"Dat De Shpot, Sergent!"
March 8, 1862 - Morning
I saw General Sigel sight one piece...and send a shot at the [rebel] guns that had driven us back...It went tearing in among the men and horses, killing and wounding both, and then exploded in one of the caissons...Placing his glass to his eye to note the effect of his hot, the General said 'Dat de shpot, Sergent; just put 'em right in dare.'
Samuel McKay, private, 37th Illinois Infantry Regiment
General Franz Sigel ordered the Union gunners positioned here to concentrate on first one Confederate target, then another. Two hours of methodical, massed cannon fire shattered enemy battle lines and morale. Pea Ridge marked the first time this practice was used effectively in a Civil War battle.
Franz Sigel learned how to handle artillery as a young officer in Germany. Sigel - the second highest ranking Union officer in the Army of the Southwest - worked his way along the lines, moving from cannon to cannon.
Marker is on Military Park Road (County Road 65), on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
