General Curtis Headquarters - Stop Two

Grass area at stop two on the tour road.

Pea Ridge National Military Park

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Accessible Sites, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV

Lewis Pratt’s general store was here along the Telegraph Road east of Leetown and was about a mile and a half north of the Federal camps. General Samuel R. Curtis selected Lewis Pratt’s general store as his headquarters and erected his command tents nearby. Beside the store, it is believed that several other buildings were on the site, possibly including a house, barn, and shed. On the morning of March 7, Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis was conferring with his leaders when he was interrupted by a messenger stating that the Confederates were in force north of Leetown along Ford Road. Curtis directed Colonel Peter Osterhaus to take his division to investigate the activity along Ford Road. As Osterhaus left the tent, another messenger entered, reporting that another force was marching south along the Telegraph Road directly towards Curtis's vulnerable supply trains at the Elkhorn Tavern. Curtis looked out of his tent and saw Colonel Grenville Dodge's brigade standing outside. Curtis directed Dodge's commander, Colonel Eugene Carr, to take the brigade north and intercept the second Confederate force. Carr confidently stated that he would clear the Confederates out in an hour.