March 7 and 8, 1862…Battle of Pea Ridge

Missourians constituted almost one-third of the soldiers, both Confederate and Union, who fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge above Sugar Creek in Benton County, Arkansas, March 7 and 8, 1862. This battle helped save Missouri from invasion by a large Confederate army and from most of the heaviest fighting of the war.

In February 1862, Major General Samuel R. Curtis concentrated a Union force in the northeast corner of Arkansas, while a Confederate army under Major Earl Van Dorn gathered south of Fayetteville. Van Dorn occupied Elm Spring about 10 miles south of Bentonville on March 5. Finding the Union leader Sigel with 7,000 soldiers encamped 4 miles west of Bentonville, Van Dorn determined to destroy him before he could get assistance and then attack Curtis on Sugar Creek before Vandever's brigade could reach him from Huntsville. March 6, Van Dorn reached Bentonville just in time to see Sigel's division leave. Siegel had left about 600 men in the town who harassed the Confederates until reinforced and then caused them to withdraw. The Union troops marched on to the Sugar Creek camp and at Dusk Vandever's brigade reached Pea Ridge. Thus, Curtis had his whole army together.

March 7, some 10,500 Union soldiers battled with about 16,000 Missouri State Guard and Confederate troops, including a company of about 1,000 Indians under the command of Brigadier General Albert Pike. The Union army contained some 3,000 Missourians and the Confederate about 5,700.

The Confederates suffered in the loss of Generals McCulloch, McIntosh, and Slack. Their defeat on March 8 foiled a plan to march on St. Louis. The Casualties in the Southern army were estimated from 800 to 1,000, and of the 1384 Union soldiers, who were killed, wounded, or missing, 291 were Missourians. Brigadier General William Y. Slack, Colonel Ben A. Rives, and Captain Clark were among those Missourians killed, and among the wounded were General Sterling Price, Major Waldo P. Johnson, and Colonel L.C. Campbell.

The original diary of John T. Buegel is written in German. An English translation is available

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