County of site: Benton County
Location of site: Park Military Rd., stop 3, Pea Ridge National Battlefield
Marker erected by: National Park Service
Marker Text:
The small hamlet near here included two stores, a blacksmith shop, Masonic Hall, church, school and several residences. During the fighting some of the buildings were used by the Union Army as hospitals.
"Leetown was one of the earliest settlements in Northwest Arkansas. The town sat in the middle of a broad, wooded plateau bordered by Pea Vine Ridge to the north and the Little Sugar Creek to the south.
"Leetown was founded in the 1840s by John W. Lee, a farmer from Kentucky. Surgeon D.S. McGugin, of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry, described the hamlet in his after-battle report. McGugin stated that Leetown consisted of "some fifteen or twenty houses, frame and log, and but one story in height." He described a "small store", believed to have been owned by Lee, as "one story and a half high, about thirty feet long, and twenty feet wide." Surgeon McGugin noted that, "In all, the windows were few and very small, admitting little light and an insufficiency of air, even when the sash frames were entirely removed.....They contained but few of the ordinary domestic appliances, and were wholly wanting in the usual necessaries found in more settled regions."
"Directly north of Leetown lay two large farms, owned by George Sturdy and Wiley Foster. To the east of Leetown, on the south side of the Telegraph Road, sat Lewis Pratt's general store, one of three known to be in the region. During the battle, General Samuel Curtis, the Federal Army's commander, used Pratt's Store as his headquarters.
"Leetown was devestated by the battle. The fields and woods were filled with the debris of battle and the stench of death filled the air. Many of the families moved to the nearby community of Pea Ridge and rebuilt their lives there.
"Some families remained and tried to return to life as before the war came. In 1881, the Saint Louis & San Francisco Railroad (the "Frisco Line") built a branch line through northwest Arkansas, passing through the town of Rogers about 12 miles to the south. Those who had not left due to the war, now moved to Rogers for the opportunities that the railroad offered. Leetown soon existed only in people's memories." ~ National Park Service
"II G. Leetown
"The Battle of Pea Ridge centered around two areas to the north of Little Sugar
Creek: the village of Leetown and Elkhorn Tavern. ... "
"Leetown, the site of the other major engagement in the Battle of Pea Ridge, is
located near the southwest corner of the Park. In 1862, this small village
consisted of several residences, perhaps a few stores, and a Masonic lodge.
Most of these buildings were destroyed after the battle, and only a small
burial plot is visible at the townsite today. The subsurface remains of this
town constitute an important historic resource.
" ... On the morning of March 7, 1862, Van Dorn
organized a two-pronged attack, with part of his force moving southward down
the Telegraph Road from a point just east of Pea Ridge, and the other halfstriking toward the village of Leetown, starting from the western end of Pea Ridge
Heavy fighting all day resulted in a Union victory at Leetown, where two
Confederate generals were killed, and a Confederate victory in the eastern area,
where the fighting centered around the Elkhorn Tavern. ..." ~ NRHP Nomination Form