Cove Mountain VA109

supportedunresolved Averell says deserters and captured mails showed the enemy fully informed of his strength and intentions, so a surprise at Saltville was out of the question; Pond says the accounts of the Saltville defences led him, without artillery, to turn toward Wytheville. His estimate of the force he fought came from rebel newspapers.

Averell's statement of Confederate knowledge rests on deserters and captured mail.

supportedunresolved Averell says the transport furnished him was so poor, and the roads so heavy, that he left Logan on May 5 with only about four days' subsistence and one and a half days' forage, and that after the railroad destruction his ammunition was nearly exhausted, so he joined Crook. Pond says he was wretchedly supplied with transportation.

Averell's account of his own supply; no return inspected.

supportedunresolved Pond says Crook assigned the attempt against Saltville to Averell's cavalry. Averell abandoned Saltville and marched on Wytheville 'in order to prevent the enemy from concentrating against the column of General Crook'; Pond says he turned instead against the lead works of Wytheville.

Averell's stated reason and Pond's target differ in emphasis; both are recorded.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen result is 'Inconclusive' and the live 'Indecisive'. Averell says he held the field four hours, the enemy retired after dark, and he marched to Dublin. Pond says Averell resisted until night and then made off eastward, and that he was roughly handled by Morgan's troopers; McCausland says Averell was defeated by Morgan and escaped. NPS says the Confederates delayed Averell and then withdrew, and that he burned the New River bridge the next day; Pond instead has Crook take and burn the bridge after an artillery duel, and Averell says he reached Dublin on the evening of the 11th and crossed New River on the morning of the 12th.

Which side left the field, and whether it was a check or a defeat, is disputed. The bridge burning is expedition context; the NPS attribution of it to Averell is contradicted by Pond and by Averell's own timing and is not adopted.

disputedpost_outcome The frozen total is 300; the live page gives zero totals. Averell gives his loss in the battle as about 114 killed and wounded; Pond gives 123 killed and wounded for the battle, and for Averell's whole expedition 17 killed, 72 wounded and 34 missing. No Confederate loss for this action appears in the inspected passages.

Pond's battle figure equals the sum of his expedition figures (17 + 72 + 34 = 123), which include the missing; the relation is noted, not resolved. The live zeros are not measured absence. 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.

disputedunresolved The frozen and live commanders are Brigadier Generals William W. Averell (US) and William E. Jones (CS). Averell says Schoonmaker's two regiments opened the battle while Duffie's brigade formed the line. He names Morgan and W. E. Jones as the Confederate commanders; Pond names only Morgan's forces, and McCausland says Averell 'had been defeated by Morgan near Wytheville'. NPS names Jones's brigade only.

Who commanded the Confederate force is not settled in the inspected passages; no Jones or Morgan report was inspected. No listed commander receives automatic 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 'Brigades' and the live page gives zero totals; NPS says Averell met 'a brigade under William "Grumble" Jones'. Averell says he set out with Duffie's and Schoonmaker's brigades, 2,079 officers and men, plus 400 under Oley who were detached toward Crook on the 6th; Pond repeats the 2,079. Averell says Morgan and W. E. Jones had assembled 4,500 at Saltville and that the force he attacked near Wytheville was 'stated by rebel newspapers' at 5,000, mostly infantry with three guns; Pond speaks of Morgan's Saltville forces with three guns. Averell's General Orders No. 5 calls it a superior force.

Averell's 2,079 is his starting strength, not the number engaged on May 10; of his enemy figures, the 5,000 is attributed to rebel newspapers and the 4,500 has no stated basis. NPS's single brigade and Averell's 5,000 describe different scopes. None is adopted as a matched opening strength; live zeros are not measured absence.

supportedunresolved Averell says the enemy was 'posted in an admirable position for defense or attack, impossible to turn with cavalry', and advanced in three lines sheltered by fences. His approach crossed pathless mountains and tortuous streams. NPS places the action near Cove Mountain.

Averell's description of the position is his own; no Confederate description of the ground was inspected. No map verification.