On this date 150 years ago, General McClellan took the Federal Army of the Potomac towards the southwestern part of Virginia where General Joseph Johnston's Confederates were encamped at Manassas. The Union soldiers were well positioned and were prepared to do battle with the Confederates whom they expected to vanquish easily.

The Federal forces at Pea Ridge or Elkhorn Tavern, Arkansas, were surprised by General Van Dorn's Confederate troops in an attack from the latter's northern position. About 17,000 Confederates, including some Indian troops, made valiant attempts to rout the Union soldiers, but the North was ultimately victorious.