Totten's Battery
Tour Stop
Location: Start from WCNB Tour Stop 7 [ Waypoint = N37 06.370 W93 24.926 ] and follow the walking trail down the hill. The four artillery pieces on your left mark the location of Totten's Battery [ Waypoint = N37 06.355 W93 24.831 ] from about 6:30 A.M. until the Federals withdrew.
Description: Union Captain James Totten was an experienced artillery commander when he arrived in November 1860 at the Federal Arsenal in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was here that he would meet and train Captain William E. Woodruff, Jr. who would command the Pulaski Light Battery on August 10, 1861. Although born in Pennsylvania, Totten had been raised in Virginia. But Totten remained loyal to the United States when war broke out.
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When the Federals first attacked, Totten's Battery was located on the hill near the current day Visitor Center. But when the Federals swept the surprised Southerners off of Bloody Hill, Totten's Battery settled in near where you are standing now. Totten's battery formed the center of the Union line on Bloody Hill. The battery would fire almost continually throughout the battle. Initially targeting the Pulaski Light Battery across Wilson's Creek, Totten would shift around during the battle to fire on the attacking Southerners during their three assaults on Bloody Hill.
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