Prairie Grove Battlefield Will Host December
Anniversary Reenactment
By Kathryn Jorgensen
(November 2008 Civil War News)
PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. — Take a battle that was fought 146 years ago, a battlefield park that was established 100 years ago and a state park system that’s 75 years old and you have an idea of how important the celebration being planned at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park on Dec. 6 and 7 will be.
“We would love to have people come out to it,” says Park Interpreter Holly Houser Cherry. “We are excited to celebrate.”
The forces of Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman’s Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi and the Union Army of the Frontier under the command of Brig. Gens. James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron fought there for control of northwest Arkansas from dawn to dark on Dec. 7, 1862.
They were fairly evenly matched at 12,000 C.S. and 10,000 U.S. troops. By the end of the day their combined casualties were 2,700.
According to Houser Cherry, the battle was considered a tactical draw but a Federal strategic victory. Confederates marched south, short of ammunition and food.
Houser Cherry says the daily 1 p.m. battles are popular with spectators. A thousand reenactors usually attend and the park hopes to have as many as 1,500 reenactors this year, barring bad weather. All military branches, civilians and medical are welcome.
Since this is a year of multiple anniversaries there will be a short presentation about the occasions and recognition of various groups and people who support the reenactment and park.
Camps will be open to the public both days, with scheduled camp tours also offered. The tours stop at designated tents where reenactors speak on specific topics.
The weekend will include military, living history and other period demonstrations, book signings, battlefield tours and a Saturday dance. Artist Andy Thomas will unveil an oil painting and sign limited edition prints.
In 1862 the Confederate line was on a ridge behind the Archibald Borden farm, overlooking the Ohio River valley. Federal cavalry crossed the river and charged the ridge while their rifled cannon blasted Confederate positions. The Federals were driven into the farm fields, then they pushed Confederates back to the woods.
The battle reenactments will feature the same charges and counterattacks near the Borden house. Houser Cherry says much of the battle was fought on the ridge and behind the house in the “Bloody Orchard, a one-acre apple orchard that is planted with new and old varieties which visitors are welcome to pick. Fighting also took place in the cornfields in front of the house.
The town of Prairie Grove was established in 1888 on some of the battlefield. Soldier reunions were held near the town. In 1908 the Prairie Grove Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy bought about nine acres for a Confederate Memorial Park.
According to Houser Cherry the Confederate Veteran magazine said it was the only Confederate memorial park west of the Mississippi River. The magazine predicted that when the park was “enlarged, improved and embellished” it would be “a hallowed spot unlike none in our Western Southland.”
In 1926 the park’s name was changed to Prairie Grove Battlefield Park. It became a state park in 1971. The Borden farm was added to the park in 1980.
The current Borden house was built in 1868 to replace the house that Federal troops burned the day after the battle. It has the same foundation and floor plan as the original house. The park will soon be contracting for stabilization and restoration work and hopes to open it for exhibit in a year or so.
Houser Cherry says that after the American Battlefield Protection Program worked with Arkansas State Parks in preparing a battlefield protection plan in 1992 state, federal and private funds were used to purchase more land, bringing the park to its present 838 acres. The battle was fought over 3,000 acres.
Hindman Hall was built as a memorial in the 1960s and houses offices and exhibits, including artillery and other artifacts that have been found during archeological digs.
Houser Cherry says most of the battlefield remains woods and fields. Visitors can take the park’s one-mile walk, where the heaviest fighting was, and a five-mile driving tour.
For more information call (479) 846-2990, e-mail prairiegrove@arkansas.com or go to www.arkansasstateparks.com/prairiegrovebattlefield |