{"id":6153,"date":"2023-04-19T13:58:16","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/?p=6153"},"modified":"2023-04-19T13:58:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:58:19","slug":"the-atlanta-saga-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grunschev.com\/wordpress\/2023\/04\/the-atlanta-saga-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Saga – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 8<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the hotel in Bentonville (on Walton Blvd, no less), it’s a short drive to today’s side trip. The hotel supposedly makes breakfast available for their guests. Keep in mind I’m being a bit frugal when it comes to places to spend the night. I want a clean room and a well-lighted parking lot. Free breakfast is nice, but not required. Today’s free breakfast lacked certain typical choices as fresh fruit and yogurt. If you were looking for Raisin Bran or Cheerios, you’re in luck. Let’s just say the free breakfast was worth what I paid for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pea Ridge National Military Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I got to the park at about 8. Google says it doesn\u2019t open until 9. That\u2019s the visitor center \u2013 you can drive the 7-mile one-way road and visit the ten pullouts any time you want. They had a brochure on display behind glass but I didn\u2019t see any to take. So instead of taking the drive, I\u2019d walk through the fields a bit and come back at 9. (When I got back I saw that there were indeed brochures available had I paid more attention. No matter, though.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visitor center has some very nice exhibits and the obligatory gift section. There\u2019s a theater as well. Nothing was showing yet and I didn\u2019t bother to find out what the show was and when. I just wanted to tour the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost nobody was there. There were a few runners and cyclists and a couple of walkers. I saw one other car the whole time I was on the loop, and that one only briefly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The park is well maintained, and the paragraph or so in the guide that explains each location does a fairly decent job of telling what happened. It should be noted that the Park is only a fraction of the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River. The only other \u201cbattlefield\u201d I\u2019ve visited was Glorietta Pass in New Mexico. All that\u2019s there is a roadside monument. It could probably be argued that the monument is too much. The battle was won when the Union soldiers ambushed the Confederate supply train, stealing some supplies, destroying the rest, and killing the horses and mules. The Texans had no choice but to return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pea Ridge was much bigger, but not yet on the scale of the big eastern battles such as Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, or The Wilderness. Missouri was a border state and there were Missouri regiments fighting on both sides. The Confederates ultimately hoped to capture St. Louis and make Missouri a Confederate state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Pea Ridge, 16,500 Rebels attacked 10,500 Union soldiers. The Union general was expecting an attack from the south, so he arranged his front accordingly, with his field hospital, supplies, and so forth to the north. But the rebels made an audacious maneuver and attacked from the north. General Curtis had just enough time to completely rearrange his troops \u2013 no small task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rebels were able to attach from an unexpected direction due to a forced march of 42 miles in 16 hours. It was a daring maneuver but left the men well ahead of their supplies and quite fatigued. That’s not the best way to enter combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The battle raged for two days, with much close-in combat. Howitzers fired canister, case shot, and solid shot into formations of soldiers at close range; sometimes in the woods, sometimes in the open. Each canister shot throws out a spray of 27 iron balls each a bit bigger than a pinball. In extreme cases, the canister can be double-shotted (i.e. firing two canisters at once). Case shot projectiles have hollow centers packed with gunpowder and explode above the enemy, showering them with shrapnel. Solid shot (a solid 6- or 12-pound solid iron ball) is typically used at longer range to knock down walls or against enemy artillery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Park’s grounds cover most of the battlefield of the last day. The battle is sometimes also called the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern. The tavern was burned down by bushwhackers and the currently standing replica was built in 1865. The tavern sits on forested high ground while much of the combat occurred in the cleared fields to the south and west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Union won. Confederate casualties were about double that of the Union. Missouri was never again threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A short time after Pea Ridge was Shiloh. We\u2019ll get to that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n