Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove or, Scenes and Incidents of the War in Arkansas

William Baxter’s Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove or, Scenes and Incidents of the War in Arkansas is a book covering the history of the Civil War, notable in that it was published before the end of the conflict. First released in 1864, the work was republished in 1957 in anticipation of the upcoming Civil War Centennial. In 2000, the University of Arkansas Press published an updated edition with a foreword by Arkansas historian William Shea.

Born in Leeds, England, on July 6, 1820, William Baxter emigrated with his family to the United States eight years later. At the age of eighteen, he left the Methodist Church and joined the Disciples of Christ. Becoming a minister, Baxter lived in western Virginia and Pennsylvania, before moving to the South. He led congregations in Port Gibson and Woodville, Mississippi, before spending a short period in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and moving to Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1858. He served as both the minister of the local Disciples of Christ congregation and as the president of Arkansas College, an institution of higher education for men. He appeared in the 1860 census along with his wife Fidelia and their three sons.

A staunch Unionist, Baxter made his opinions well known in the community. The college closed, and many of the students joined military units. During the war, Fayetteville changed hands between Confederate and Federal forces multiple times. Baxter witnessed the destruction of much of the town from troops under the command of Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch in early 1862, including the fire that destroyed the college and almost burned his home. He also witnessed Federal troops destroying private property and ignoring the distinctions between pro-Unionist and pro-Southern civilians. Fearing for his life, Baxter fled to St. Louis, Missouri, in February 1865 and later to Cincinnati, Ohio.

The work is divided into fourteen chapters, arranged chronologically, covering the period from the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 to Baxter’s flight from Fayetteville to St. Louis in 1863. While the title indicates that the work might describe the two battles mentioned (Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove), Baxter was not present at either engagement. Rather, he covers the aftermath of the battles and ably recounts how the fighting impacted life for the civilians in the area.

Baxter wrote of the fates of some of his former students, with many killed or seriously injured in the first months of the war. He decried the waste of these young lives and focused on the wanton destruction that took place in the town during the initial Confederate retreat in early 1862. Baxter never hid his pro-Unionist sentiments, which were shared by some Fayetteville residents. After major fighting ended in the area after the Battle of Prairie Grove, Baxter and other Unionists in Fayetteville feared that guerrillas might attack at any moment. The strain eventually became too much, and he fled north with his family.

Baxter remained in the northern United States for the rest of his life. He wrote additional works, including biographies of composer Knowles Shaw and Scottish-born clergyman Walter Scott. He died on February 11, 1880, and is buried in Lisbon, Ohio.

The work is an important source on civilian life in Arkansas during the war, especially from a pro-Union viewpoint.

For additional information:
Baxter, William. Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove or, Scenes and Incidents of the War in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000.

Thompson, Jerome F. “Review of Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 17 (Summer 1958): 213–214.

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University