2020 Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment
Cannons thunder at the Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment on December 1-2, 2018 at the battle’s original location at the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Every even-numbered year, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park hosts the Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment. During the first weekend of December (Saturday & Sunday of even numberd year) there will be many activities including tours through the Union, Confederate, and civilian camps along with living history programs. Note that the information is preliminary and based on 2018. This will be updated when available as the event is held only in even years.
Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment
The park commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Prairie Grove by hosting Arkansas’s largest battle reenactment in even-numbered years during the first weekend of December. Activities include guided tours through Union, Confederate and civilian camps; military drills conducted by reenactors; cooking, spinning and lace-making demonstrations; and living history programs. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. each day, battle demonstrations feature charges and counterattacks by Union and Confederate infantry and cavalry on the actual battlefield near the historic Borden House.
The battle reenactment is on some of the same ground the armies fought over during the skirmish, which includes the Borden House and valley below. The hillside is used as a natural amphitheater for viewing it. Seeing the battle unfold before your eyes on the ground the men fought and died for is one of the best ways to obtain a true sense of the Civil War and the Battle of Prairie Grove.
Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment Mini-Gallery
Admission: Free
Parking $5 per vehicle
Reenactment Weekend Schedule (tentative)
Saturday:
8:00 a.m. – Hindman Hall Museum and store open until 5 p.m.
9:00 a.m. – Union, Confederate, and civilian camps open to the public
10:00 a.m. – Drill demonstrations by Federal and Confederate Armies
11:15 a.m. – Meet with Generals Hindman and Blunt inside the Latta Barn
12:15 p.m. – Battle lines form; public viewing from spectator line
1:00 p.m. – Battle reenactment
– after battle – all camps reopen to the public
– medical demonstrations at Civil War field hospital adjacent to dogtrot house
3:00 p.m. – Knapsack inspection and drill demonstration in Union camp
3:30 p.m. – Brother Against Brother: The Story of the Ryals Brothers at Prairie Grove;
presentation inside the Latta Barn
5:00 p.m. – All camps closed to public
7:00 p.m. – Period dance at the Latta Barn; open to the public
Sunday
8:00 a.m. – Hindman Hall Museum and Store open until 5 p.m.
9:00 a.m. – Union, Confederate, and civilian camps open to the public
10:00 a.m. – Civil War church service at church and Catholic Mass at the Jim Parks Shelter
11:00 a.m. – Drill demonstrations by Federal and Confederate Armies
– Bayonet drill demonstration in Union Camp
12:15 p.m. – Battle lines form; public viewing from spectator line
1:00 p.m. – Battle reenactment
– After battle – all camps reopen to the public
– Medical demonstrations at Civil War field hospital adjacent to dogtrot house
4:00 p.m. – all camps closed to the public
Location
Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
506 East Douglas Street
Prairie Grove, AR 72753
GPS: 35.983137, -94.310686
For More Information
Park Superintendent 479-846-2990 prairiegrove@arkansas.com
About the Battle of Prairie Grove
Recognized nationally as one of America’s most intact Civil War battlefields, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park protects the battle site and interprets the Battle of Prairie Grove, where on December 7, 1862, the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi clashed with the Union Army of the Frontier in a day of fierce fighting resulting in about 2,700 casualties. This marked the last major Civil War engagement in northwest Arkansas.
Mark your calendar so you don’t miss the next Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment on the first weekend of EVEN YEARS at the battle’s original location at the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
Tags: Prairie Grove Battlefield Reenactment, Prairie Grove Battlefield Civil War Reenactment, Prairie Grove Civil War Battle Reenactment, Civil War Reenactment