Selma AL007

supportedunresolved Wilson says he had obtained detailed plans of the works and reconnoitred to check them, finding his information generally correct. Jordan says intercepted dispatches from Jackson and Forrest's staff had revealed to Wilson the Confederate plans and dispersion.

Attributed knowledge from the attacking commander and a history; no message log inspected.

supportedunresolved Jordan says Forrest found the Selma artillery had little ammunition and not one charge of grape or canister, that the assaulting troops carried Spencer repeaters and breech-loaders, and that Selma was a chief arsenal and ordnance depot.

Ammunition and weapons statements from a history; no ordnance return.

supportedunresolved Wilson says he directed Long to attack on the right of the Summerfield road while Upton penetrated the swamp to attack after dark. Jordan says Forrest sent couriers to bring Chalmers to a junction in front of Selma and, when Taylor left at 2 p.m., made his dispositions for an attempt he saw as hopeless.

Stated aims from the attacking commander and a history.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen and live results read Union victory. NPS says the columns broke through and the city was surrendered though Forrest and Taylor escaped; Jordan says Taylor had left by rail before the assault, that Forrest cut his way out, and that Selma fell. Wilson says Forrest and others escaped with about half their forces, and his May 3 OCR reads that Taylor 'had left at3', the time garbled.

Retain the original result and engagement interval; later movements and campaign contribution are different measures. No new probabilities or individual causal credit.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen casualty text reads 3,019 total (US 319; CS 2,700); the live field reads 3,059 (US 359; CS 2,700). Wilson's May 3 report gives Long's loss as 46 killed with the rest garbled, and a prisoner count garbled in OCR as 't’loosaod seven hundred prisoners, including 150' (the thousands figure and the word after 150 are illegible); his detailed report's list of captures is largely unreadable ('2^700'). Jordan gives no Selma figures.

Original casualty returns were not inspected; preserve totals, categories, cutoffs and differences. No canonical reconciliation or casualty-based opening count; related actions must not be added without resolving population overlap.

supportedunresolved Wilson credits Long with opening the assault without waiting for the signal when Chalmers struck his rear. Jordan says Forrest took command on Taylor's departure and ordered Roddy to fill the breach left by the militia. NPS says Wilson split his command into three columns. The frozen commanders are Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Major General James H. Wilson; the live page gives Wilson as Brigadier General and Forrest as Major General.

Command roles from the attacking commander, a history written from Forrest's papers and a summary; no automatic sole credit, and live ranks are not adopted.

unknownunresolved

No inspected return establishes matched personnel at a common opening boundary. Imported numerical estimates remain unchanged; this pass does not validate them as simultaneous opening forces.

disputedunresolved The frozen force field reads Two cavalry divisions against troops in the city (approx. 5,000 men), with a Confederate side strength of 5,000; the live field reads 18,500 (US 13,500; CS 5,000), NPS giving Wilson about 13,500 in three divisions at the start of the raid. Wilson says Long assaulted with 1,160 dismounted men and that Armstrong's brigade of nearly 1,500 held that part of the line. Jordan says Wilson pressed on with divisions at least 9,000 strong after detaching McCook, and gives the defenders as Armstrong's brigade of about 1,400 and Roddy's men and other forces, some 1,700 rank and file.

An imported bound, a raid-start figure, attackers at one point and a defenders' history; no matched return. None is adopted as a matched opening strength.

disputedunresolved Wilson's May 3 report says Long's men charged 500 yards over an open, level field and through a stockade; his detailed report puts the distance charged at 600 yards and gives a parapet of six to eight feet, a ditch five feet deep and a line on a radius of nearly three miles, with a swamp on the east thought impassable. Jordan describes a double line of works whose exterior ran nearly four miles and needed a far larger garrison.

Works described by the attacking commander's two reports and a history; distances and lengths differ; no map verification.