<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> Pea Ridge </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> Pea Ridge </Li> </Ul> <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 fought near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas . Federal 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 battlefield on the second . This American Civil War battle, one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, essentially established Federal control of most of Missouri and northern Arkansas . </P> <P> United States forces in Missouri during the latter part of 1861 and early 1862 had pushed the Confederate Missouri State Guard under Major - General Sterling Price out of the state . By spring 1862, Federal Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis determined to pursue the Confederates into Arkansas with his Army of the Southwest . </P>

Who fought in the battle of pea ridge