Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park

Recognized nationally as one of America’s most intact Civil War battlefields, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park protects the battle site and interprets the Battle of Prairie Grove, where on December 7, 1862, the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi clashed with the Union Army of the Frontier in a day of fierce fighting resulting in about 2,700 casualties. This marked the last major Civil War engagement in northwest Arkansas. Walk along the ridge and in the valley where the heaviest fighting took place. They share stories about the battle, how the landscape affected and shaped the strategic decisions made by both armies, and the Civil War’s devastating local effect.