Tuesday, September 16, 2014
We left Blue Sky RV this morning under cloudy skies and bit of
drizzle. We headed northwest to Fayetteville ,
home of the University
of Arkansas
We're only here for two nights; we're staying at Southgate RV
Park. Our purpose in coming here is to visit the Civil War Battlefield in
Prairie Grove as well as the Confederate
Cemetery in Fayetteville
Recognized nationally as one of America 's
most intact Civil War battlefields, Prairie
Grove Battlefield
State Park Arkansas for the Union . This battle marked the last major Civil War
engagement in northwest Arkansas
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| entrance to the park. these gates were erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1924 |
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| the visitors center is named after Confederate General Hindman |
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| Generals Hindman (Confederate) & Herron (Union) |
Ammunition of War...
There were
four family structures located on the ridge where the Confederates waited for
the Federals. Warned of the approaching conflict, Mrs. Borden took her three
children west along the ridge, stopping at the homes of Dr. Hugh Rogers and
William Rogers before reaching the William Morton House with the other
families. When the fighting got near, twenty men, women and children hid in the
Morton cellar, similar to the one west of the Latta house.
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| Latta house |
The heaviest fighting of the day took place around the Borden house & orchard. After the battle General Herron (
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| Borden House |
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| view from front porch of Borden house |
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| another view from front porch |
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| Borden Orchard |
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| osage orange. not really an orange. more closely related to the mulberry family |
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| osage orange tree. look closely & you can see the osage orange (mid-right) |
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| sunflowers growing on the battlefield |
The
heaviest fighting on the western end of the battlefield took place in the
Morton hayfield. The Southern troops suffered heavy casualties from the Union
artillery before withdrawing to the wooded ridge. Robert West and his family
sat on the hill to the north and watched the entire battle.
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| Morton hayfield, west overlook |
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| site of Morton House |
In 1862
there was no town of Prairie Grove, but there was the Prairie
Grove Cumberland
Presbyterian Church which gave the
battle its name. (The town of Prairie Grove, established in 1888, got its name
from the Civil War battle). General
Hindman (Confederate) chose the church for his headquarters, but was soon
booted out by the army medical doctor who wanted it for a hospital. The original one-room log building stood in
almost the same spot as this church...
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| site of the original Prairie Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church |
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| cemetery attached to the church. some of the graves belong to those who died in this battle, as well as other battles |
Hindman
knew that if the battle resumed the next day, his chances of winning were
slim. His men were exhausted and
starved; him ammunition was depleted.
Regardless of the fact that the Confederates held their ground, Hindman
decided to withdraw during the night. They
covered their wagon and artillery wheels with blankets so the sounds of their
withdrawal would be muffled. Hindman's army was well on its way back over the Boston Mountains
The
Battle of Prairie Grove was the last major Civil War engagement in northwest Arkansas . However, the absence of armies did not mean a
return to normal life for the people of northwest Arkansas .
The population of Arkansas
Society broke down and
civilians were terrorized by guerrilla associations. Violent raids, ambushes, massacres and murders were rampant.
Thousands of people fled their homes in fear, clustering in overcrowded,
unsanitary refugee camps marked by disease and hunger. In total, two-thirds of Washington County 's
citizens died or fled the anarchy of Civil War Arkansas
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| this chimney was erected to the men who fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove |
Following
our visit to the battlefield, we headed back into Fayetteville
to the Confederate
Cemetery Fayetteville ...
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| this 35' tall monument was erected to honor those Confederate soldiers from Texas, Louisania, Missouri & Arkansas who fought & died at the Battle of Prairie Grove |
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| looking off in the distance you can see downtown Fayetteville |
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| the remains of over 600 men are interred in this cemetery |
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| Arkansas champion sugar maple tree |
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| love this rock wall of Ozarks sandstone that encloses the cemetety |
After a
great day learning about history and spending some time on holy ground, we
headed home. The weather was perfect for
us today. Storms are a comin' tonight...
Til next
time,
Dawn, Ron
& Cooper, the RV dog
.JPG)
