Day 24-Pea Ridge Battlefield Park, Bentonville, Bull Shoals

Leaving our campsite at Withrow Springs State Park at 8:00 AM., our first stop was the Pea Ridge Battlefield Park.  

We are now traveling in the northwest corner of Arkansas, very close to Oklahoma and Missouri.  As the map shows none of the roads are very straight since we are now moving through the Ozark mountains.  Our drive to Pea Ridge took about one hour.

Remote Pea Ridge seems very far away from the centers of business and government that existed at the time of the Civil War.  But this Arkansas battlefield stands astride one of the most important land transportation conduits of the 19th century that linked the United States Army's headquarters at St. Louis and its facilities at Fort Smith, Arkansas.

There were three major battles that ultimately determined the fate of St. Louis, preventing the Confederacy from controlling the Mississippi:

Wilson Creek on 8/10/61,

Pea Ridge on 3/7-8/62, 

Prairie Grove on 12/7/62

After watching a very informative 21 minute film in the visitors center we set off on an 8 mile auto tour of the battlefield.  This battle was one of the few battles in which the Confederacy outnumbered the Union in terms of both men and cannons.  However fatal  decisions by the Confederate Generals Earl Van Dorn, Benjamin McCulloch, and James McIntosh.  

The Elkhart Tavern was on the main road between Fayetteville and St. Louis, so it was an often stop for travelers.  The same family and successive generations lived here until 1950.

Elk horns on the ridge board of the tavern.

As soon as the battle ended, the tavern became a hospital.  A surgical table was created using a door.  It was placed near a window for three reasons:  light, ventilation, easy access to throw limbs out the window.

Leaving Pea Ridge we headed for Bentonville where we had lunch at a wonderful creperie, did our laundry, and washed our van.  We were especially impressed with Bentonville; it's a thriving growing city...primarily thanks to Walmart!

Leaving Bentonville we could only manage a drive bye of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art .  The renowned collection ranges from Rockwell to Warhol,

and is funded by the Walton family.

Leaving Bentonville, we headed for our campground at the Bull Shoals-White River State Park.  Bull Shoals Lake was created when a hydro-electric dam was built on the  White River in 1947.  Growing up in St. Louis, I remember Bull Shoals was always mentioned as the best fishing in the state.  

Again we broke the 330 rule, arriving at 7 PM, but there really wasn't anything I would not have wanted to see or do today.  So it goes.