Two Player Scenario 150 men per stand / 6 artillery guns per stand This Scenario represents the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas on May 7th , 1862 between the Union forces led by Samuel R. Curtis and the Confederate forces led by Earl Van Dorn. The military situation was that the CSA forces lost the battle of Wilson's Creek in August, 1861. This resulted in the CSA being driven from Missouri. At right, Editor Craig Martelle stands next to Maj. Gen. Van Dorn's Personal Standard. Samuel R. Curtis took over the command of the army, who had lost their General Nathaniel Lyon at Wilson's Creek. He had an army of 11,000 men. He pursued the CSA into Arkansas. Here he met Van Dorn's army of 17,000 men. In a situation rare during the Civil War, Van Dorn's advancing Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, and Curtis started to retreat towards the Missouri border. After three days' forced march Van Dorn caught up with Union troops, who were well fortified behind Sugar Creek, because Samuel R. Curtis was an excellent engineer. The armies could see each other across the Creek and by all rights the story should have ended there. Earl Van Dorn was determined to fight, bothbecause of his characteristic aggressiveness and his desperate need to capture supplies. By nightfall he split his army into two. The right flank should attack Curtis from the rear. It was McCulloch of Texas who marched towards Leetown. The left attacked from Pea Ridge and into Curtis' supply center. The battle was about to begin. Large Elkhorn Tavern photo (79K) Should the South have a real decisive victory in the Trans-Mississippi theater, or was it going to be one of many broken dreams. Scenario Victory Elkhorn Tavern is worth 10 VP Union HQ is worth 10 VP Leetown is worth 10 VP Time: 9:00 - 17:00 7th March 1862 Victory Conditions for 7th March 1862 The Union needs 30 VP to win decisively or else the day ends and starts again the next day. The Confederate needs 20 VP to win decisively or else the day ends and starts again the next day Time: 7:00 - 11:00 8th March 1862 Victory Conditions for 8th March 1862 The Union needs 30 VP to win substantially* The Confederate needs 30 VP to win decisively The Confederate needs 20 VP to win substantially The Confederate needs 10 VP to win marginally * note: historical result Union Order of Battle (150 men/stand & 6 guns=1) Brig. Gen. Samuel Curtis - 1 Corps Leader Sigel's 1st & 2nd Divisions - 1 Div. Leader Osterhaus (E) 11/7/5 + 1 gun B at 10:30 am Asboth 5/4/3 + 1 gun A at 2 pm Coler 9/7/5 B at 4 pm Davis's 3rd Division (E) - 1 Div. Leader B at 1 pm White 5/4/3 + 1 gun Pattison 5/4/3 + 1 gun Carr's 4th Division - 1 Div. Leader A at 11:00 am Dodge (E) 9/6/4 at E deployed Vandever 4/3/2 + 1 gun A at 11:00 am Independents Bussey Cavalry 3/-/2 +1 gun (Horse) in Leetown, in mounted column Bowen's Cavalry 5/4/3 + 1 gun (Horse) A at noon Poten 4/3/2 A or B at 5 pm Confederate Order Battle (150/6gun scale) Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn (not in game, he was ill) - ( 5 guns) 10:30 am V Gates Cavalry 3/-/2 10:00 am V Little (E) 7/5/4 10:00 am V Slack 4/3/2 10:00 am V Price's Division 10:30 am V Rains 5/4/3 Frost 5/4/3 Clark 7/6/4 Saunders 4/3/2 Ben McCulloch Corps- ( 3 art. guns) * 10:00 am D Pike's Indians 6/5/4 (artillery *2) 10:00 am D McIntosh's Cavalry "Division" * 9:30 am D Greer 10/8/6 Whitfield 10/8/6 Churchill 12/10/7 Hebert's Infantry "Division" * 10:30 am D McNair 12/9/6 Rector 12/10/7 Special Rules: 1) * = leader must stay attached to any brigade in their command. 2) CSA long marches mean fresh = +1 not +2 to movement/charge rolls. 3) No CSA artillery can be resupplied. 4) As above, the Indians are automatically enfiladed by artillery fire. 5) Sigel has no leader modifiers, but can place artillery only. Editor notes: Pea Ridge saw the only use of Native Americans as an organized fighting force. Their success and subsequent failure ensured they wouldn't be used in that role again. Although Curtis was outnumbered 17,000 to 11,000, he won the fight because Van Dorn's spectacular night flanking maneuver separated him from his logistics. Consequently, when the battle became tight, Van Dorn ran out of cannon balls and powder. The Union actually lost more of its force than the Confederates, but once again, it came back to who could still shoot at the end of the day. This is also the only battle where General Sigel, of the German American forces, worked his artillery like magic. Sigel's contributions in other battles for the remainder of the war were inconsequential at best. Look for a more detailed write-up concerning Pea Ridge in the next Rebel Yell. Map Back to Rebel Yell No. 7 Table of Contents Back to Rebel Yell List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by HMGS South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com