$Log1 <FONT=HelpText,C,20,20,20> March 8th, 1862
Northwest Arkansas, south of Elkhorn Tavern along Telegraph Road
 
<FONT=HelpText,L,20,20,20>        
      During the night of March 7, Curtis demonstrated his mastery of staff work by consolidating the dispersed Army of the Southwest into a compact mass. He abandoned the Little Sugar Creek position entirely and moved all of his scattered forces, including the victorious troops at Leetown, to reinforce Carr's battered division straddling Telegraph Road. He also saw to it that food, water, and ammunition were distributed. There was a good deal of stumbling around in the dark, and one column of troops (led, naturally, by Sigel) took a wrong turn and was lost for several hours, but by dawn on March 8 the Union army was reunited and ready for a second day of battle.
       Dawn broke on March 8 and Curtis waited to see if Van Dorn would continue to press his attack. When nothing happened, Curtis concluded that the Confederates had shot their bolt and that he now held the initiative. He intended to attack and drive the enemy away from his line of communications, but unlike the previous day, when hasty improvisation was required, he proceeded in a methodical manner. Curtis formed the entire Army of the Southwest into a long line of battle straddling Telegraph Road.
       Around eight o'clock all was in readiness. Curtis now did a peculiar thing. He turned to Sigel, an officer he had come to distrust, and directed him to take charge of the artillery massed in the rolling fields west of Telegraph Road and prepare the way for a general assault. 
//
$Curtis <FONT=MsgFont,L,20,20,20>Curtis Headquarters <FONT=MsgFont,R,20,20,20>Northwest Arkansas
8:00 a.m., March 8th, 1862
<FONT=MsgFont,L,20,20,20>Colonel Curtis
      I am indeed honored by being appointed to lead the attack this morning, the enemy must be driven away from our line of communications and supply route.  I'm presently reforming our left and bringing our batteries up, we will pound the enemy into submission, then sweep them from the field.
 
<FONT=MsgFont,R,20,20,20>
Brig Gen Franz Sigel
Commanding Officer
1st Division, Army of the Southwest
//
//
$Curtis2 <FONT=MsgFont,L,20,20,20>Curtis Headquarters <FONT=MsgFont,R,20,20,20>Northwest Arkansas
10:30 a.m., March 8th, 1862
<FONT=MsgFont,L,20,20,20>Colonel Curtis
      We have recaptured Elkhorn Tavern and the enemy is beginning to retreat along the roads both north and east.  What are your orders sir?
 
<FONT=MsgFont,R,20,20,20>
Brig Gen Franz Sigel
Commanding Officer
1st Division, Army of the Southwest
//
//
//
//
$EndMajorFail <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>In northwestern ARKANSAS, near the MISSOURI border, our forces met the enemy in battle and suffered a major defeat.  Reports are just arriving by telegram to this office, but an anonymous source was quoted as saying, "An inquiry will be forthcoming, as certain officers should be removed from command immediately."  The flower of our youth has died on the field of battle.  A retreat is probable.  We must be prepared for the worst.  Heavy casualty lists are to follow...
//
//
//
$EndMinorFail <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>In northwestern ARKANSAS, near the MISSOURI border, our forces met the enemy in battle and suffered a minor defeat.  Reports are just arriving by telegram to this office as the fight continues.  A retreat is possible.  We must be prepared for the worst.  Casualty lists are to follow...
//
//
//
$EndDraw <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>A battle in the West was fought in northwestern ARKANSAS today.  Reports are just arriving by telegram to this office as the fight continues, but victory or defeat is still unknown.  We wish good fortune to the troops on that faraway field, and as always we must be prepared for the worst.  Casualty lists are to follow...
//
//
//
$EndMinorSuccess <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>In northwestern ARKANSAS, near the MISSOURI border, our forces met the enemy in battle and achieved a minor victory.  Reports are just arriving by telegram to this office as the fight continues, but there is a long road to march before we see the end to this struggle.  Casualty lists are to follow...
//
//
//
$EndMajorSuccess <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>In northwestern ARKANSAS, near the MISSOURI border, our forces met the enemy in battle and achieved a major victory.  Reports are just arriving by telegram to this office as the fight continues, but there is a long road to march before we see the end to this struggle.  Casualty lists are to follow...
//
//
//
$EndKilled <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>Today our side lost another valiant officer at the Battle of Pea Ridge, in ARKANSAS - BRIGADIER GENERAL SAMUEL RYAN CURTIS
Commander, Army of the Southwest
Samuel Curtis was born in New York in 1805. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, graduating in 1831, but left the Army soon after. He moved to Ohio, where he worked as a lawyer, a civil engineer, and a railroad promoter. Publicly, he was methodical, precise and formal; in private, however, he enjoyed long walks, collecting wildflowers and writing to his family.
During the Mexican War, he served as a military governor of several occupied cities. After the war, Curtis moved to Iowa and, in 1856, was elected to Congress as a Republican. He was a strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln and was considered for a cabinet position in the new administration. When war broke out, he raised the 2nd Iowa Infantry and was assigned to organizing the chaotic affairs in Saint Louis. General Halleck gave Curtis command of the Army of the Southwest on Christmas Day, 1861.
 

//
$BattleInfo <FONT=EndFont,L,0,0,0>WE devote page 196 to an illustration of the great battle fought by General Curtis at PEA RIDGE, ARKANSAS, on 6th, 7th, and 8th March. The official report of General Curtis is as follows:
HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF THE SOUTHWEST, PEA RIDGE, ARKANSAS, March 9, 1862.
GENERAL,—On Thursday, the 6th inst., the enemy commenced an attack on my right wing, assailing and following the rear-guard of a detachment under General Siegel to my main lines on Sugar Creek Hollow, but ceased firing when he met my reinforcements about four P. M.
During the night I became convinced that he had moved on so as to attack my right or rear, therefore early on the 7th I ordered a change of front to the right, my right, which thus became my left, still resting on Sugar Creek Hollow. This brought my line across Pea Ridge, with my new right resting on Head Cross Timber Hollow, which is the head of Big Sugar Creek. I also ordered an immediate advance of the cavalry and light artillery, under Colonel Osterhaus, with orders to attack and break what I supposed would be the reinforced line of the enemy. This movement was in progress when the enemy, at eleven A. M., commenced an attack on my right. The fight continued mainly at these points during the day, the enemy having gained the point held by the command of Colonel Carr, at Cross Timber Hollow, but was entirely repulsed, with the fall of the commander, McCulloch, in the centre, 
//
