GeN Lee’s Winter Camp Fredericksburg, Va. Dec. 11-15, 1862
Failure of the Federals to move
and take Richmond in the summer of 1862, at the Battle of Manassas, resulted in General Burnside being placed as commander of the Army of the Potomac. His plan in late 1862 was to march on Fredericksburg and then go south to Richmond. Facing him however, was General Lee’s army that became well entrenched and well- armed at that site as the Federals delayed employment of their battle plan as pontoons for the river crossing were late in their arrival. In anticipation of the battle, Gen. Lee maintained his tent headquarters in a small clearing in the woods in the vicinity of what is now Lee Drive at the Braehead farm in Fredericksburg, Va.
The camp contained only a few tents
and nothing but a flag to indicate it was Lee’s headquarters. The Commander-in-Chief had no personal luxuries in his tent, but only the necessary administrative objects and a small stove. Lee did not believe that he should have the privilege of sleeping quarters in a house when his men had to suffer the non-luxuries of tent living. General Lee rode his horse, Traveller, a few hundred yards from his headquarters to the Braehead manor (built in 1859) on the morning of Dec. 13, 1862. He was served breakfast and quickly resumed his responsibilities as General of the Confederate army.
He had tied Traveller
to a black walnut tree growing near the manor. That historic tree still stands next to the manor. Unfortunately, I could find no dead limbs nearby, but there were many walnuts on the ground and at least 8 were harvested as I had some unique ideas as to how a pen could be made from these hard fruits. They were broken into various sized pieces and some were made into various sized sawdust particles. They were then mounted and fixed into an acrylic base and lathed into a pen which is different than any other pen in the Civil War witness pen collection.
Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., Aug 9, 1862
After McClelland’s failure to take Richmond
via the peninsular route in mid-1862, the Union turned to General John Pope to march the newly constituted Army of Virginia to try to take Richmond via a direct assault from the north. General Lee responded by dispatching Stonewall Jackson to Gordonsville, Va., to meet the Federal Army. On Aug 6, Pope marched his army south into Culpepper county in an attempt to take the rail junction at Gordonsville. He was met by the Confederates at Cedar Mountain on Aug 9, and with the help of General A.P. Hill’s division, later in the day, the Union forces were repelled. This battle was a prelude to a much larger conflict later in August at the second battle Manassas.
Located at the north end of the battlefield
is an Eastern Red Cedar whose age, based on tree ring counting, is well over 200 years old. It is on the land of Gary and Diana Logan who kindly forwarded to me several pieces of a dead limb that had broken off during a recent storm.
The tree was 40 “ in diameter
and was very slow in its growth pattern. Diana is involved in saving the landscape for a future state historic park (Cedar Mountain) that would be combined with a park at Brandy Station, Va. The wood yielded a gorgeous pen.
The Battle Of Picacho Peak Arizona April 15, 1862
Congress failed to organize the New Mexico territory
in the 1850s because of its low population density. However, at the outbreak of the Civil War, sentiments in the territory favored the Confederacy and an Arizona territory was established with the ultimate goal of having a complete land connection between the South and the Pacific Ocean. The Stars and Bars were raised over Tucson in February, 1862.
In order to combat this activity
a Union column set out from California toward Tucson. On April 15th Union cavalry under Lt J. Barrett came face to face with Confederate rangers near Picacho Peak. The fighting lasted for about an hour and involved a total of only 23 cavalrymen with 11 total causalities. It was a Confederate victory and was the furthest west engagement in the Civil War.
One of the major plants growing at the battleground
is creosote bush. This hearty plant thrives in the desert environment and some are thought to be about 11,000 years old based on carbon dating. As the plant grows new shoots emerge and a ring of plants eventually develop over thousands of years (see photo insert of Picacho peak). It is from one of these plants that sample wood was taken to make this pen. Also note some creosote bushes in the foreground of the Picacho Peak photo. These plant clones were here at the time of the battle. Dr Joe Shaw of Montana State University gleaned this wood for me. The photo of the peak has creosote plants growing in the foreground to the left and right of center.
Fences In The Civil War And The Battle Of perryville Ky
In virtually all Civil War sites
In virtually all Civil War sites
In virtually all Civil War sites
in American Battlefield parks the split rail fence commonly graces the landscape. These fences were popular because the timber provided by American trees was ideal for building them. Mostly, the American Chestnut was the tree of choice because of its straight grain and resistance to weathering but other trees were also used such as the oaks and maples.
In addition
In virtually all Civil War sites
In virtually all Civil War sites
these fences were very simple in their construction, and could be assembled with few tools and no nails even on hard or rocky ground. During the war, the split rail fence took on a new function: providing firewood to both Union and Confederate troops.
There were also
In virtually all Civil War sites
Although these fences
post and rail fences as well as fences made of stone. Fences also provided cover or concealment but in some cases served as a hindrance to troop movements.
Although these fences
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
Although these fences
were common over 150 years ago, it is extremely difficult to find even a trace of one now. Weathering, decay, and major disruptions of the landscape have caused the wood in the fences to literally disappear.
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
During the afternoon of Oct 8th , 1862, the battle raged around the Bottom farm on Doctor’s Creek at Perryville, Ky. Mr. Bottom’s barn was being used as cover for many wounded men of the 42nd and 10th Ohio when it was hit by Cannon fire. The fire consumed the barn along with a number of wounded men.
After the battle
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
Mr Alan Hoeweler of Cincinnati, Ohio writes
Mr. Bottom erected a new barn in the summer of 1863. He harvested his first tobacco crop and it was dried on about a dozen salvaged split rail fence posts that he used in the rafters of the barn as tobacco drying rails. A piece of one of the rails is shown and it is solid white oak and of the proper design of a fence rail. It was a gift of Alan Hoeweler who is the former president of the Civil War Trust.
Battles for Independence Missouri Aug 11,1862 & Oct 22, 1864
Missouri ranks number 3
Missouri ranks number 3
Missouri ranks number 3
in the total number of American Civil War battles. The town of Independence had two, one in 1862 and the other in 1864. Confederate Col. Hughes’s force (including Wm Quantrill) attacked the town in two columns at dawn and went directly to the Union camp where they captured and killed most of the Yankee force.
In October of 1864
Missouri ranks number 3
Missouri ranks number 3
during General S. Price’s campaign to take Missouri, his force lead by General J. S. Marmaduke met Union General A. Pleasanton’s troops near Independence and hit them hard. Both battles were Confederate Victories.
In June of 2019
Missouri ranks number 3
Being alerted, I called
a large walnut tree with a base over 4 ‘ in diameter growing near the Overfelt –Johnston Historic house in Independence was cut down because of disease and insect infestations . In the lumbering process a 2.5 inch cannonball rolled out of the wood.
Being alerted, I called
Surely enough he delivered
Being alerted, I called
Mr. Larry Smith who had purchased the tree and told him the story of my Civil War witness pens. I indicated that I was a strange fellow calling from the outback of Montana. He said "not so strange I am going to be up that way next week"
Surely enough he delivered
Surely enough he delivered
Surely enough he delivered
a beautiful slab of the tree 7 ‘ x 4 ‘ x 3 ‘’ and it represents the largest piece of witness tree wood in my entire collection. A gorgeous walnut wood pen was crafted from a small piece of this historic slab.
According to Rich McCardle
Surely enough he delivered
Surely enough he delivered
of Alabama the ball (being lead) is from the Woodruff cannon that the Missouri militia used during the war. These balls are among the rarest of all cannonballs known from Civil War times.
The Battle Of Shiloh, Tennessee April 7, 1862
In early 1862 General Grant
was advised by Washington D.C. to make efforts to seize the vital rail link at Corinth, Mississippi. To do so he moved about 40,000 troops and all of the needed equipment up the Tennessee river to Pittsburgh landing with the idea of marching on to Corinth a mere 20 miles south. The Confederates, under Albert Sidney Johnston were not going to wait for Grant to get organized and they made an all -out attack in the early morning of April 6th. They over powered the surprised the sleepy Union troops and pushed them back to the river’s edge. General Sherman was encamped at a church known as Shiloh.
It is from this that
the battle gets its name and it too had to be evacuated. However by midday the Federals made a determined stand at a sunken road known as the Hornet’s Nest but were eventually killed or captured. General Johnston was hit in the leg and bled to death in the late afternoon and he was replaced with General Beauregard. By the night of the 6th and the early morning of April 7th Grant received an additional 20,000 troops led by General Buell marching down from Nashville. The tide of the battle quickly swung to the side of the Union. Shiloh was a Union victory and was the largest battle with the greatest loss to both sides by this time in the war. Also, It was one of the bloodiest battles in the entire Civil War.
The red oak tree
is near the location where General Johnston (now a memorial site) was taken from his horse and died. The tree was examined and shown to be a very slowly growing individual probably because of the rocky site on which it is located. It is likely that it was a small tree or seedling at the time of the battle given the count of 60 rings on relatively small side limb. Alternatively, it is the offspring of a tree that was there at the time of the battle.
When The Ripe Pears Fell - Battle Of Richmond Ky Oct 29-30
Noted Historian Shelby Foote commented
"The Battle of Richmond, Ky. was the nearest thing to a cannae of any battle in the entire Civil War". The Confederates captured or killed 5,353 Union troops out of 6,850 that were initially on the field of battle. In the summer of 1862 the Confederates wanted to make a concerted effort to take Kentucky. The first of two CS armies to move north from Tennessee was that of General Kirby Smith, with 6500 troops, and a few weeks later was the Army of the Mississippi under Gen Braxton Bragg.
Generate excitement
Smith’s army first met Union skirmishers on the 29th and by the 30th a full scale battle was underway at Zion church (south of Richmond, Ky.). The Union forces, under General “Bull” Nelson, retreated and formed several defensive lines as they retreated but were ultimately overwhelmed at the Richmond cemetery. As the battle raged near Zion Church, General Smith ordered Churchill’s Confederates to use a hidden ravine to attack Manson’s weak right flank and this, along with General Cleburne’s attack on the Federal left flank was enough the break the entire Federal line.
This was the second largest battle
in the state of Kentucky and resulted in a complete rout of the Union army. Total Union casualties were 5,353 (206 killed, 844 wounded, 4,303 captured/missing) 451 (78 killed, 372 wounded, 1 missing) out of 7,000 Union troops. Coming out of the ravine near to the line of battle now grows an old, almost obscure honey locust tree. It was estimated to be about 180 years old and thus was a youngster when Churchill’s troops passed by it. This pen was made from wood from this tree.
The Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana August 5, 1862
In mid -1862, Confederate General Earl Van Dorn
desired to retake Baton Rouge, La. and reasoned that re-taking the city would be the key in driving all of the Union forces from Louisiana. General Breckinridge led about 5,000 men from Vicksburg to camp Moore from which they would launch an attack with the help of other Confederate troops against the city. Union command learned of an attack and formed a mile outside of town.
By August 5, Union troops
were in the center of town and were facing two divisions of well – organized Confederates. The main action occurred in and around the Magnolia cemetery and with the help of Union naval gunboats, the outcome was the successful repulsion of the Confederate army’s attempt to re-take Baton Rouge.
Getting wood from the Magnolia cemetery
was not easy. Multiple calls to the area revealed that I needed to contact Mr. Chip Landry who is the chairman of the magnolia cemetery organization. He is a retired sheriff as well as a confederate re-enactor. I call him General Landry. He said that some huge water oaks grace the cemetery grounds (shown in the photo) and they were there at the time of the battle of Baton Rouge. One of the oaks has a limb that is protruding over a gravestone and he indicated that somehow he would arrange to cut it off around Christmas of 2017 and eventually send it to me. What a great fellow is General Landry ! meeting folks like him is one of the major joys of this project, besides this is the only pen made of water oak in the collection.
Battle of Antietam and the Burnside Bridge Sycamore
The most famous of all witness trees
from the civil war is this one. It can be seen in the Alexander Gardner photo taken right after the battle (below) and today (left). The sycamore is hugging close to the first arch on the bridge. The one day battle was the bloodiest day in American History. The Army of the Potomac, under the command of George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862.
The morning assault
and vicious Confederate counterattacks swept back and forth through Miller’s Cornfield and the West Woods. Later, towards the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierced the Confederate center after a terrible struggle.
Late In The Day
the third and final major assault by the Union army pushed over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek (Burnside bridge). Just as the Federal forces began to collapse the Confederate right, the timely arrival of A.P. Hill’s division from Harpers Ferry helped to drive the Army of the Potomac back once more.
Battle Of Shepherdstown West Virginia September 19 & 20 1862
On the morning of Sept 18, 1862, at Sharpsburg Md
General R.E.Lee was waiting and prepared for a Union attack against his army. The day before had been marked as the deadliest in American History. Overall, Lee’s attempt to march into Maryland and make an impression on the Federal Government to recognize the Confederacy as a Nation had failed. His retreat south took him to the area on the Potomac known as Boteler’s ford where he could safely retreat into Virginia.
The ford is located in Shepherdstown, WV
but at the time it was Virginia. General McClellan sent General Fitz John Porter’s fifth corps and it crossed the river in time to do damage to the rear of General Lee’s army. The Confederates responded by sending up A.P, Hill’s light division which nearly annihilated the 118th Pennsylvania regiment. The action here discouraged the continued Federal pursuit of the Confederates which led to the disgust of President Lincoln who fired General McClellan as the leader of the Union Army – as Lincoln said – “He had the slows.”
The Witness Tree is a Box Elder
which is in the maple family. It was photographed and collected by my friend Luke Greer of Northern Va. Frustrated at attempts to find an accessible witness tree on the WVa side of the river he crossed to the Maryland side. He writes as follows: “My third and final option proved more rewarding. There is a parking area about a mile north of the Pack Horse Ford at Canal Lock 38 which actually has a historical marker for "Boetler's Ford" It talks about the retreat from Antietam and given the massive amount of troop movement I would imagine both Fords would have been used on the return as they had from the Virginia side prior to the battle. Alfred Waud’s account to Harper's Weekly talks about each of the fords and which units crossed. His drawing is attached. Behind the parking area is a massive tree. The wood was fairly wet, and may even have a few ants left inside. However I do believe it to be a likely witness and I was able to get a piece of it. I had a tailors tape with me and measured over 96 inches around a little more than half of the tree. It was easily larger than my wing span.” Given the estimated diameter of the tree and its rate of growth it is estimated to be over 200 years old. It witnessed all of the events of the Battle of Shepherdstown on those fateful September days.
The Battle Of Perryville Kentucky October 7 - 8 1862
By the late summer of 1862
all things were ready for a two pronged Confederate invasion of Kentucky. General Kirby Smith had moved a force north from Tennessee in early August followed by General Bragg in late august. These movements coincided with RE Lee’s activities in Maryland. On Oct 7, 1862, Union General Buell, in pursuit of Bragg’s army converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville, Ky. Union cavalry troopers, led by General Sheridan, skirmished with Confederates on the Springfield Pike before fighting began on Peter’s hill (just above the Bottom house). The next day all hell broke loose as Union and Confederate divisions made stands and counterattacks especially around and near the hillsides of doctor’s creek. Fighting also occurred in Perryville itself later in the day. Basically, the battle was a Confederate tactical victory but a mass of Union reinforcements caused a withdrawal of the Confederate troops toward the Cumberland Gap. This was the biggest Civil War battle in Kentucky and the last time the Confederates challenged Union control of Kentucky.
Two of the major sites on the Perryville battlefield
are the Squire Bottom house and the Chatham house. They both are located on the hillsides overlooking Doctor’s creek which was near to the center of the entire battlefield. Presently, Mr. Alan Hoeweler owns the Bottom house and invited me and my family to stay at the house two nights in early May of 2018. It was an experience that I shall never forget. For instance, in the living room is a coffee table displaying battlefield artifacts recovered in his front yard. We slept in the bed previously comforting Mr. Ed Bearss, a famous civil war expert from Billings, Mt. The Bottom house was used as a hospital during and after the battle.
Across the road from the Bottom house
and near Doctor’s creek is a sugar maple witness tree that has recently been blown over by a storm. It represents one in an ever growing loss of the nation’s witness trees. Photos of it exist that were made during the civil war era. Then, near to the Chatham house, just across the Mackville road from the Bottom house, there still grows a large pin oak that is a witness tree. It is shown with the house in the photo. Wood was obtained from both trees and wonderfully figured pens were made.
The Battle Of Stones River Tennessee
By December of 1862
the Union command decided it was time for a concerted action to take control over eastern Tennessee. With a strong Union force in Nashville, Union General Rosecrans initiated a three pronged attack against the entrenched Confederates at Murfreesboro, Tn. However, Confederate General Bragg struck first on Dec 31 on the outskirts of the town.
Rosecrans held his ground
even though there was collapse on both the right and left flanks. Confederate General Breckinridge made a charge on the Union left on Jan 2, 1863 and nearly achieved a breakthrough but massed artillery on the hill broke up the assault. The overall outcome was a valuable strategic victory for the Union in an otherwise dismal winter. This too was a battle with huge causalities on both sides.
On a ridge in the middle of this battlefield
were growing a small group of white oak trees. They witnessed the entire battle. In fact one of them died a few years ago and lead bullets from the Civil War era were found embedded deeply within the tissues of the tree. Recently, a big limb on one of these giants died and fell to the ground. Larry Hicklen owner of Mid- Tennessee relics, gifted some of the wood to me.
Battle of Glorietta Pass New Mexico
On March 28, 1862
the Battle of Glorietta Pass in New Mexico occurred. It was preceded by the battle of Valverde, NM on Feb 20 -21, 1862. The Confederacy claimed Confederate Arizona territory which consisted of what is now the southern halves of the states of Arizona and New Mexico. The capital of the territory was Mesilla, New Mexico. In order to establish a military presence in the territory Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry H. Sibley convinced President Jeff Davis that he could move troops from Texas to the Territory and live off of the land and cost the government virtually nothing. In early 1862 he moved about 1300 troops up the Rio Grande valley. The Union responded by sending Colorado volunteers plus a legion of troops from Fort Union.
Ultimately, there were skirmishes
in the canyon south of Santa Fe on March 26, 1862 with a full out battle at Glorietta pass on the 28th. The Confederacy won the battle with Union troops falling back down the Santa Fe trail. However, Union General Chivington had taken 500 troopers around the battlefield and destroyed at least 80 supply wagons leaving the victorious troops with nothing to eat or drink- the victory was a Pyrrhic one for General Sibley. This was the virtual end of the Confederacy in the Southwest.
The initial battle at Glorietta Pass
began at the Pigeon ranch (located on the original Santa Fe trail) with a surprise attach by the Confederates. Being outnumbered, the Union troops fell back about a mile and set up a defensive position and right next to the trail is a huge boulder on which is growing a juniper tree. Its growth has been stunted by virtue of a lack of water and nutrients. It witnessed the battle and saw the retreating Union troops being pursued by the Confederate Army. A small side limb of the tree was cut off and the rings counted at 110. On the basis of this restricted growth the entire tree is estimated to be between 250 and 300 hundred years old. It is a classic witness tree.
The Battle Of Cane Hill Arkansas
One of the oldest settlements
in NW Arkansas is Cane Hill. The first shots in the Prairie Grove Campaign in late 1862 were fired. The settlement was the location of a mill, many farms and Cane Hill College. The community was a focal point of a Civil War battle as the Confederates, under General Thomas Hindman and General John Marmaduke took up positions here in November of that year. They were ultimately challenged by Union forces under General James Blunt.
Heavy fighting occurred
on the hills surrounding Cane Hill and within the town site itself. Although Union troops occupied Cane Hill it did not deter the Confederates from marching north just nine days later to carry out a major battle at Prairie Grove, Ar. The hanging oak witnessed all of the battle events at Cane Hill on Nov 28, 1862.
Close the deal
We traveled around Cane Hill looking for big witness trees and one that was located on Google earth turned out to be not approachable, BUT one on a dirt road called college street (center of Town) was the biggest bur oak that I had ever seen. Dillon Young answered the door and was as friendly as ever. He even located a saw for me to cut off a dead limb. But before he could fetch it, I had the limb cut and it was in the bag. He indicated that he would soon be moving since a very rich Texan fellow was literally buying up the entire town. Most interestingly, besides witnessing the events of the battle of Cane Hill, the tree had been used in its day as the local hanging tree and it very much predates the civil war.
The Battle of Fredericksburg, Va
In December of 1862
Brompton became the focal point for the first Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., with the Confederates fortified behind the famous Stone Wall at the Sunken Road, directly in front of Brompton on Maryes Heights.
General Longstreet
chose the Brompton House (also known as the Marye house- seen behind the tree) for his headquarters, noting its defendable position and view of the town. This tree witnessed the entire battle occurring in and around Fredericksburg.
A Famous Gardner photograph
also exists that illustrates soldiers resting under this old white oak tree. The home is now located on the campus of the University of Mary Washington.
Battle of McDowell Virginia
General Stonewall Jackson's 1st Victory
Came in early May of 1862 when the Union army under Generals Milroy and Schenck decided to invade the Shenandoah valley of Va, the breadbasket of the Confederacy, via the Allegheny mountains on the Parkersburg Staunton turnpike.
“Allegheny” Johnson
led by Stonewall Jackson and his troops headed off the invaders at Sitlington’s hill overlooking McDowell. The battle was the first of many victories of Jackson in his valley campaign which ultimately resulted in him being considered the “right arm” of Robert E Lee.
The old white oak tree
still stands on Sitlington’s hill and found itself in the heat of this important battle. Many times these trees still bear the scars and lead of the war.
The Battle Of Pea Ridge, Arkansas
By the spring of 1862
Union forces had pushed Confederates south and west through Missouri into northwestern Arkansas. On the night of March 6, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn and his 16,000-man Army of the West set out to counterattack the Union position near Pea Ridge. Near to Pea Ridge is Leetown which was one of the earliest settlements in Northwest Arkansas. The town sat in the middle of a broad, wooded plateau bordered by Pea Vine Ridge to the north and the Little Sugar Creek to the south.
Surgeon D.S. McGugin
of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry, described the hamlet in his after-battle report. McGugin stated that Leetown consisted of "some fifteen or twenty houses, frame and log, and but one story in height." On March 7, 1862, the Federal battle line was only a half-mile north of the village. According to Dr. McGugin, "all the houses within three miles of the field were taken for hospitals."
Leetown was devastated
by the battle. The fields and woods were filled with the debris of battle and the stench of death filled the air. Many of the families moved to the nearby community of Pea Ridge and rebuilt their lives there. This pen was made from a Black Oak on the battle field witnessed it all !
The Battle of Mill Springs Kentucky
Although Confederate Brig. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer’s
main responsibility was to guard Cumberland Gap, in November 1861 he advanced west into Kentucky to strengthen control in the area around Somerset. He found a strong defensive position at Mill Springs and decided to make it his winter quarters. Union Brig. Gen. George Thomas received orders to drive the Rebels across the Cumberland River and break up Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden’s army. He arrived at Logan’s Crossroads on January 17, where he waited for Brig. Gen. A. Schoepf’s troops from Somerset to join him.
Maj. Gen. George Crittenden
Zollicoffer’s superior, had arrived at Mill Springs and taken command of the Confederate troops. He knew that Thomas was in the vicinity and decided that his best defense was to attack the Yankees. The Rebels attacked Thomas at Logan’s Crossroads at dawn on January 19. Unbeknownst to the Confederates, some of Schoepf’s troops had arrived and reinforced the Union force. Initially, the Rebel attack forced the first unit it hit to retire, but stiff resistance followed and Zollicoffer was killed.
His death occurred
near to this huge white oak tree which, starting in 1902 was honored annually by Dorthera Burton with floral wreaths as per the early photo. It has been historically known as the Zollie tree. This battle represented the first union victory in the war. The folks at the Mill Springs battlefield park were kind enough to find and send along a small piece of the Zollie tree which has since died and fallen. Its progeny lives on however as this tree has special significance to those who live in this area of Civil War America.
The Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas December 7, 1862
While things were brewing
for a great battle at Fredericksburg, Va. in December of 1862, all was not quiet on the Western Front. The Trans- Mississippi areas of Missouri and Arkansas were being hotly contested. Union General J Blunt was in NW Arkansas while another Union force under J Herron was in central Missouri. Thus, Confederate General T. Hindman felt that he had a chance to destroy the Union presence in the area since the Union armies was separated.
In Early December
Hindman left Ft. Smith and marched to do battle with Blunt’s army located to his north. In the meantime, General Herron and his troops did an unprecedented march to the south to come to the aid of Blunt. The Confederates set up a line of battle on a wooded ridge near the Prairie Grove Church. Though the conflict ended as a stalemate, General Hindman retreated establishing Federal control of NW Arkansas.
The Post Oak witness tree
at Prairie Grove was my first encounter with this tree species (see photo). It seems not to put on major girth as it ages as noted with the tree bored post oaks at Pea Ridge. Laura, the Prairie Grove Ranger indicated that this post oak is a witness tree of the battle. It is located just a short distance from park headquarters just down the path from the tower monument. The pen is one of the nicest, most figured in the entire collection.