<P> The Battle of Pea Ridge ( March 7 -- 8 , 1862 ) ( also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern ) was a battle of the American Civil War . It was fought at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas , near Leetown . Union forces , led by Brigadier - General Samuel R. Curtis , moved south from central Missouri , driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas . Major - General Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive , hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri . Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn 's force off the field on the second . This Civil War battle , one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent , essentially established Union control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas . </P>
<P> The Battle of Pea Ridge ( March 7 -- 8 , 1862 ) ( also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern ) was a battle of the American Civil War . It was fought at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas , near Leetown . Union forces , led by Brigadier - General Samuel R. Curtis , moved south from central Missouri , driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas . Major - General Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive , hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri . Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn 's force off the field on the second . This Civil War battle , one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent , essentially established Union control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas . </P>
who won the battle of pea ridge in the civil war
who won the battle of pea ridge in the civil war
Union
Union