Elkhorn Tavern | |
Location | US 62, Pea Ridge, Arkansas |
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Coordinates | 36°27′13″N94°00′57″W / 36.45356°N 94.01577°W |
Part of | Pea Ridge National Military Park (ID66000199 [1] ) |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Elkhorn Tavern is a two-story, wood-frame structure that served as a physical center for the American Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which was fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, approximately five miles east of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, located in the northeastern Benton County, Arkansas. The tavern, a replica built in 1865 following the burning of the original building by bushwhackers, is now the centerpiece of the Pea Ridge National Military Park, which includes approximately 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) around the structure, including the restored battlefields, a stretch of the pre-war Telegraph Road, which runs directly in front of the tavern, and a section of the Trail of Tears. The tavern is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first Elkhorn Tavern was built about 1833 by William Ruddick and his son-in-law Samuel Burks, and was first known as Ruddick Inn. It was from this tavern that the two families, between 1837 and 1839, watched a portion of the forced Indian migration across the northern course of the Trail of Tears. An early detachment of 336 Cherokees camped near Ruddick Inn on December 23, 1837. By 1839 more than 11,000 Indians had passed the tavern.
Following the deaths of William and Betsey Ruddick, Burks became sole proprietor in 1852. In 1858, he sold the house and the 313 acres (127 ha) to his cousins Jesse and Polly Cox for $3600. It was Cox who later renamed it Elkhorn Tavern. Under Cox's management, the structure served as a trading post, an unofficial Butterfield Overland Mail stop, post office, voting place, eating establishment, church of the Benton County Baptist Society, and inn. As the war moved near, Jesse Cox left the tavern to the care of his son and daughter-in-law Joseph and Lucinda Pratt Cox and went to Kansas. [2]
When the fighting around the tavern began, the Cox family (Joseph and Lucinda Cox, along with Joseph's mother, Polly) did not leave their home. They grabbed only a few necessities for survival and retreated to the building's cellar. The family remained in the cellar for three days and nights, March 7–9, 1862, as the battle was waged above them. [3] The upper floors of the tavern served as a makeshift hospital for wounded troops, many undergoing surgery and amputations with no anesthetic, and for a short time served as Confederate General Earl Van Dorn's headquarters. The tavern was hit many times by gunfire during the battle, including a cannonball that tore through the second floor, but the building remained standing.
When the fighting finally subsided on March 9, 1862, the scene around the tavern was one of devastation, with the bodies of men and horses scattered across the battlefield and even the trees surrounding the property broken and scarred by the fighting. [3]
Following the battle, the Cox family temporarily moved a short distance from the tavern, in order to complete and repair the structure, and clean the surrounding area before moving back. It was during this absence that bushwhackers struck, burning the tavern to the ground in January 1863. [3]
Since the original building's foundation and chimneys were still in good shape, the Cox family rebuilt on the original foundation and chimneys. The new building was completed in 1865.
Elkhorn Tavern remained in the Cox family for nearly a century following the war, with Frances Cox Scot, who was born in the tavern in 1865, inheriting the building after the deaths of her father and mother, Joseph and Lucinda Cox, in 1903 and 1902 respectively. Scot lived and even ran a small Civil War museum in the tavern until 1959, when it was purchased to become part of the newly created Pea Ridge National Military Park. Following the sale, Scot moved to nearby Garfield, Arkansas and died the following year at the age of 95. [4]
Once the property was purchased for the Pea Ridge National Military Park, the tavern was renovated to make it more closely resemble the structure from 1862. Today, Elkhorn Tavern is open to visitors from fall to spring, with costumed volunteers giving a lesson on the history and culture of the site and its former residents.
The name for the tavern came from a carpenter who, on his way to the tavern, shot an elk about a quarter mile from the building. He removed the horns and gave them to Jesse Cox, who originally placed them on a pole, but later situated them on the roof ridge between the chimneys. [2] An early set of elk antlers are on display inside the tavern building, though the park routinely replaces the set placed on the roof of the building when they become damaged by the weather or animals.
Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of a ridge of the Ozark Mountains, and for the hog peanuts or turkey peas that had been originally cultivated by Native American tribes centuries before European settlement, which later helped to provide basic subsistence once those pioneer settlers arrived.
The Battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place during the American Civil War near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Federal forces, led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, moved south from central Missouri, driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn had launched a Confederate counteroffensive, hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. Confederate forces met at Bentonville and became the most substantial Rebel force, by way of guns and men, to assemble in the Trans-Mississippi. Against the odds, Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the battlefield on the second. By defeating the Confederates, the Union forces established Federal control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas.
Pea Ridge National Military Park is a United States National Military Park located in northwest Arkansas near the Missouri border. The park protects the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought March 7 and 8, 1862. The battle was a victory for the Union and helped it gain control of the crucial border state of Missouri.
The Army of the Frontier was a Union army that served in the Trans-Mississippi Theater during the Civil War. It fought in several minor engagements in Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas. In June 1863 the Army was discontinued but many of its regiments were formed into the District of the Frontier.
The Army of the West, also known as the Trans-Mississippi District, was a formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War that was a part of the Army of Mississippi. It saw action in the Battle of Pea Ridge, Battle of Corinth, and Battle of Iuka and consisted of about 20,000 personnel.
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tracts. This was particularly prevalent in rural areas during the Civil War where there were sharp divisions between those favoring the Union and Confederacy in the conflict. The perpetrators of the attacks were called bushwhackers. The term "bushwhacking" is still in use today to describe ambushes done with the aim of attrition.
The trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War was the scene of the major military operations west of the Mississippi River. The area is often thought of as excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War (1861–1865).
Eugene Asa Niel Carr was a soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge.
James S. Rains was a senior officer of the Missouri State Guard (MSG) who fought in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Born in Tennessee, Rains moved to Missouri by 1840, and was a farmer, politician, judge, and militia officer. He also served as an Indian agent from 1845 to 1849, and participated in the California Gold Rush. He was appointed to command of the 8th Division of the MSG in May 1861, and may have commanded all MSG forces at the Battle of Carthage later that year. In August, his men were routed at the Battle of Dug Springs, an incident which became known as "Rains's Scare".
The Clover Hill Tavern with its guest house and slave quarters are structures within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. They were registered in the National Park Service's database of Official Structures on October 15, 1966.
The Shady Grove School is a historic school building on Arkansas Highway 94 near Pea Ridge, Arkansas. It is a single-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof and a concrete foundation. A gable-roofed cupola provides ventilation to the roof, which is also pierced by a brick chimney. The main facade consists of a double door flanked by sash windows, and the long sides of the building have banks of sash windows. Built c. 1922, the building is a well-preserved representative of a period school building.
The 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Northwest regiment", was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was originally formed as the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Battalion. After receiving the requisite ten companies, the battaltion was redesignated as the 21st Arkansas Infantry Regiment. Upon discovery that there was already another "21st Arkansas," the Northwest Regiment was again redesignated as the 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. This was the third Arkansas regiment to bear the designation "15th Arkansas." The others are Johnson's and Josey's Arkansas infantry regiments. Members of the Northwest Regiment fought both west and east of the Mississippi River before participating in the Vicksburg campaign, surrendering at Vicksburg in July 1863. After being paroled and exchanged, the regiment was consolidated with other state units to form the 1st Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment.
The 16th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was an infantry formation in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Organized from volunteer companies from northwest Arkansas, the regiment participated in the Pea Ridge Campaign before crossing the Mississippi River and becoming involved in the Iuka-Corinth Campaign and the Siege of Port Hudson. After being surrendered with the garrison of Port Hudson the unit was reorganized in Arkansas and consolidated with the remnants of several other Arkansas Regiments to become the 1st Consolidated Arkansas Infantry.
The 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment that served during the American Civil War. Raised in 1861, the regiment consisted of nine companies, which were drawn from various counties in Arkansas. Throughout the course of the war, the 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles fought in a number of battles, including those at Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge, and participated in a number of campaigns such as Tullahoma, Atlanta and the Carolinas. The regiment's final battle came at Bentonville in March 1865 after which its remaining personnel were consolidated into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles.
Crossroads Tavern, also known as Crossroads Inn, is a historic inn and tavern located at North Garden, Albemarle County, Virginia. It was built about 1820. In the mid nineteenth century, Clifton G. Sutherland, son of Joseph Sutherland, owned and ran the tavern which was located on the Staunton and James River Turnpike. It served as a tavern and overnight lodging for farmers and travelers using the turnpike. In 1889, Daniel B. Landes bought the land at the public auction of the estate of Clifton Sutherland. The property continued to be conveyed to various owners over the years. The Crossroads Tavern is an early nineteenth century two- to three-story, three-bay, double pile brick structure. The building sits on top of a brick and stone foundation, is roofed with tin and has pairs of interior brick chimneys on either gable end. The brick is laid in five course American bond with Flemish variant. Windows on the basement level at the rear of the house are barred; other basement windows are nine-over-six sash. Put-holes are found at the west end of the building, formerly providing sockets for scaffold boards should repairs be necessary. The front facade is dominated by a porch on the second story extending the entire width of the south and east facades. It is supported by five rounded brick columns and the tin roof above is supported by simple square wooden pillars connected by horizontal rails. Doors of the front of the basement level open respectively into kitchen and dining room and into a spirits cellar with its original barrel racks as well as a laundry fireplace. Floors on this level were originally dirt but dining room and kitchen floors have been cemented. The main entrance door on the second level, with its multi-panes lights, opens onto a central stair hall with two main rooms on either side. This stair hall has an ascending stair at its front and both ascending and descending stairs toward its center. Formerly the ascending stairs led to upstairs areas which did not connect. There is no ridge pole in the three attic rooms. The interiors of windows and doors on the main entrance side have extremely long wooden lintels. With few exceptions, the interior woodwork is original, including floors, chair rails, mantels and built in cupboards. Also on the property is a two-story contributing summer kitchen, brick up to the second story and frame above, and with an exterior brick chimney at the rear gable with fireplaces on both floors. It is operated as a bed and breakfast.
The Springfield to Fayetteville Road-Elkhorn Tavern Segment is a section of historic 19th-century roadway in Pea Ridge National Military Park in northwestern Arkansas. It is a dirt road, about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 18 to 20 feet wide, that was built in 1835. The first major road through northwestern Arkansas, it connected Fayetteville, Arkansas with Springfield, Missouri. The road was part of the major northern route of the Trail of Tears, the forcible remove in the late 1830s of Native Americans from east of the Mississippi River to what is now Oklahoma. The road was also actively used by both Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War, and was the major route of advance by Confederate forces leading to the Battle of Pea Ridge, whose battlefield is preserved by the park.
Leetown, also known as Lee Town, was a historic village in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The first day of the Battle of Pea Ridge was fought around Leetown.
The 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment with three battalions that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
The 9th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment fought at Round Mountain and Bird Creek (Chusto-Talasah) in 1861, Pea Ridge, Siege of Corinth, Second Corinth, Hatchie's Bridge and the Holly Springs Raid in 1862, and in the Atlanta campaign, Franklin, and Murfreesboro in 1864. The unit fought dismounted at Second Corinth and Hatchie's Bridge before being remounted as cavalry for the remainder of the war. The regiment surrendered to Federal forces on 4 May 1865 and its remaining personnel were paroled.
Douglas's Texas Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In June 1861, the unit was formed by combining one group of men from Dallas with a second group from Tyler and placing them under the command of John Jay Good. The battery fought at Pea Ridge in March 1862 and soon afterward transferred to the east side of the Mississippi River. James Postell Douglas replaced Good as commander and led the battery at Richmond, Stones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, Franklin, and Nashville. After operations around Mobile, Alabama, Confederate units in the region surrendered and the survivors of the battery were paroled on 12 May 1865. It was the only Texas field artillery unit that served east of the Mississippi.