Dry Wood Creek MO005

supportedunresolved NPS says Lane's cavalry went out to learn the whereabouts of a rumored Confederate force; Britton says the column was to reconnoitre the enemy's position and strength and that its officers were too cautious to attack a masked force they believed superior. Lane says it turned out to be the column of Price and Rains.

Purpose and knowledge from a summary, a history and an interested report.

disputedunresolved NPS says the Confederates captured the Union cavalry's mules in this action; Britton says eighty Government mules grazing near Fort Scott were captured the evening before, and Lane reports the loss of Weer's mules. Lane says he fell back to remove his stores from Fort Scott.

The timing of the mule capture differs between the summary and the history; not a supply return.

supportedunresolved Britton says Price intended to take Fort Scott and march through Kansas to the Missouri River; Lane wrote that he must make a stand or give up Kansas.

Aims attributed by a history and an interested report.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen and live results read Confederate victory; NPS says the Union cavalry was forced to retire. Lane's September 3 letter recalls an earlier, undated report that his men drove back the enemy's advanced guard (in the same sentence as the loss of Weer's mules; Britton places the capture of eighty Government mules near Fort Scott on the evening of September 1). It says his cavalry engaged the whole enemy force for two hours the day before, calls the fight a gallant one and says he fell back that night; Britton says the Federal officers withdrew to Fort Scott.

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 total unknown (US 14; CS unknown); the live field reads 14 (US 14; CS 0). Lane reports about 5 killed and a number read 'G' in OCR wounded. A compiler's footnote cites a State Guard return of 4 killed and 16 wounded; Britton gives five killed and twelve wounded against four killed and sixteen wounded from the official reports.

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. The live CS zero is not a measured loss.

supportedunresolved The frozen commanders are Major General Sterling Price, Brigadier General James S. Rains and J. H. Lane as Colonel; the Official Records heading styles Lane Brigadier General commanding the Kansas Brigade. Britton says Lane ordered Colonels Johnson and Jennison out with the mounted force and that Rains held the timber; Lane credits Montgomery and Weer.

Command roles from a history and an interested report; no automatic sole credit, and neither rank is 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 gives the Kansas cavalry about 600 and the State Guard column no figure; the live field reads US 600 and CS 6,000. Britton says the force sent out toward Dry Wood was about twelve hundred mounted men, and that Price had left Springfield with some ten thousand. Lane's September 3 report puts the column of Price and Rains at a figure read '0,000' in OCR to 10,000; his September 4 letter says all sources concur in about 6,000, and that he now held Fort Scott with about 800 cavalry.

Estimates of the enemy by an interested commander, and a history's count of the Union reconnaissance that doubles the CWSAC figure. None is adopted as a matched opening strength.

supportedunresolved Lane and Britton place the fight about twelve miles east of Fort Scott; Britton says Rains declined to be drawn out of the timber where his troops were posted to advantage. Lane's September 4 letter says the enemy fortified themselves on the Dry Wood.

Ground from an interested report and a history; no map verification.