Goldsborough Bridge NC009

supportedunresolved Smith says that, having no cavalry, he sent Stevens with two brigades and artillery to find the enemy's position and numbers.

Attributed account of information-gathering; no inspected reconnaissance report (Stevens's report was not selected).

supportedunresolved Smith says Evans's brigade was held on the cars until after noon for want of water in the tanks, and that he lacked transportation even for ammunition.

Department commander's report of supply constraints; no inspected return.

supportedunresolved Foster ordered troops to strike the railroad and burn the bridge; Smith says it was very important to save the county bridge, the only remaining crossing.

Opposing stated objectives; no inspected orders.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen and live results read Union victory. Foster reports the railroad bridge burned and a Confederate advance on his rear guard repulsed as a disastrous failure; Smith says his brigades drove the Federals back from their position on the railroad line and saved the county bridge, and that the burned superstructure could be replaced at once.

Retain the original result and engagement interval; later movements and campaign contribution are different measures. No new probabilities or individual causal credit. The commanders frame the significance differently; the frozen label is retained. Both reports agree the railroad bridge burned; they conflict over the Confederate advance that followed. Neither account is adopted.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen casualty text reads 220 total; the live NPS field reads 0 total (US 0; CS 0;).

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. A live zero is not measured absence.

supportedpost_outcome Foster's December 27 report gives expedition-wide Union losses of 90 killed, 478 wounded and 9 missing (a compiler footnote points to a revised statement); Smith gives Confederate losses of 71 killed, 268 wounded and about 400 missing.

Expedition-wide totals covering several days and actions; they are recorded once here and must not be allocated to or added across the three records.

supportedunresolved Foster says Lieutenant Graham fired the bridge and Colonel Lee's rear guard repulsed a Confederate advance; Smith says Clingman withdrew across the county bridge before Evans's and Clingman's brigades recrossed.

Subordinate actions from interested reports; the frozen commanders Foster and Clingman 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 names Foster's 1st Division and Clingman's Brigade; the live field reads zero. Smith says Clingman had three regiments near the bridges and that the Union force was certainly over 15,000.

Smith's estimate of Foster's force is an opponent's estimate and differs from Foster's own expedition total; no matched population. Live zeros are not measured absence.

supportedunresolved Foster says Confederate infantry advanced under cover of the railroad embankment; Smith says the Federals' second position was very strong.

Opposing commanders' descriptions; no map verification.