Pea Ridge National Military Park

Pea Ridge National Military Park preserves one of the most intact Civil War battlefields in the United States, set amid the ridges and open ground of northwest Arkansas near the Missouri border. Across roughly 4,300 acres, the terrain still conveys how the Battle of Pea Ridge on March 7–8, 1862 unfolded, when Union victory secured Federal control of the key border state of Missouri. The park’s creation in 1956 marked a major shift in battlefield preservation, expanding protection from a token monument and small plot to thousands of acres of combat ground, road trace, and sightlines. The preserved segment of the Old Telegraph/Wire Road and the approximately 2.5 miles of Trail of Tears within the park anchor the site in a broader narrative of 19th-century conflict and displacement. Elkhorn Tavern, retained when other structures were removed, stands as a focal landmark around which much of the fighting raged. Monuments raised by veterans from both sides add another historical layer, reflecting early efforts at reconciliation while leaving unresolved the war’s deeper social consequences.