THE PEA RIDGE CAMPAIGN.
BY FRANZ SIGEL, MAJOR-GENERAL , TJ. S. V.
T HE battle of Pea Ridge (or Elkhorn Tavern, as the Confed-erates named it) was fought on the 7th and 8th of March,1862, one month before the battle of Shiloh. It was thefirst clear and decisive victory gained by the North in apitched battle west of the Mississippi River, and until Price ’sinvasion of 1864 the last effort of the South to carry thewar into the State of Missouri , except by abortive raids.Since the outbreak of the rebellion, Missouri , as a borderand slave State , had represented all the evils of a bitter civilstrife. The opening events had been the protection of theSt. Louis arsenal, the capture of Camp Jackson, the minorengagements at Boonville and Carthage , the sanguinarystruggle at Wilson’s Creek on the 10th of August, forevermemorable by the heroic death of General Lyon. The re-treat of our little army of about 4500 men to Rolla , afterthat battle, ended the first campaign and gave GeneralSterling Price, the military leader of the secessionistforces of Missouri, the opportunity of taking possession of Springfield , thelargest city and central point of south-west Missouri , and of advancing witha promiscuous host of over 15,000 men as far as Lexington, on the MissouriRiver , which was gallantly defended for three days by Colonel Mulligan.Meanwhile, General Fremont, who on the 25th of July had been placed incommand of the Western Department, had organized and put in motion anarmy of about 30,000 men, with 86 pieces of artillery, to cut off Price ’s forces,but had only succeeded in surprising and severely defeating about a thousandrecruits of Price’s retiring army at Springfield by a bold movement of 250horsemen (Fremont’s body-guard and a detachment of “ Irish Dragoons ”)under the lead of Major Zagonyi. Our army, in which I commanded a divis-ion, was now concentrated at Springfield , and was about to follow and attackthe forces of Price and McCulloch, who had taken separate positions, the one(Price) near Pineville in the south-western corner of Missouri , the other(McCulloch) near Keetsville, on the Arkansas line. Although McCulloch wasat first averse to venturing battle, he finally yielded to the entreaties of Price ,and prepared himself to cooperate in resisting the further advance of Fremont.Between Price and McCulloch it was explicitly understood that Missouri should not be given up without a struggle. Such was the condition of thingswhen the intended operations of General Fremont were cut short by hisremoval from the command of the army (November 2d), his successor beingGeneral David Hunter. The result of this change was an immediate anduncommonly hasty retreat of our army in a northerly and easterly direction,to Sedalia on the 9th, and to Rolla on the 13th; in fact, the abandonment ofthe whole south-west of the State by the Union troops, and the occupation of
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