(5-05) A one-mile paved walking trail leads from the parking lot area along the Confederate positions atop the ridge past the Borden House and then back along the Federal positions. This section of the Prairie Grove Battlefield, where heavy fighting took place along the eastern end of the two-mile long battle line, is one of the best-preserved battlefields in the United States

(5-05) This is a view from the Confederate positions atop the ridge near the Borden House, looking out across the prairie. Federal troops deployed in line of battle across the level land below and then made repeated charges up the hill

(5-05) Heavy fighting raged around the Borden House and adjacent orchard. Federal officers estimated that as many as 250 men were killed in a 100-yard radius of the house. Federal troops charged up the ridge and past the house into the orchard, only to find themselves cut to pieces by well-positioned Confederate infantry. The house was burned at the end of the battle, but was rebuilt on the same foundations after the war

(5-05) This is a better view of the Borden Orchard, which has been replanted with apple trees and restored to some of its Civil War-era view. The 37th Illinois and 26th Indiana penetrated into the orchard, but were annihilated by waiting Confederates who drove them back down the hill

(5-05) This is a view looking east from the Borden House to the right flank of the Confederate line. This section of the field was held by Colonel Jo Shelby's hard-fighting cavalry

(5-05) This is a good view from the base of the ridge, showing the hillside up which the Federal infantry charged time after time during the heaviest fighting of the Battle of Prairie Grove. The battle was very much a see-saw affair, with Federals charging up the hill and Confederates charging back down. When all was said and done, however, the fighting ended essentially in a draw. The Confederates withdrew during the night, leaving the Federals in command of the field. The Borden House can be seen at the top of the ridge