Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, USA
Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, CSA

Casualties were heavy, with roughly 4,600 Confederates falling and 1,400 Northerners.

The Confederates were eager to return to Missouri so that its star on their flag would have real meaning.  Meanwhile, Lincoln wanted to hold as many Border States in the Union as possible.  The verdict of battle at Wilson's Creek in the summer of 1861 had favored the south, but when General Samuel R. Curtis was appointed he restored Union fortunes.  Reinforced, and more active than his predecessor John C. Fremont (a political general if there was one) he'd not only secured Missouri, he'd pushed down into northwest Arkansas.

Sterling Price and Ben McCulloch had proved disappointments the previous year, and there was a further reason not to promote either one: they detested each other, and if one was promoted some of the other's men would desert.  So Jefferson Davis dipped into his limited stock of diplomacy (he was a prickly man) and in the early spring of 1862 appointed a new commander: Earl van Dorn.  Van Dorn was an aggressive man, with a good reputation for his work in the Manassas campaign.  He worked hard on his new command in the few days he allowed

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Pea Ridge (1862)   War:   American Civil War   Date(s):   6 Mar 1862 - 8 Mar 1862   Location:   Benton County, Arkansas, US   Outcome:   Union victory   Description:   Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, USA Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, CSA Casualties were heavy, with roughly 4,600 Confederates falling and 1,400 Northerners. The Confederates were eager to return to Missouri so that its star on their flag would have real meaning.  Meanwhile, Lincoln wanted to hold as many Border States in the Union as possible.  The verdict of battle at Wilson's Creek in the summer of 1861 had favored the south, but when General Samuel R. Curtis was appointed he restored Union fortunes.  Reinforced, and more active than his predecessor John C. Fremont (a political general if there was one) he'd not only secured Missouri, he'd pushed down into northwest Arkansas. Sterling Price and Ben McCulloch had proved disappointments the previous year, and there was a further reason not to promote either one: they detested each other, and if one was promoted some of the other's men would desert.  So Jefferson Davis dipped into his limited stock of diplomacy (he was a prickly man) and in the early spring of 1862 appointed a new commander: Earl van Dorn.  Van Dorn was an aggressive man, with a good reputation for his work in the Manassas campaign.  He worked hard on his new command in the few days he allowed himself, and tried