Newly recruited Confederate troops gathered at Elm Springs in 1861 for training. After driving Confederate troops from their winter quarters at Cross Hollows, U.S. pickets occupied the area. Confederates camped here on a bitter cold March 5, 1862, on their way to fight the Battle of Pea Ridge. Elm Springs was a Confederate mustering site for Arkansas and Missouri units in fall 1862. The gristmill at Elm Springs was destroyed during the war and a Union farm colony was established here in 1864. Skirmishes were fought here April 26 and July 30, 1863.