The Battle of Prairie Grove
Arkansas
December 7, 1862
Teachers Guide
Thank you for choosing Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park for your class field trip. This information will help you prepare your class and staff for your park visit.
Planning Your Trip to the Park
School groups visit Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park to learn about the battle and the effects of the Civil War on the people of northwest Arkansas. Reservations for the educational programs are required in order to allow as many classes as possible to attend. You can call the park at: 479-846-2990 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. seven days a week. Please call if you need to cancel or reschedule.
Students will participate in three different programs which last 25 minutes each with 5 minutes to travel from site to site, so expect to spend at least an hour and a half with the park staff and the program. Starting time is 9:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. A maximum of 120 students can participate at one time. You need to be ready to start on time or your program may have to be shortened. The cost for each student is $3.00 with no charge for teachers or bus drivers. One parent or other adult per 15 students is allowed free. All others must pay the student rate.
A class participating in the entire program will have one on a military subject, one on civilians and the Civil War, as well as visit Hindman Hall museum. The age of the students will determine the program in each subject area. All students will get to see and hear a Civil War rifled musket being fired during their visit, weather permitting.
In addition to the school programs, the park has several historic buildings, a one-mile self-guided walking trail with brochures available at the museum, a five mile driving tour with a brochure & audio CD, a playground, and a picnic area. The covered shelters are available at no charge to scheduled school groups, but you must make a reservation in advance of your visit. Rest rooms are located near the playground, the Latta Barn, and inside Hindman Hall museum.
Upon arrival, you can stop at Hindman Hall museum to talk with the staff. Buses can be parked at the picnic area or in front of the Latta Barn. In case of bad weather, programs can be held in the Latta Barn (although a musket firing might not be possible). Remember to get to the park early enough to divide into groups and be ready to start at the scheduled time.
We encourage teachers to visit the following website for a Prairie Grove lesson plan: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/70prairie/70prairie.htm
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program also has a lesson plan titled “Civil War Sites and Battlefields in Arkansas: Learning from local and statewide historic places” located at http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/!userfiles/editor/docs/Civil%20War%20Sites%20Lesson%20Plan%202011.pdf
You might also want to visit the Arkansas State Park website at: www.arkansasstateparks.com for special event schedules, things for kids, and other interesting information.
Programs
Military Programs:
Grades K-6: The Life of a Civil War Soldier. Students will learn what it was like to be a soldier at the time of the Battle of Prairie Grove. They will see the parts of a Civil War uniform, explore a soldier’s haversack, and learn about the weapons used during the war, concluding with the firing of a Civil War musket (weather permitting).
Grades 7-12: Students will “march” to the Borden House. Here they will receive a blow- by-blow account of the battle on the spot where the heaviest and bloodiest of the fighting took place. The program will conclude with a Civil War musket being fired (weather permitting).
Civilian Programs:
Grades K-3: Students will learn the roles civilians played during the Civil War and the effect of the war on them. Students will tour the Morrow House which was used as a headquarters the night before Prairie Grove. Exhibits include civilian clothing, education and religion in the Ozarks during the Civil War era, recreation, finance, and occupations and trades.
Grades 4-6: Students will learn about the roles and hardships faced by civilians during the Civil War. The group will learn about Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers and the terror they inflicted on citizens of northwest Arkansas after the Battle of Prairie Grove. A tour of a root cellar, important in the preservation of food and used as a place of safety for civilians during the battle, will follow.
Grades 7-12: Students will learn in more detail about civilians, bushwhackers, and jayhawkers during the Civil War and take a tour of the Latta House, a two-story log house built in 1834.
Museum and Video:
All students will tour the museum and watch a 12 minute video about the Battle of Prairie Grove.
*Other programs such as Battlefield Archaeology and Education during the Civil War Era are also available depending on staff / volunteer availability.
The Battle of Prairie Grove
December 7, 1862
The Battle of Prairie Grove was the last time two armies of almost equal strength faced each other for control of northwest Arkansas. When the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi withdrew from the bloody ground on the night of December 7th, it was clear Missouri and northwest Arkansas would remain under Federal protection.
Major General Thomas C. Hindman’s Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi attacked the Union Army of the Frontier under the command of Brigadier Generals James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron on December 7, 1862. There were about 12,000 soldiers from Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas in the Southern Army. The Federal troops had about 10,000 soldiers from Arkansas, the Cherokee and Creek Nations, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The battle took place near the Illinois River on a ridge and valley called Prairie Grove named after the small log church which sat upon the high ground and for which the battle received its name.
The battle began at dawn with the defeat of Union cavalry by Confederate horse soldiers a few miles south of the ridge. The Federals retreated towards Fayetteville with the Southern cavalry in pursuit. The panicked Union soldiers stopped running when General Herron shot a soldier from his horse. The Confederate cavalry skirmished with Herron’s force before falling back to the Prairie Grove ridge where General Hindman’s Confederate infantry and artillery had set up a line of battle in the woods.
After crossing the Illinois River under fire, Herron’s Union artillery exchanged fire with the Confederate cannons near the home of Archibald Borden. The superior range and number of Union cannons silenced the Southern guns, allowing the Union infantry to prepare to attack the ridge.
The Union Army made two charges up the ridge near the Borden House, but was forced to retreat back to their cannons in the valley. The Confederates counterattacked only to be driven back by the accurate fire of the Union artillery firing canister shot. While the Southerners prepared for another attack into the valley, General James G. Blunt’s Union troops arrived and attacked the Confederates on the western side of the ridge.
Blunt’s Federals were at Cane Hill that morning expecting to be attacked by the Confederates under Hindman. When the Union soldiers heard the roar of battle at Prairie Grove, they marched to the battlefield, arriving in time to save Herron’s soldiers. The fighting on the western end of the ridge raged near the Morton House where four families huddled in the cellar. Nightfall brought an end to the savage fighting with neither side gaining an advantage, although the Confederates retreated that night due to a lack of ammunition and food.
The two armies lost about 2,700 soldiers who were wounded, killed, or missing in action. The battle was a tactical draw, but a strategic Union victory as the Federals would maintain control of Missouri and northwest Arkansas for the remainder of the war. Unfortunately, there would be plenty of guerrilla warfare in the region with bushwhackers (Southern supporters) and jayhawkers (Union supporters) destroying the countryside and forcing many families to become refugees from the conflict. It would take many years for the people to recover from the effects of the Civil War.
Marching Along
General James G. Blunt asked General Francis J. Herron to come to his aid as quickly as possible. Herron’s men marched about 115 miles in 3 ½ days. Can you help the Union soldiers get to the Battlefield at Prairie Grove?
Battle of Prairie Grove Crossword
Across
2. The Confederate commander.
5. Guerrilla fighter who supported the south.
8. Four families hid in one of these during the battle.
9. The heaviest fighting took place around this house (located on the
walking trail).
10. After the Battle of Prairie Grove, many citizens left the area and
became these.
11. The Union Army had to cross this river while under fire.
Down
1. The battle and later the town of Prairie Grove were named for this
type of building.
3. This house, near the current Prairie Grove Primary School, was the
scene of heavy fighting late in the day.
4. Guerrilla fighter who supported the north.
6. This commander led the troops who did the fighting early in the
battle.
7. This Union commander was at Cane Hill when the battle started.
8. These large weapons played a crucial role in the battle.
Hindman's Report
Civil War In The Ozarks
E / T / A / R / E / D / E / F / N / O / C / ET / N / N / F / N / F / E / M / N / D / V / R
X / O / C / J / P / R / I / G / P / O / B / E
W / I / L / S / O / N / S / C / R / E / E / K
O / N / R / F / U / P / B / G / S / T / S / C
X / U / Y / B / B / D / E / B / L / N / A / A
G / U / E / R / R / I / L / L / A / Z / S / H
C / C / H / E / R / O / K / E / E / R / N / W
D / K / M / I / S / S / O / U / R / I / A / H
F / T / A / I / N / O / T / W / E / N / K / S
F / R / E / K / W / A / H / Y / A / J / R / U
P / E / G / D / I / R / A / E / P / R / A / B
ARKANSAS / BUSHWHACKER / CHEROKEE
CONFEDERATE / GUERRILLA / JAYHAWKER
MISSOURI / NEWTONIA / PEA RIDGE
PRAIRIE GROVE / UNION / WILSONS CREEK