiments were assigned to the Third and Fourth Divisions to create an ethnic balance among divisions and their commanders. Confederate forces under Major General Sterling Price pulled back into Arkansas along Wire Road at a rapid pace with Curtis not far behind. Skirmishes occurred between Federal and Confederate troops at Potts Hill and Little Sugar Creek as Confederate reinforcements reached Price to combine forces against Curtis. The combined Rebel force kept continuing farther into Arkansas thinning Curtis's supply line. Due to the length of Curtis's supply lines and a lack of the reinforcements needed for a further advance, Curtis decided to remain in position. He fortified an excellent defensive line on the north side of the creek placing artillery for an expected Confederate assault from the south. While Curtis kept position along Little Sugar Creek, Confederate generals Sterling Price and Benjamin McCulloch went into Fayetteville evacuating the city and setting up camp in the Boston Mountains. Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn had been appointed as the overall commander of the Trans-Mississippi District to quell a simmering conflict between Price of Missouri and McCulloch of Texas. Van Dorn's Army of the West totaled approximately 16,000 men which included eight hundred Indian troops. Price's Missouri State Guard contingents and other Missouri units joined McCulloch's contingent of cavalry infantry and artillery from Texas Arkansas Louisiana and Missouri. Van Dorn was aware of the federal movements into Arkansas and was intent on destroying Curtis's Army of the Southwest and reopening the gateway into Missouri. He intended to flank Curtis and attack his rear forcing Curtis to retreat north or be encircled and destroyed. Van Dorn had ordered his army to travel light so each soldier carried only three days' rations forty rounds of ammunition and a blanket. Each division was allowed an ammunition train and an additional day of rations. All other supplies including tents and cooking utensils were to be left behind.