The Battle of Pea Ridge (also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern) was a battle of the American Civil War. It was fought from March 6–8, 1862, at Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, near Leetown. Union forces, led by Brigadier-General Samuel Curtis, moved south from central Missouri, driving Confederate forces into northwestern Arkansas. Major-General Earl Van Dorn launched a Confederate counter-offensive, hoping to recapture northern Arkansas and Missouri. Curtis held off the Confederate attack on the first day and drove Van Dorn's force off the field on the second. This battle, one of the few in which a Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, essentially established Federal control of Missouri and northern Arkansas for the rest of the war.