Battle of Cloyd's Mountain

Other Names: None

Location: Pulaski County, Virginia

Campaign: Crook-Averell Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad (May 1864)

Date: May 9, 1864

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. George Crook [US]; Brig. Gen. Albert Jenkins [CS]

Forces Engaged: Divisions (approx. 10,000)

Casualties and losses: 1,500 total

Result(s): Union victory

Brief Description:

On May 9, Crook's three brigades on a raid into southwestern Virginia encountered a patchwork Confederate force under Brig. Gen. Albert Jenkins at Cloyd's Mountain. Fighting was furious and hand-to-hand. Casualties were heavy for the size of the forces engaged. Crook afterwards joined forces with Averell, who had burned the New River Bridge, and the united column withdrew to Meadow Bluff after destroying several important railroad bridges. The battle was a Confederate attempt to prevent an attack on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. That railroad was important to the Confederacy for moving troops and supplies. Additional Confederate forces arrived at a nearby railroad depot after the major portion of the fighting was completed, and they enabled the Confederate fighters to escape.