battle of carthage state historic site

As Civil War Reenactors we have been to large and small sites. This is lovely with old Walnut trees, creek(spring fed) and the cliffs with cave entrys in them. Lots of wildlife the day we were there 4 blue birds and a squirrel drinking out of creek at same place.

Well maintained park that was the site of a battle during the civil war. There was an area that contained a description of the battle and all the history. The rest of the park was basically a bluff, a stream/brook. There was a short hiking trail and a picnic bench.

This is the place where the Union artillery made their last stand. Right there, yes, up on the bluff. The was the end of a very long battle that began north of Carthage along Dry Creek and continued through town to this point. Walk into the park and stop to listen. You will hear the bone tired Union soldiers, many without food or sleep making their escape to Sarcoxie. You will see the Missouri Militia stopping due to artillery fire, knowing they have driven the enemy out of town. It is a small park with information about The Battle of Carthage. As with many of our Civil War battlefields, one must be able to imagine the past. Great little mostly forgotten place of our Missouri history.

I see where they are going to possibly spend some money on this State Park. It is certainly worth seeing. Take a trip in your mind and picture the actual events as described on the plaques.Fascinating.

It's a small park but worth the walk around. To walk where soldiers fought and camped gave a sense of the times.

It's a good thing that there is no charge for this. The only thing we saw was a memorial of the Civil war and the locals that had lost there lives. I might have missed something somewhere. We pulled into the dirt parking lot where this memorial stone is, but that is all we saw of a park.

The park is reasonably pleasant. There are some interesting geological features. The wayside exhibits, which explain the Battle of Carthage, are old and need to be restored and possibly updated. My visit was brief because of a lack of things to see and do in the park.

Pleasant glen and spring, the site of an early Civil War battle.

Interesting place that fill sin the gaps on the early years of Missouri's participation in the Civil War. But a complete visit would take less than one hour.

There is not much in the way of outdoor activities around Carthage, so we take what we can get. I am not a history buff, besides the Battle of Carthage did not actually take place at this location, so we go to the park just to be outside. The park has a long walnut tree shaded lawn that is beautiful when the grass is green. There are a few small caves over the lake/creek area. The trail around the park is short, less than a mile, but it is pretty. I do not believe the trail is marked but it is easy to find. We like to have picnics at the park on the lawn. The park is just on the edge of town, so there is a lot of noise.There is a large gravel parking area.At the parking lot there is an information board about the battle that took place in the Carthage area.Just up the road from the park, over the hill to the east on Chestnut is an old cemetery called Cedar Hill that also has ties to the Civil War.