"Cadets at New Market" by Harry C. Edwards (c. 1903)
Engraving from textbook "A School History of the United States"
[Unless otherwise indicated, all illustrations are courtesy of Wikipedia]
May 15, 1864
[Today's post is an updated version to one originally published in 2010.]
Today; I am highlighting one of the battles of the "Great Unpleasantness," aka the
American Civil War. While it only involved about 11,000 soldiers, the participation of the Corps of Cadets of the
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) of Lexington, VA made its mark, demonstrating the devotion to courage, duty, and honor demonstrated by these young men.
Background
The American Civil War was in its fourth year, still with no end in sight. With the appointment of Ulysses S.
Grant as the commanding general of all
Union forces, a new strategy began to emerge. Grant led the
Army
of the Potomac in order to batter Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into
submission. At the same time, Gen. William Sherman's forces marched from
Chattanooga, TN into Georgia to take out the breadbasket of the South
and disable Atlanta, the Confederacy's only other major industrial city.
As a sideshow to the fight in northern Virginia, Grant directed Major
General Franz Sigel to march down the Shenandoah Valley, to secure the
Valley and threaten Lee's flank.
Prelude to the Battle
Despite
the lack of manpower, Sigel devised a plan to threaten Lee's western
communications and commissary in the Shenandoah. Two major Union attacks
would threaten Wytheville, VA and the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad
at Dublin, VA, while Sigel and 11,000
men
would demonstrate down the Valley itself, pinning any Confederate
forces that might be used against the Union attacks further west. The
first two attacks got underway in late April of 1864, but did not
achieve their full objectives. Therefore, Sigel decided to move further
down the Valley than he had first anticipated. As he did so, he
attracted the attention of the Confederate commander in the Valley,
Major General John C. Breckinridge. Breckinridge had anticipated the
Union moves.
Gen. Sigel had begun moving down the Valley on May
10, again hoping to keep Confederate forces from moving westward. Both
of Sigel's main attacks had been blunted – though he did not know this –
so his "stately passage up the Valley" (as described by a U.S. Army
history of the battle) became the de facto main attack, and the focus of
Gen.
Breckinridge's actions.
For the next four days, the two forces encountered each other by way of
cavalry actions, and Breckinridge began concentrating his forces south
of the village of New Market.
On May 14 Union units began to move
into the town, and met some Confederate resistance. However, Sigel's
orders were vague, sometimes contradictory, and there was little
indication that the Union forces intended to actually attack the
Confederates. Finally, late in the evening of May 14 Breckinridge
decided to become the aggressor, saying to his staff, "I shall advance
on him. We can attack and whip them here, and I'll do it."
The Antagonists: Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel, USA vs. Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, CSA
![Gen. Franz Sigel, c. 1861, photographer unknown; [Photograph courtesy of Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC]](http://burnpit.legion.org/sites/default/files/battle_newmarket01.jpg "Gen. Franz Sigel, c. 1861, photographer unknown; [Photograph courtesy of Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC]")
Gen. Franz Sigel, c. 1861, photographer unknown
[Photograph courtesy of Prints & Photographs Division,
Library of Congress, Washington DC]
Franz Sigel was a
German immigrant,
a former revolutionary in Europe who immigrated to America in 1852. He
was not a terribly good soldier, but he was responsible for more German
immigrants joining the Union cause than any other man in the North. [A
well-known ditty of the time was entitled, "I'm going to fight mit
Sigel."] He had seen action at the battles of Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge,
and Second Manassas, as well as during Stonewall Jackson's Valley
Campaign of 1862. Sigel was removed from command of the Union XI Corps
in February, 1863 and shunted to various "paper-pushing jobs" in the War
Department until March 10, 1864. At that time, President Lincoln
directed Secretary of War Stanton to appoint Sigel to command of the
newly-created Department of
West Virginia.
![Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, c. 1862; Photographer unknown [Image courtesy of http://www.nps.gov]](http://burnpit.legion.org/sites/default/files/battle_newmarket02.jpg "Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, c. 1862; Photographer unknown [Image courtesy of http://www.nps.gov]")
Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, c. 1862
Photographer unknown
[Image courtesy of http://www.nps.gov]
John Breckinridge was a truly remarkable individual. Born in 1821 in Lexington, KY, he served in the
House of Representatives
and the U.S. Senate, and was Vice President of the United States under
James Buchanan. He was one of three Democratic candidates in the 1860
presidential election. Breckinridge received 851,000 votes, carried 10
states and received 72 electoral votes. At the outbreak of the American
Civil War, he entered the service of the Confederacy, leading a brigade
of Kentucky troops nicknamed the "Orphan Brigade" because his
home
state remained loyal to the Union. He fought at Shiloh, Stones River,
Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. He was brought east and put in charge
of the Rebel forces in the Shenandoah Valley, with the mission to guard
Lee's flank and preserve Confederate control of the Valley.
The Opposing Armies
Both
the forces engaged were provisional, assembled from scattered forces
operating for the most part on security and anti-guerrilla missions. The
Federals had been gathered from numerous isolated posts over the six
weeks preceding the battle. Few of the units had performed before in
standard brigade and
division operations. General Sigel had completed assembling his forces at Martinsburg and Winchester on 29 April. He developed his
organizational structure during his slow movement south.
Sigel's force was composed of units from Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the newborn state of West Virginia (whose admission to the Union was not recognized by the Confederacy).
Total Effectives: Union
Infantry: 5245 (approximately 3750 engaged)
Cavalry: 3035 (approximately 2000 engaged)
Artillery: 660 (22 guns) (approximately 530 engaged)
Total: 8940 (6280)
Hamstrung by the lack of available manpower, Breckinridge spent the first few months in his new
job begging, borrowing and nearly stealing any and all available units he could to reinforce his command. He even managed to get
local Valley
farmers to hand over any foodstuffs that were once sent directly to
Richmond. Further, Breckinridge even found the wherewithal to provide
compensation to the Shenandoah growers, despite the growing fiscal
crisis in the Confederacy.
Even more immediately, the Confederate
forces were gathered as the Federal plan revealed itself. General
Breckinridge began to consolidate his forces on 7 May, completing his
new arrangement at Staunton on 12 May, three days before the battle. The
vast majority of his small army was composed of native Virginians, with
the exception of a company of Missouri cavalry, a company of Maryland
cavalry and an independent battalion of cavalry from Maryland. A number
of Confederate cavalry units were dismounted and used as infantry.
On
May 10, Gen. Breckinridge contacted Lt. Col. Scott Shipp, commandant of
VMI, that the services of the Corps of Cadets would be needed to face
the Union advance. Over the next four days the Corps of Cadets marched
85 miles to join the Confederate forces. They were told that they would
be held in reserve, unless needed in an extreme circumstance. The 257
cadets were formed into four companies, and their average age was 18
years old.
Total Effectives: Confederate
Infantry & dismounted cavalry: 4249 (approximately 3800 engaged)
Cavalry: 735 (all engaged)
Artillery; 341 (18 guns) (all engaged)
Total: 5325 (4876)
[Anyone interested in seeing the actual orders of battle of the two armies may go here
battle_New_Market_CSA_OOB and here
battle_New_Market_USA_OOB.]
The Battle of New Market
The
two forces made contact south of New Market about mid-morning, with the
main Union line west of the town near the North Fork of the Shenandoah
River; Colonel Augustus Moore initially commanded the Union forces
present on the battlefield at this time, which consisted of his infantry
brigade and part of John E. Wynkoop's cavalry brigade. Additional Union
regiments arrived throughout the morning and deployed between the North
Fork and the Valley Turnpike, with the main line centered on Manor's
Hill.
Breckinridge deployed Wharton's brigade on the Confederate
left west of the Valley Turnpike and Echols' brigade on the right along
the Pike (Echols was ill that morning, so his brigade was commanded by
Colonel George S. Patton). The VMI cadet battalion was kept in reserve,
while Imboden's cavalry was east of the turnpike. Breckinridge attempted
to lure the Federals into attacking him using cavalry and artillery but
Moore refused to move from his position. Three echeloned lines of
Confederates made a great show of force to confuse their enemy. In
addition, a tremendous rainstorm with thunder and lightning raged
throughout the day – it had been raining for at least the previous two
days – and added to the confusion.
Battle of New Market, May 15, 1864
About
11:00 a.m., Breckinridge decided to launch an attack on Moore using his
infantry, while Imboden's cavalry brigade crossed Smith's Creek east of
New Market, rode north, and recrossed the stream behind the Union
lines. Union cavalry commander Gen. Julius Stahel (an ex-European
revolutionary like Sigel) arrived at New Market at this time with
additional troops, followed shortly afterwards by Sigel himself.
Breckinridge
launched his infantry attack near noon, slowly pushing Moore's infantry
brigade off of Manor's Hill and northward towards the rest of Sigel's
army, which was deploying on a hill north of Jacob Bushong's farm. Once
past the town of New Market, the Confederates halted to dress ranks,
shift units along the line, and reposition their artillery units.
Breckinridge
resumed his attack about 2 p.m. As the Confederate line formed near the
Bushong farm, massed Union rifle and artillery fire disorganized the
Confederate units in the center, forcing the right wing of the 51st
Virginia Infantry and the 30th Virginia Infantry Battalion to retreat in
confusion, while the rest of the Confederate line stalled.
Enter the Corps of Cadets
Gen.
Breckinridge had told the cadets prior to the fight, "Gentlemen, I
trust I will not need your services today; but if I do, I know you will
do your duty." At about 2:30 pm, the Confederate advance had pushed the
Union force back through the village, with the Rebel left settled around
the Bushong farm. Union artillery was making mincemeat of two Virginia
regiments and a 350-yard gap opened in the Rebel line. As detailed in
the U.S. Army publication:
Farther west, the 30th and
51st Virginia were having an equally bad time. The men had forged their
way forward against the Federal fire through the Bushong property to a
fence on its north side. The intense fire proved too much for many of
them and they began to drift back to the greater shelter offered on the
south side of the Bushong buildings. General Breckinridge noticed this
and ordered his aide, Maj. Charles Semple, to go over and restore order.
Semple pointed to the cadets standing in reserve … and asked, "General,
why don't you put the cadets in line? They will fight as well as our
men." Breckinridge replied, "No, Charley, this will not do, they are
only children and I cannot expose them to such a fire as our center will
receive." Semple ran over and found the situation irretrievable. He
came back to Breckinridge and said, "General, it is too late. The
Federals are right on us. If the cadets are ordered up we can close the
gap in our center." Breckinridge then ordered: "Major, order them up and
God forgive me for the order."
The cadets moved up to
fill the gap, marching in close order as if on the parade ground instead
of the more usual open order. A Union artillery shell hit them, causing
their first casualties. In addition, a spent artillery shell struck Lt.
Col. Shipp, knocking him down. Fearing their commander dead, the cadets
continued their advance. Marching through the Bushong farm, two VMI
companies went to the north of the farmhouse and the other two
positioned themselves south of the building. They crossed over a split
rail fence, then went prone to begin an exchange of fire with the
Federal troops 300 yards away.
At about 2:45 pm, the entire Union
line began an uncoordinated advance on the Rebel front. Some units only
advanced 100 yards or so, then gave up. A Federal cavalry unit began to
charge a Confederate artillery emplacement, only to be decimated by
accurate cannon fire and musket volleys from hidden Rebel infantry.
Confederate fire on the Union artillery was so effective that General
Sigel ordered the artillery to withdraw. Seeing this retrograde motion,
Gen. Breckinridge ordered a general advance of his entire force shortly
after 3:00 pm. The entire Confederate line charged the struggling,
disordered Federal lines. In addition, Confederate cavalry had moved
around the left flank of the Union line, threatening its rear.
"Field of Lost Shoes," New Market Battlefield today, looking south
The
VMI cadets, taking a great deal of fire, fixed bayonets and joined the
attack. They crossed a recently plowed wheatfield, some of the boys
losing their shoes to the suction of the mud; this area became known as
the "Field of Lost Shoes." The cadets, still in parade-ground formation,
led the charge. At one point,
both ends of the line of cadets got ahead of the rest, forming an
impromptu crescent. The order "Mark time!" was given; as soon as the
body of their line caught up with the ends, the Corps of Cadets
continued to charge. They contacted portions of the 34th Massachusetts,
capturing several Union combatants and an artillery piece from von
Kleiser's battery. Cadet O.P. Evans jumped upon the cannon, waving the
VMI colors. At about this time, with the Union force in full retreat,
Gen. Breckinridge rode by them and shouted, "Well done, Virginians; well
done, men!"
"The Charge of the New Market Cadets" by Benjamin W. Clinedinst
Mural in the Jackson Memorial Hall on campus of Virginia Military Institute, Lexington VA
[Image courtesy of the VMI Museum and http://www.shenandoahatwar.org]
[At
about this time during the battle, Union Gen. Sigel was excitedly
consulting with some of his staff officers – Germans like himself.
According to a report written by his chief of staff Col. David H.
Strother, Sigel was so agitated that he began giving orders in German,
which his American staff could not understand.]
At about 6:00 pm,
seeing his army's rear threatened by Rebel cavalry, Gen. Sigel ordered a
withdrawal. Most of his army managed to retreat over the Shenandoah
River by 7:00 pm, followed an hour later by the U.S. artillery battery
commanded by Capt. DuPont which covered their retreat. A Union cavalry
unit managed to burn the bridge, slowing the Confederate pursuit. The
battle of New Market was over.
Aftermath
Total
Union casualties amounted to 96 killed, 520 wounded and 225 missing or
captured, for a total of 841. Confederate casualties totaled 43 killed,
474 wounded and 3 missing or captured for a total of 520 (amazingly, the
percentage of casualties for both sides amounted to 13 percent).
Sigel's force retreated back up the
Shenandoah Valley, marching all that night and through the next day before stopping.
Five VMI cadets died at New Market, while five more died of their wounds over the next two months, with fifty-seven wounded.
Footnote #1:
Sigel was relieved of his command shortly thereafter for a "lack of
aggression." He held no significant command for the remainder of the
war. His Chief of Staff Col. Strother, said of him, "There is no trace
of cowardice in Gen. Sigel, as there was certainly none of
generalship…We can afford to lose such a battle as New Market to get rid
of such a mistake as Gen. Sigel." After the war, Sigel worked as a
journalist and newspaper editor, held various political jobs, and died
in 1902.
Footnote #2: John Breckinridge's force was unable to fully pursue Sigel's retiring army. His forces were transferred to the
Richmond
area, where they participated in the battle of Cold Harbor.
Breckinridge was later appointed Secretary of War in the Confederate
Cabinet. He later fled to Canada to avoid
prosecution
after the war's end. He returned to Kentucky in March of 1869 to take
advantage of amnesty proclaimed by President Andrew Johnson.
Breckinridge resumed his law practice, and eschewed any political
ambitions. He died in 1875 of liver disease.
Footnote #3:
After the battle, the VMI Corps of Cadets was sent to Richmond, where
they were admired and saluted. President Jefferson Davis called them the
"seedcorn of the Confederacy" and presented them with new uniforms and
new British Enfield rifle-muskets, to replace the Austrian Lorenz and
1851 Springfield Cadet muskets they shouldered at New Market.
Footnote #4:
The New Market Day ceremony is an annual observance held at VMI in
front of the monument "Virginia Mourning Her Dead," a memorial to the
New Market Corps. This moving ceremony should be attended by anyone and
everyone who admires courage, honor and devotion to duty. The names of
all of the cadets in the Corps of 1864 are inscribed on the monument.
Six of the ten cadets who died at New Market are also buried at this
site. The ceremony features a roll call of the names of the cadets who
lost their lives in the battle, a custom that began in 1887. The name of
each cadet who died is called, and a representative from the same
company in today's Corps answers, "Died on the Field of Honor, Sir." A
3-volley salute is then carried out by a cadet honor guard, followed by an echoing, solemn version of
Taps
played over the parade ground. To culminate this ceremony, the entire
Corps passes in review before "Virginia Mourning Her Dead," a sculpture
created by VMI alumnus Moses Ezekiel dedicated in 1903. In addition to
the May 15 ceremony, a VMI march team each year stages a march from
Lexington to New Market.
Footnote #5: The battle
has been reenacted annually since 1965. This year's event – the 150th
anniversary of the battle – will take place on May 16-18 in the town of
New Market. New Market is also the home of the Virginia Museum of the
Civil War, located on the property of the Bushong Farm.
Footnote #6:
Visits to the New Market Battlefield play a major role in the lives of
first-year VMI students or "Rats." At the conclusion of their first
grueling week on campus, the entire class visits the battlefield and,
after a series of tours and lectures, recreates the march of the Corps
of Cadets across the Field of Lost Shoes. Afterward, the "rats" take the
official Oath of Cadetship. Later in the school year, the students
recreate a portion of the original march from Lexington to the
battlefield, covering 23 miles from Harrisonburg to New Market.
Footnote #7: The honored dead of the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets (cadets' names in italics are buried at VMI):
Cadet Corporal Samuel Atwill, Company A, Class of 1866, died of wounds, July 20
Cadet Private Luther Haynes, Company B, Class of 1867, died of wounds, June 15
Cadet Private William McDowell, Company B, Class of 1867, killed in action
Cadet Private Jaqueline Stanard, Company B, Class of 1867, killed in action
Cadet Private Thomas G. Jefferson, Company B, Class of 1867, died of wounds, May 18
Cadet Private Joseph Wheelwright, Company C, Class of 1867, died of wounds, June 2
Cadet 1st Sergeant William Cabell, Company D, Class of 1865, killed in action
Cadet Private Charles Crockett, Company D, Class of 1867, killed in action
Cadet Private Alva Hartsfield, Company D, Class of 1866, died of wounds, June 26
Cadet Private Henry Jones, Company D, Class of 1867, killed in action
![Cadet Private William McDowell, Class of 1867; Killed in action at New Market, May 15, 1864; Photograph taken in late 1863, at the request of his mother; [Photograph courtesy of www.civilwar.org_New_Market]](http://burnpit.legion.org/sites/default/files/battle_newmarket08.jpg "Cadet Private William McDowell, Class of 1867; Killed in action at New Market, May 15, 1864; Photograph taken in late 1863, at the request of his mother; [Photograph courtesy of www.civilwar.org_New_Market]")
Cadet Private William McDowell, Class of 1867
Killed in action at New Market, May 15, 1864
Photograph taken in late 1863, at the request of his mother
[Photograph courtesy of www.civilwar.org_New_Market]
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της χώρας μας, πρέπει κάποτε να τιμωρηθούν.Εύχομαι να γίνει σύντομα. 
![Virginia Museum of the Civil War, New Market VA [Image courtesy of www.Virginia_Museum_of_the_Civil_War]](http://burnpit.legion.org/sites/default/files/battle_newmarket07.jpg "Virginia Museum of the Civil War, New Market VA [Image courtesy of www.Virginia_Museum_of_the_Civil_War]")
