Cheat Mountain WV005

supportedunresolved Rust says prisoners told him the garrison knew of the movements of Loring's column (Rust's addressee) and had telegraphed for reinforcements, and that spies had evidently betrayed the expedition. Reynolds says the enemy broke the telegraph wire and cut communication with Cheat Summit. NPS says Rust became convinced he faced an overwhelming force.

Attributed knowledge from the two reports and a summary.

supportedunresolved Reynolds says the enemy cut the road and telegraph, leaving a needed provision train waiting until a relief force reopened communication on the 13th. Rust says a captured assistant commissary carried a requisition for 930 rations for one regiment and a letter indicating very little subsistence, and that his column reached its position despite the rain.

Supply statements from the two reports; the ration papers are Rust's reading of captured documents.

supportedunresolved NPS calls it Lee's first offensive against Reynolds's entrenchments; Rust led the expedition against Cheat Mountain and concluded nothing was to be gained by occupying it. Reynolds ordered relief columns to force communication with Cheat.

Stated aims from a summary and the two reports.

supportedpost_outcome The frozen and live results read Union victory. Rust says the expedition failed; Reynolds says the enemy retired in haste from Cheat on the 13th, withdrew from before Elk Water on the 14th and was driven back from Cheat on the 15th; NPS says Lee called off the attack.

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 170 (US 80; CS 90); the live field reads 171 (US 71; CS 100). Reynolds reports near 100 of the enemy killed and about 20 taken, against his own 9 killed, 2 missing and about '00' prisoners (so read in OCR).

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 OCR digits of the Union prisoner figure are illegible and are not interpreted.

supportedunresolved The frozen commanders are General Robert E. Lee and Colonel Albert Rust for the Confederates and Brigadier General Joseph Reynolds for the Union; the live page gives Lee as Major General. NPS says Lee directed the offensive and Rust led the attacks; Rust says his field officers declared an attack madness and he did not make it; Reynolds ordered the relief columns and says the enemy was under Lee.

Command roles from a summary and the two reports; no automatic sole credit and the live rank is not adopted.

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; the live field reads zero. Reynolds puts Lee's force at 9,000 with eight to twelve guns and the column that closed on Cheat Summit at about 5,000, engaged by detachments of only about 300 from the summit. Rust says his command was 1,500-1,600 and prisoners put the enemy at 4,000-5,000; NPS says Rust faced only about 300 Federals.

Different populations: an army estimate, a column estimate, the summit detachments engaged and Rust's column. None is adopted as a matched opening strength. The live zero is not measured absence.

supportedunresolved Reynolds says Cheat Summit and Elk Water were seven miles apart by bridle-path and eighteen by wagon-road, and that the enemy never got near enough to the field redoubt for its battery to fire. Rust describes a fort or blockhouse at the elbow of the road, intrenchments and heavy impassable abatis; NPS mentions entrenchments on the summit and in the Tygart Valley.

Ground from the two reports and a summary; no map inspected.