March 7th, 1862 - The Battle of Pea Ridge

Conflict: American Civil War (1861-1865)

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: Arkansas (USA)

Outcome: Federal victory

On this day, 16,000 Confederate Major General Earl van Dorn failed in an attempt to turn the right flank of the Major General Samuel R. Curtis' Federal army at Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Federals suffered some 1300 casualties to the Confederates 800.

The Battle of Pea Ridge by Kurz and Allison

Points of Interest:

• Earl van Dorn was shot and killed by a rival over a personal dispute in 1863.

• Samuel Curtis would be appointed commander of the Departments of Kansas, Missouri, and the Northwest in the latter part of the war.

Gen. Earl Van Dorn, C.S.A by Duffee & Murdoch

Gen. Samuel R. Curtis by Mathew Benjamin Brady

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Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.