Geography

As Chapter 5 of Across Five Aprils begins, it is late March of 1862. Shadrach and John have left to fight for the Union, leaving the folks at home to worry and to deal with the high costs of living on a war budget.

At the age of 10, Jethro is asked to take the team and drive the 15 miles into Newton with some corn and a few chickens, to buy and trade for coffee, sugar, and other supplies.

Drinking coffee is often used to signify maturity. As a boy, Jethro has never drank coffee, but is made to share his mother’s coffee just before he sets out on his trip alone to Newton, a trip that reflects his new status as a man.

Three miles south of Rose Hill, Jethro was approached by an old man who asked him to get him a newspaper while he was in town, but who also spoke to him about his brother Tom having joined the Confederate army.

Arriving in Newton, Jethro went about the business that he was sent to do. At the general store, he met up with a menacing group of men, angry because Jethro spoke well of his brother, despite the fact that he was rumored to have joined the South.

He has a dangerous trip home, but makes it safely.

Pea Ridge

Pea Ridge, Arkansas, was the site of a battle that saved Missouri for the Union. On March 7th and 8th, 1862, nearly 26,000 soldiers fought to determine whether Missouri would remain under Union control, permitting the North to continue its offensive through the Mississippi River Valley.

Major General Earl Van Dorn commanded 16,000 Confederates in an offensive against 10,250 Union troops under the command of Brig. General Samuel Curtis.

Under Van Dorn’s command were the Confederate troops of Brig. General Benjamin McCulloch and the Missouri State Guard forces of Major General Sterling Price, neither of whom worked well together, as well as troops under the command of Generals McIntosh and Pike. Nearly a thousand Cherokees, Choctaw, and Creeks also fought on the side of the Confederacy.

On the Union side were soldiers from Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Roughly half of the Union troops were German immigrants, under the command of General Franz Sigel. They were under the command of General Samuel Curtis

Following the losses of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February, the Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge confirmed that the tide had turned against the South.

The battle of Pea Ridge is sometimes known as the battle of Elkhorn Tavern.

• Estimated Casualties = 5,949
• North = 1,349
• South = 4,600
• Union Victory