Pea Ridge National Military Park is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

National Military Park National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government of the United States, federal government because o ...

located in

northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton an ...

near the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

border. The park protects the site of the

Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place in the American Civil War near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Federal forces, led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, moved south ...

, fought March 7 and 8, 1862. The battle was a victory for the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and helped it gain control of the crucial border state of Missouri.

Administrative history

The Pea Ridge National Military Park was created by an act of Congress in 1956 to preserve the battlefield of the 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge. It was dedicated as a national park during the nation's Civil War Centennial in 1963.Warren, Steven L. Pea Ridge National Military Park, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. In 1956, the Arkansas congressional delegation proposed legislation to make Pea Ridge a national military park. This was a major breakthrough in American Civil War battlefield preservation. At that time, under the National Park Service classification system, only should have been preserved, along with a monument. On July 20, 1956, Congress enacted legislation to accept a donation from the state of Arkansas. In acquiring the land for the park, the government purchased or used eminent domain on dozens of farms and residences of various sizes, ranging from a few acres to the large Winton Springs estate. Many of the houses and structures were sold and moved off of park property, including some that still stand in nearby Pea Ridge. All other remaining structures, with the exception of the historic

Elkhorn Tavern Elkhorn Tavern is a two-story, wood-frame structure that served as a physical center for the American Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which was fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, approximately five mile ...

, were demolished by the park, including the elaborate Winton Springs mansion. Many Union and Confederate veterans attended several reunions at the Pea Ridge battlefield long before it was a park. The first of these reunions was held in 1887, twenty-five years after the battle. The reunions promoted not only remembrance, but healing between the soldiers of each side. The veterans dedicated the first monuments on the battlefield to both the Union and Confederate dead. Historian

David W. Blight David William Blight (born 1949) is the Sterling Professor of History, of African American Studies, and of American Studies and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. Previousl ...

notes in his book '' Race and Reunion'' that in such postwar reconciliation, outstanding issues related to the condition and future of freedmen and racial justice were overlooked. These monuments are still located within the park today.

Visiting the park

The park is acknowledged as one of the best preserved Civil War battlefields. The park features a visitor center and museum, a driving tour, the restored battlefields, hiking trails, a portion of the pre-war Old Telegraph/Wire Road, approximately of the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

as followed by some members of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

, and the restored Elkhorn Tavern, which was the epicenter of much of the battle.

Gallery

Image:Pea Ridge National Military Park PERI3142.jpg, Elkhorn Tavern Image:AR_pea_ridge.jpg, Artillery piece Image:Pea Ridge National Military Park 2012-09-22 18-19-04.jpg, Visitor Center

References

External links

; Government * ; General information
Pea Ridge National Military Park
at the

American Battlefield Protection Program The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) is a United States federal government program created by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991, with the aim of preserving historic battlefields in the United States. In 1996, Congress signed into ...

Pea Ridge National Military Park
at the

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...