Episode 31: CPL Henry M. Dysart and the 3rd Iowa Cavalry at the Battle of Pea Ridge

At the Battle of Pea Ridge, on the morning of 7 March 1862, an advance Cavalry and Artillery force which included CPL Dysart and the 3rd Iowa Cavalry witnessed some of the first shots of the battle as three artillery pieces fired into the Confederate Right Wing as it marched along the Ford Road toward Elkhorn Tavern. A “running cavalry fight” ensued, but the Union force was routed, and CPL Dysart made for Union lines forming south of him.

Sources used for this episode:

Dysart, Henry M. Civil War Diary: Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 1862. https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Atestcwd_22746_2_1.

Scott, Robert N. The Wart of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 8. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1883. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924079893719&view=1up&seq=3.