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CONFEDERATE COMMANDERS

Pea Ridge COULD have been a great Confederate victory. The Army of the West marched into battle with more men and more artillery than the Army of the Southwest. The Federal forces were 250 miles from their supply base in the middle of winter. Morale in the Confederate army was high. The men were ready and confident of victory. But the commander, Earl Van Dorn, squandered his advantages.

The Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge, resulted from the complete lack of leadership on the Southern side. Earl Van Dorn handled the Army of the West with almost criminal negligence.  He failed to plan for any option other than complete victory, marched his men too hard, given the weather and road conditions, and did not have adequate supplies for the campaign.  His lack of control, especially at Leetown, let a major opportunity to destroy Curtis slip away, and his failure to call up his ammunition and supply trains from Camp Stephens on the night of March 7 led directly to the Confederate defeat.

The rest of the Confederate leadership bears a large measure of responsibility for the defeat as well. McCulloch and McIntosh were both killed while acting in a capacity other than a division commander -- McCulloch while acting as a scout and McIntosh while acting as a regimental commander. After their deaths and Hébert's capture, no one in McCulloch's Division stepped forward and took charge allowing an opportunity to destroy Curtis to slip away.

Last updated on: October 11, 2003
Written by: Interpretation Staff
http://www.nps.gov/peri/conf_cmdr

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