Many
historians like to write that people overlook the Trans-Mississippi theatre of
the Civil War. While not as heavily covered as other parts of the war, there
has actually been quite a bit written on it in the past 30 to 40 years.
Scholarship has greatly expanded on Sibley’s New Mexico Campaign, Pea Ridge,
Prairie Grove, and the battles in Indian Territory. Even when these books and
articles began to pop up there had been a good amount on Wilson’s Creek and the
Red River campaign. However, there are parts that are still rarely covered.
This post gets into one of these parts.
The Arkansas summer campaign of 1862 is barely covered in histories. It was nestled between the Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove Campaigns, each centered around a large and significant battle. General Samuel Curtis’ drive to take Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, mostly saw skirmishes and a handful of smaller, if intense, battles. It’s most prominent place in the histories is the last chapter of William Shea’s Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. Because the campaign failed to seriously alter the course of the Civil War, it is understandably overlooked. However it in fact gave the Confederates another chance to turn the tide in the Trans-Mississippi and the small skirmishes and battles can still be interesting to study.
Curtis after Pea
Ridge
On March 6-8, General Earl Van Dorn’s attempt to restore Confederate fortunes in Missouri came to an end at the Battle of Pea Ridge. After his defeat, Van Dorn was ordered to bring his army east of the Mississippi and help stop General Ulysses S. Grant’s momentum in Tennessee. The Union Army of the Southwest, the victor of Pea Ridge, was bloodied and far out on its supply line, so it withdrew back into Missouri. General Samuel Curtis, its commander, was enthused at having scored a victory. In his previous tenure in the Army he had failed to experience any combat. He had gotten a good deal of it and also come off with a major success. Feelings were high.
