Prairie Grove
Fayetteville
Civil War Arkansas

American Civil War
December 7, 1862

Major General Thomas C. Hindman sought to destroy Brigadier General Francis Herron's and Brigadier General James Blunt's divisions before they joined forces. Hindman placed his large force between the two Union divisions, turning on Herron first and routing his cavalry. As Hindman pursued the cavalry, he met Herron's infantry which pushed him back.

The Rebels then established their line of battle on a wooded high ridge northeast of Prairie Grove Church. Herron brought his artillery across the Illinois River and initiated an artillery duel.

The Union troops assaulted twice and were repulsed.

The Confederates counter-attacked, were halted by Union canister, and then moved forward again. Just when it looked as if the Rebel attack would roll up Herron's troops, Blunt's men assailed the Confederate left flank.

As night came, neither side had won, but Hindman retreated to Van Buren. Hindman's retreat established Federal control of northwest Arkansas.

Result(s): Union strategic victory

Location: Washington County

Campaign: Prairie Grove Campaign (1862)

Date(s): December 7, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Francis J. Herron and Brigadier General James G. Blunt [US]; Major General Thomas C. Hindman [CS]

Forces Engaged: Army of the Frontier [US]; I Corps, Trans-Mississippi Army [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 2,568 total (US 1,251; CS 1,317)


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Arkansas Civil War History Book Club Reading Titles


Into the Mouth of the Cannon: A Historical Biography of the 18th Arkansas Infantry and the Civil War in the Western Theater from 1861 to 1863
No one knew the truths of slavery better than the slaves themselves, but no one consulted them until the 1930s. Then, recognizing that this generation of unique witnesses would soon be lost to history, the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project acted to interview as many former slaves as possible. In a continuation of the project's interest in the life histories of ordinary people, writers interviewed over two thousand former slaves, more than a third of them in Arkansas. These oral histories were first published in the 1970s in a thirty-nine-volume series organized by state, and they transformed America's understanding of slavery.
With Fire And Sword: Arkansas, 1861-1874 provides a scholarly examination of just how the events of the Civil War and the Reconstruction so heavily devastated the state of Arkansas, its population and its economy, that this southern state was never to fully regained the level of prosperity it had enjoyed prior to the war. A candid and detailed retracing of crucial decisions, their interplay, and their lasting legacy, With Fire And Sword is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War literature and Reconstruction Era reference collections and reading lists.


Prairie Grove Chinkapin OakpRAIRIE oAK
 The Prairie Grove Chinkapin Oak stands at the site of an important turning point in the Civil War. The battle fought on December 7, 1862, at Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas resulted in the retreat of the Confederates under General T.C. Hindman. His mission had been to prevent the joining of Union forces led by General J.C. Blunt and General F.J. Herron. The Union victory strengthened the Northern troops' strategic position along the Mississippi River. Your tree grew from an acorn hand-picked from the Prairie Grove Chinkapin Oak.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.