Leetown - Pea Ridge National Battlefield, Garfield, AR
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 36° 26.472 W 094° 03.047
15S E 405824 N 4033398
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.
Waymark Code: WMN9AN
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/24/2015
Views: 2
County of marker: Benton County
Location of marker: Park Military Rd., stop 3, Pea Ridge National Battlefield
Marker erected by: National Park Service
Marker text:
Leetown
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.
"As the United States moved towards Civil War, the southern states moved into secession from their Union. On May 6, 1861, Arkansas joined the Confederacy. It was the 10th of eleven states to leave the Union. Uneven lines of loyalty to divided, heartfelt causes was about to bring a period of horror to America. Brother against brother - ideals against beliefs - families torn apart - lives and property destroyed. This was the suffering our ancestors endured. The beautiful little community known as Leetown was about to come to its end. My ancestors from John W. Lee's family were living in Leetown, Benton Co., AR during the battle of Pea Ridge.
"John W. Lee's house
When the first shot was fired at Ft. Sumter on April 12, 1861, the Union was already deeply divided. A years time would bring the end to John W. Lee's hometown - Leetown, Arkansas. History, when combined with the search for our ancestors, comes very much alive. This was true for me, especially after I discovered what my Arkansas ancestors had lived through in 1862. By March 6, 1862 the skirmishes and battles of Pea Ridge, AR (including Bentonville, Leetown, and Elkhorn Tavern) had begun. John W. Lee's son, George Sylvester Lee, joined the Confederate Army. His unit was first known as the Arkansas 22nd Infantry Regiment (Rector's-King's-McCord's), later called Fagan's Brigade, Hawhorn's Division. It was organized in Febuary or March 1862. They served at the Battle of Pea Ridge. The 35th AR Infantry took over the 22nd by July 1862. With this unit, in Company F, Syl Lee and his brother Jesse V. Lee, may also have seen battles at Helena on July 4, 1863, Little Rock on Sept 10, 1863, and Jenkins's Ferry April 30, 1864. This picture was the Lee home, built at Leetown, prior to the Civil War, that the National Park Service tore down." ~ Web Roots