Framed Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 8th, 1862 by Currier and Ives

Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 8th, 1862 by Currier and Ives commemorates one of the most significant battles in the Western Theater of the Civil War. The image shows the Union victory under General Samuel R. Curtis against Confederate forces led by General Earl Van Dorn, securing Missouri firmly under Union control. The print dramatizes the clash with swirling smoke, cavalry charges, artillery fire, and chaotic ranks of soldiers, capturing both the intensity of combat and the scale of the engagement. As was common in Currier and Ives’ wartime prints, the scene emphasizes Union heroism and order in the face of Confederate resistance, serving both as documentation and patriotic propaganda for Northern audiences during the war.