Battle of Cove Mountain

Battle of Cove Mountain
	Part of American Civil War
	; Wythe County in Virginia
Date	May 10, 1864
Location	Wythe County, Virginia (Crockett Cove)37°00′33″N 81°04′23″W / 37.00917°N 81.07306°W
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
William W. Averell	John Hunt Morgan
Units involved
1WV Cav Regmt.; 2WV Cav Regmt.; 3WV Cav (det.); 14PA Cav Regmt.; 34OH Mtd Inf Regmt.;	8VA Cav Regmt.; 16VA Cav Regmt.; 4KY Cav Regmt.; 10KY Cav Regmt.; 10KY Mtd. Rifles Bttn.; 1KY Cav Bttn.; 2KY Cav Bttn.; 6CSA Cav. Bttn.; 7CSA Cav. Bttn.;
Strength
2,019	4,000
Casualties and losses
114	50

The Battle of Cove Mountain occurred in Wythe County, Virginia, on May 10, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Union cavalry division commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell was prevented from attacking a lead mine located near Wytheville. Confederate forces commanded by Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, with a detachment of a brigade of cavalry from the command of Brigadier General William E. "Grumble" Jones, stopped Averell at Cove Gap, adjacent to Crockett's Cove and Cove Mountain.

Averell and a larger force commanded by Brigadier General George Crook were part of a Union plan to damage the Confederate-controlled Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. The railroad was used by the Confederacy to transport soldiers and supplies, and served important lead and salt mines. Averell's assignment was to attack the mines, but he was stopped at the cove while attempting to reach the lead mine. After an escape through the mountains during the night, Averell's cavalry was pursued by multiple Confederate forces for five days until his cavalry reunited with Crook's force in Union, West Virginia.

The National Park Service lists the result of this battle as "indecisive". Confederate accounts call the battle a victory for Morgan. Confederate troops prevented Averell from destroying a salt mine, and a lead mine, that were important to the Confederacy for preserving meat and making bullets. However, because of Confederate concern about Averell's intentions, most of the forces commanded by Jones and Morgan could not assist at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain where Crook's 6,000-man legion had a significant victory. Crook was able to complete his objective to destroy a large railroad bridge across the New River, and important Confederate railroad infrastructure was damaged.