Prairie Grove Battlefield Driving Tour Part 2

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• published: 03 Feb 2016
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This video is about the second half of the Prairie Grove Battlefield Driving Tour. I was a little hesitant going on the gravel road at first, as you can tell from the tone in my voice. I did this on Sunday January 31, 2016 The descriptions of these stops are taken from the pamphlet that was given to me at the Visitor's Center titled "Self Guided Driving Tour of the Prairie Grove Battlefield" The Stops are as follows: Stop 8: Illinois River Ford - Northeast of this location is the main ford of the Illinois River. General Herron crossed with a small number of troops, only to be driven back by Confederate artillery fire from the ridge. Learning of a northern ford, the Federals placed Captain David Murphy's Missouri battery on Crawford's Hill to the north, and began pounding the ridge with cannon fire. After silencing the Southern guns, the majority of Herron's men used the main ford, then positioned themselves in this prairie and faced the ridge to the south. Captain Frank Backof's Union Missouri battery sat just a few yards north of here. Stop 9: Borden Cornfield - General Herron's infantry advanced through the Borden Cornfield south of here to assault the ridge. After both attacks failed, the Confederate counterattacks crossed this ground only to be shattered by Union cannons firing canister at ranges of less than 100 yards at times. One soldier commented afterwards, that you could walk a long distance without touching the ground because of the dead bodies in this field, and along the slop of the ridge. After heavy casualties for both armies, the fighting shifted to the west. Stop 10: Position of the 20th Iowa - Just west of here were the lines of the 20th Iowa Infantry, which served the right flank of Herron's Union Army. The Confederates began to mass on the ridge to the southwest in order to attack, and overwhelm this regiment, which would give the Southerners a victory over Herron's command. Before the attack began, 2 cannon shots from the northwest signaled the arrival of General Blunt's Federals who quickly advanced up the ridge to the west. This forced the Southerners to move their troops to face the Union threat to their left flank. The 20th Iowa charged with Blunt's soldiers, which included members of the Cherokee and Creek Nations in the 1st and 3rd Indian Home Guard. Stop 11: Morton Hayfield (West Overlook) - The heaviest fighting on the western end of the battlefield took place just north of here in the Morton hayfield. General Mosby M. Parsons ordered a Confederate charge composed of his men in the Missouri Infantry brigade, and Colonel Robert G. Shaver's Arkansas Infantry brigade out into the field. The Southern troops suffered heavy casualties from the Union artillery before withdrawing to the wooded ridge. Robert West and his family sat on the hill to the north, and watched the entire battle. Stop, stretch your legs, and read the wayside panels at this overlook to learn more about the battle in this area. Stop 12: Morton House Site - The William Morton house was near this location. Men of the 10th and 13th Kansas Infantry advanced to the Morton blacksmith shop south of here, which sat where the Prairie Grove School is today. Unable to break through the Confederate lines in front of him, General Blunt ordered his troops to withdraw into the valley, late in the day. Stop 13: Confederate Left Flank - General Daniel M. Frost's Confederate division rested on this road. A brigade of dismounted Texas cavalry, under the command of General John S. Roane, positioned themselves to the northeast. Colonel Walter P. Lane's 1st Texas Partisan Cavalry guarded the Confederate left flank in the woods to the northwest. Stop 14: Prairie Grove Church (not shown) - The original one-room log building stood in almost the same spot as the church you see here today. General Hindman used the church as his headquarters during the battle. Afterwards, both sides used it as a hospital. The battle received its name from this simple structure. The town of Prairie Grove, established in 1888, got it's name from the Civil War battle.