Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove were three of the most important battles fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. They influenced the course of the first half of the war in that region by shaping Union military efforts while significantly contributing to Confederate defeat. Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove, the first book to provide a detailed guide to these battlefields, takes the visitor step-by-step through the major sites of each engagement. With numerous maps and illustrations that enhance the authors’ descriptions of what happened at each stop, the book also includes analytical accounts explaining tactical problems associated with each battle as well as vignettes evoking for readers the personal experience of those who fought there.

 

An indispensable companion for the battlefield visitor, this guide offers not only touring information and driving tours of sites associated with the campaigns that led to the battles, but also a brief history of each battle and an overview of the larger strategy and tactics of the military action in which these battles figured.

Earl J. Hess is Stewart McClelland Chair of History at Lincoln Memorial University and the author of eight books, including (with William L. Shea) Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West. William L. Shea is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the author of several books. Coauthors of Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It, Richard W. Hatcher III is a historian at Fort Sumter National Monument and William Garrett Piston is a professor of history at Missouri State University.

 

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"With the publication of Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove, at long last we have a superb publication that fills the travel void for Civil War buffs, scholars, school teachers, college professors, touring groups, and military staff rides. . . . [It] is simply a 'must read' and an excellent 'traveling companion' for anyone who plans to visit these battlefields or has an interest in the Civil War."—Arnold Schofield, Kansas History

"This is the only practical guide to three of the most important Civil War battle sites west of the Mississippi River. Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove will, therefore, fill an embarrassing void in our practical knowledge of the war, provide a better understanding of the three battles, enhance our ability to analyze early military strategy in the West, and promote a deeper appreciation of the trans-Mississsippi war."—Daniel E. Sutherland, author of Seasons of War: The Ordeal of a Confederate Community, 1861–1865