who fought in the battle of pea ridge
Battle of Pea Ridge The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7 â€“ 8, 1862) (also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern) was a battle of the American Civil War fought near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas.[4] Federal forces, led by Brigadier-General Samuel R. Curtis, moved south from central Missouri, driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Major-General Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive, hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the battlefield on the second. This American Civil War battle, one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, essentially established Federal control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas.