In May of 1864, Union General William W. Averell, leading the 14th Pennsylvania and 7th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, and accompanied by the 34th Ohio Regiment Mounted Infantry and the 1st and 2nd West Virginia Cavalry, departed Charleston, West Virginia heading south. When they stopped a few days later, to secure supplies their movements did not go unnoticed; it would be difficult to miss 2500 enemy troops on horse back. Confederate General R. E. Lee believed that the Union troops’ target would be the salt works at Saltville, Virginia. At that time, the Saltville salt works produced two-thirds of all the salt consumed by the Confederacy. At its’ peak in 1864, it produced some 4,000,000 bushels. Without salt to cure meat and preserve food, the Confederate army would have starved. With such a critical industry under its watch, the salt works were heavily defended throughout the war. Lee assigned Generals William E. (Grumble) Jones and John H. Morgan, with about 4000 men, to stop Averell.
As the invaders drew nearer it became apparent, soon enough, that Lee was mistaken, when the Union troops turned north on the Princeton Turnpike in the direction of the Austinville lead mines, instead of south toward Saltville. If the lead mines were the target, that meant they would have to go through Wytheville, Virginia to get there, traveling through a narrow pass in the mountains between Queen’s Knob and Cove Mountain, just north of town. Morgan and Jones cavalries were waiting, along with a lone six pound artillery piece, when Averell’s men arrived at the gap, and the intense fighting immediately pushed the Union troops back, first to Mill Ridge, then to a farm owned by Allen Crocket. The two armies skirmished until nightfall when, under cover of darkness, the Union forces retreated to the east out the Parisburg Turnpike.
The Confederate troops followed the next day, but by then, Averell’s men were linking up with other Union forces some forty miles away. As the initial encounter at the gap occurred around 3:00 p.m., and darkness at that time of year occurs by 7:00 p.m., the entire battle was over in about four hours. Now fast forward 140+ years. As one of only a scant few local Civil War events available, I knew that even though the battle took place on the run, there would still likely be something there to detect. Over a two year period, I drove the thirty miles to the site several times, just to look out over the farm fields and imagine what they might hold. Then, on one such excursion, I saw someone on a tractor cutting the field. I pulled over, stopped, and walked to the fence, and when he saw me he drove over and did the same. In a scant 20 minutes I not only had permission to detect his part of the site, but his cousins’ as well, about 170 acres in all. I learned that, being a direct descendant to the original landowner; his grandfather Joseph Crockett, also a farmer, used to find .58 cal. bullets in his plowed fields, and had even found at least one six pound cannon ball.
From an old map drawn during the war, it appears that the bulk of the fighting took place in three major contact points. The initial point in the gap no longer exists, falling victim to the building of I-77, and the second point is off limits as the landowner denied my request for permission, in part because others had detected it in the past without asking. The site I have been detecting for the past year is in the third contact point, including the areas before and after it. To date I have found over 50 bullets; the bulk of them Confederate. They include .58 and .54 cal. Gardners, .58 cal. Burnsides, and .50 cal. Smiths. Union bullets include the standard .58 cal. Minnie, .69 cal. round ball, and .577 Enfield, as well as other miscellaneous round ball and pistol bullets. Most bullets have been fired, though there have been a few drops. Also, a few buttons have turned up, but all appear to be post war.
Cove Mountain
Other Names: None
Location: Wythe County
Campaign: Crook-Averell Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad (May 1864)
Date(s): May 10, 1864
Principal Commanders:Brig. Gen. William W. Averell [US]; Brig. Gen. William. E. Jones [CS]
Forces Engaged: Brigades
Estimated Casualties: 300 total
Description: On May 10, Brig. Gen. W.W. Averell’s raiders encountered a brigade under William “Grumble” Jones near Cove Mountain. After delaying the Union advance, the Confederates withdrew. The next day, Averell reached the New River Bridge on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, which he burned.
Result(s): Inconclusive
CWSAC Reference #: VA109
Preservation Priority: III.4 (Class D)
The Battle of Cove Mountain was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War. The battle took place on May 10, 1864, in the southwest corner of Virginia near Cove Mountain in Wythe County.
On that day, Union Brigadier General William W. Averell's brigade encountered a Confederate brigade under the command of Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones. After a brief engagement, the Confederate forces withdrew. The next day, Averell reached the New River Bridge on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, which he burned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cove_Mountain
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va64.html
http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwvinf2.htm
http://www.gwest.org/45thva.htm