Download Free The Battle Raged With Terrible Fury Battlefield Archaeology Of Pea Ridge National Military Park Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Battle Raged With Terrible Fury Battlefield Archaeology Of Pea Ridge National Military Park and write the review.

The first years of the Civil War in the west focused on the question of the allegiance of Missouri. Southern sympathizers in the state wished to secede and join the pro-slavery cause, but were prevented from doing so by a large Unionist population focused in St. Louis and in other areas of the state. The August, 1861 battle of Wilson's Creek did little to settle the question, as neither side gained complete control of the state. A strong Union military presence, centered in St. Louis, governed that city and the Missouri River Valley (Shea and Hess 1992:1). The southwest corner of Missouri, on the other hand, remained under the sway of the Missouri State Guard (MSG), the state's militia, under the command of Major General Sterling Price, a Mexican War general and former governor. The MSG was, on the surface, endeavoring to maintain Missouri neutrality by keeping Missouri free of a strong presence of either combatant. In actuality, the Guard and its command structure were pro-Confederate, and, from the outset of hostilities actively sought and received assistance from the Confederate government (Piston and Hatcher 2000:33). The Federals began a campaign in early 1862 bent on dispersing the Guard or driving it from the state. That campaign would carry over into Arkansas, where it would culminate at the battle of Pea Ridge. Pea Ridge was one of the largest battles to take place west of the Mississippi River, and certainly the most important strategic victory in the western South during the war (Figure 1). The Federal victory there secured Missouri for the North, and safeguarded St. Louis, a major transshipment point and a base of supply for later campaigns down the Mississippi River. The defeated Confederates shifted their attention away from Arkansas towards Tennessee and Mississippi, draining the region of most of its troops. Much of the fighting in Arkansas later in the war took place either between small armies, or between groups of partisans loyal to either side. In both Missouri and Arkansas, these partisan groups initiated a brutal form of warfare that closely resembles more recent episodes such as the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq. Human occupation of northwestern Arkansas began by 5,000 years ago and continued uninterrupted until the present. This project focuses on one aspect of that occupation, the March, 1862 battle between Federal and Confederate armies. The detritus of battle, the physical evidence for conflict, is a wellspring of archaeological data that can greatly further our understanding of the battle. This effort describes the findings of a multi-year inventory of those artifacts relating to the March, 1862 battle. Briefly, the Battle of Pea Ridge (Figure 2) began on the morning of March 7, 1862. The Confederate Army under the overall command of Major General Earl Van Dorn, including the Missouri State Guard, attempted to swing around the Federal right flank and fall upon the Union supply wagons parked near Elkhorn Tavern. Fatigue and poor roads forced a separation between the MSG and Major General Benjamin McCulloch's Confederate division, forcing the latter to take an alternate, shorter route to reconnect with Price's Missourians.
Presenting the best current archaeological scholarship on the American Civil War, From These Honored Dead shows how historical archaeology can uncover the facts beneath the many myths and conflicting memories of the war that have been passed down through generations. By incorporating the results of archaeological investigations, the essays in this volume shed new light on many aspects of the Civil War. Topics include soldier life in camp and on the battlefield, defense mechanisms such as earthworks construction, the role of animals during military operations, and a refreshing focus on the conflict in the Trans-Mississippi West. Supplying a range of methods and exciting conclusions, this book displays the power of archaeology in interpreting this devastating period in U.S. history.
The greatness of America is right under our feet. The American past—the people, battles, industry and homes—can be found not only in libraries and museums, but also in hundreds of archaeological sites that scientists investigate with great care. These sites are not in distant lands, accessible only by research scientists, but nearby—almost every locale possesses a parcel of land worthy of archaeological exploration. Archaeology in America is the first resource that provides students, researchers, and anyone interested in their local history with a survey of the most important archaeological discoveries in North America. Leading scholars, most with an intimate knowledge of the area, have written in-depth essays on over 300 of the most important archaeological sites that explain the importance of the site, the history of the people who left the artifacts, and the nature of the ongoing research. Archaeology in America divides it coverage into 8 regions: the Arctic and Subarctic, the Great Basin and Plateau, the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, the Midwest, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Southwest, and the West Coast. Each entry provides readers with an accessible overview of the archaeological site as well as books and articles for further research.
Much of Civil War history emphasizes generalship (or the lack of it) as the key factor in analyzing why battles were won or lost. Taking an innovative approach, this book focuses on six elements of victory in nine important Western Theater engagements during 1862--a year when the North had not yet fully mobilized for war. With increasing complexity on the battlefield and the enormous growth of American armies, winning or losing depended upon achieving as many of these six critical goals as possible: a clear objective; mobilization of effective lieutenants; a competent staff; seizing and holding initiative; deploying all available resources; and realizing a successful strategic outcome. The more goals achieved, the greater the victory.
The 1862 battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas was one of the largest Civil War engagements fought on the western frontier, and it dramatically altered the balance of power in the Trans-Mississippi. This study of the battle is based on research in archives from Connecticut to California and includes a pioneering study of the terrain of the sprawling battlefield, as well as an examination of soldiers' personal experiences, the use of Native American troops, and the role of Pea Ridge in regional folklore. "A model campaign history that merits recognition as a major contribution to the literature on Civil War military operations.--Journal of Military History "Shines welcome light on the war's largest battle west of the Mississippi.--USA Today "With its exhaustive research and lively prose style, this military study is virtually a model work of its kind.--Publishers Weekly "A thoroughly researched and well-told account of an important but often neglected Civil War encounter.--Kirkus Reviews "Offers the rich tactical detail, maps, and order of battle that military scholars love but retains a very readable style combined with liberal use of recollections of the troops and leaders involved.--Library Journal "This book is assured of a place among the best of all studies that have been published on Civil War campaigns.--American Historical Review "Destined to become a Civil War classic and a model for writing military history.--Civil War History "A campaign study of a caliber that all should strive for and few will equal.--Journal of American History "An excellent and detailed book in all accounts, scholarly and readable, with both clear writing and excellent analysis. . . . Utterly essential . . . for any serious student of the Civil War.--Civil War News
Archaeology reveals the hidden history of battlefields
American Military History provides the United States Army-in particular, its young officers, NCOs, and cadets-with a comprehensive but brief account of its past. The Center of Military History first published this work in 1956 as a textbook for senior ROTC courses. Since then it has gone through a number of updates and revisions, but the primary intent has remained the same. Support for military history education has always been a principal mission of the Center, and this new edition of an invaluable history furthers that purpose. The history of an active organization tends to expand rapidly as the organization grows larger and more complex. The period since the Vietnam War, at which point the most recent edition ended, has been a significant one for the Army, a busy period of expanding roles and missions and of fundamental organizational changes. In particular, the explosion of missions and deployments since 11 September 2001 has necessitated the creation of additional, open-ended chapters in the story of the U.S. Army in action. This first volume covers the Army's history from its birth in 1775 to the eve of World War I. By 1917, the United States was already a world power. The Army had sent large expeditionary forces beyond the American hemisphere, and at the beginning of the new century Secretary of War Elihu Root had proposed changes and reforms that within a generation would shape the Army of the future. But world war-global war-was still to come. The second volume of this new edition will take up that story and extend it into the twenty-first century and the early years of the war on terrorism and includes an analysis of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq up to January 2009.