Chalk Bluff AR007

supportedunresolved Vandever wrote on April 30 that the enemy was retiring toward Chalk Bluff where he undoubtedly meant to cross, and on May 2 that he had hoped to intercept him but the retreat was too precipitate, having received the department's April 30 dispatch only an hour before. Marmaduke says he expected no trouble except in crossing the Saint Francis.

Attributed knowledge from interested dispatches and a report; no original orders inspected.

supportedunresolved Marmaduke says he sent the unarmed and non-effective men ahead under his quartermaster to build rafts for the crossing. Vandever says his men were subsisting wholly on corn-meal and beef, that ordered supplies had not come from Cape Girardeau, and that dragging the artillery had pulled down his horses.

Interested reports; no supply return inspected.

supportedunresolved Marmaduke says his object in the slow retreat was to give time to the bridge party, and at Chalk Bluff to hold the enemy until his wagons, horses and artillery crossed. Vandever says he meant to follow and punish the enemy and drive him from the State, and that after the crossing he was ordered back to Bloomfield.

Stated aims from interested reports.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen result reads Confederate tactical victory, adding that the results forced Marmaduke to end his expedition, making it a Union strategic victory; the live result reads Confederate Victory (tactical). Marmaduke says his whole command was safely across by sunup and the pursuit ceased. Vandever says he drove the enemy across with heavy loss, though he saved his guns.

Retain the original result and engagement interval; later movements and campaign contribution are different measures. No new probabilities or individual causal credit. The strategic gloss in the frozen text is campaign contribution, not tactical outcome.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen casualty text reads Unknown; the live field reads zero. Vandever wrote on May 2 that his whole loss would not exceed 50, that Lieutenant Eaton was killed by the premature explosion of a Union shell, that many enemy dead and wounded lay along the road, and on May 4 that in one place, which he does not name, 19 enemy dead lay together after a charge by Glover's Third Missouri Cavalry, before calling the Chalk Bluff engagement of the 2d also disastrous to the enemy. NPS says the raiders suffered heavy casualties. Marmaduke's expedition total is recorded under Cape Girardeau and not assigned here.

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. Vandever's 50 may cover the whole pursuit; the live zero is not measured absence. Vandever does not place the charge that left 19 dead, and his 'also' distinguishes it from the May 2 engagement at Chalk Bluff, so the figure may belong to the earlier pursuit.

supportedunresolved Vandever says he assigned McNeil the advance throughout the pursuit because of his knowledge of the country, and that he was himself shelling the enemy across the river on May 2. Marmaduke says he dismounted most of his command to hold the line while the rest crossed. NPS says Vandever pursued and Marmaduke formed a rear guard. The frozen commanders are Brigadier Generals William Vandever and John S. Marmaduke; the live page lists both without ranks.

Command roles from interested reports and a summary; the listed commanders do not receive automatic sole credit.

unknownunresolved

No inspected return establishes matched personnel at a common opening boundary. The frozen side-specific numerical strength bounds are blank (missing_numeric_strength). No figure in this pass is adopted as a simultaneous opening force.

disputedunresolved The frozen force field reads 2nd Division, Army of the Frontier and force under command of Brig. Gen. John McNeil [US] and Marmaduke's Cavalry Division [CS], with no numerical bounds; the live field reads zero. Vandever wrote on April 30 that all accounts put the enemy at 7,000 or 8,000 with ten guns. Marmaduke says his effective fighting force did not exceed 3,500 and the enemy had about 8,000 with fifteen guns; Vandever says he played ten guns on the enemy at Chalk Bluff.

Interested estimates of the other side and an effective-force figure for the retreat. None is adopted as a matched opening strength. The live zero is not measured absence.

supportedunresolved Marmaduke says the Saint Francis was much swollen, rapid, unbridged and without ferry-boats, and that he formed a dismounted line about four miles from the crossing. Vandever says he shelled the enemy before they could get out of the bottom on the far side, and that the pursuit ran over bad roads and destroyed bridges.

River and ground from interested reports; no map or gauge record inspected.