In early March 1862, quiet fields became the bustling headquarters of an army in battle as soldiers drilled, cleaned guns, and checked ammunition, scouts and couriers rode in with reports, officers held councils of war, and teams pulling wagons and artillery moved heavily along the Telegraph Road. Across the road from Samuel Pratt's store, decisions were made that determined the fate of two armies and the state of Missouri. A temporary city of soldiers spread across this field and the surrounding area as the nerve center of the Union army during the two-day fight for Pea Ridge.