View source for Battle of New Market

[[File:Cadets at New Market.jpg |thumb|right|300px|{{Center|Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute at the Battle of New Market}}]]
The '''Battle of New Market''' was an [[American Civil War]] [[battle]] fought on May 15, 1864 over control of the [[Shenandoah Valley]] in [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vmi-cadets-fight-in-battle-of-new-market |title=1864 VMI cadets fight in Battle of New Market |website=This Day in History |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> The battle was part of the [[Union Army]] [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]]. [[Lieutenant General]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] had ordered General [[Franz Sigel]] to take his army into the Shenandoah Valley and clear it of [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/newmarket.htm |title=American Civil War: Battle of New Market |author=Kennedy Hickman |website=About Education |publisher=About, Inc |access-date=1 September 2016 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906015954/http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/newmarket.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Siegel had about 9,000 men when he started up the valley, but for some [[reason]] [[wikt:split|split]] his army. When he arrived outside the town of [[New Market, Virginia|New Market]], he had with him a force of about 6,500 Union [[soldiers]].<ref name=MorrisonNYT>{{cite web |url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/the-cadets-at-new-market/?_r=0 |title=The Cadets at New Market |author=Jed Morrison |date=15 May 2014 |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> The Shenandoah valley was the [[wikt:breadbasket|breadbasket]] of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] and provided food to feed General [[Robert E. Lee]]'s hungry army. Lee sent General [[John C. Breckinridge]]{{efn|Breckenridge was a former [[United States representative]], [[United States Senator]], and was elected the 14th [[Vice President of the United States]] in 1856.<ref name=BreckinridgeHIST>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/topics/john-c-breckinridge |title=John C. Breckinridge |website=History |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> In 1860 he ran against [[Abraham Lincoln]] for president.<ref name=BreckinridgeHIST/> But he resigned from the Senate and became a general in the Confederate army.<ref name=BreckinridgeHIST/> He distinguished himself at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]] and proved to be a very good choice to protect the valley.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/> However, the forces under his command often suffered unusually heavy [[casualty (person)|casualties]].<ref name=BreckinridgeHIST/>}} with about 4,100 men to stop Siegel and force the Union Army out of the valley.<ref name=bonmCWT>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/new-market.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/ |title=The Battle of New Market |publisher=Civil War Trust |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> Breckenridge, with Lee's [[wikt:permission|permission]], called up the 500 [[cadet]]s from the nearby [[Virginia Military Institute]] (VMI), some as young as 15 years old.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/> The Confederates won the battle, [[wikt:defeat|defeat]]ing Siegel's larger force.

== Background ==
For some time during the war, the Shenandoah Valley had been a series of problems for the Union Army.<ref name=WertCWT>{{cite web|url=http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/cedarcreek/cedar-creek-history-articles/shenandoah1864wert.html|title=Closing the Back Door: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864|author=Jeffery D. Wert|publisher=Civil War Trust|access-date=1 September 2016|archive-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614101458/http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/cedarcreek/cedar-creek-history-articles/shenandoah1864wert.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1862, Confederate General [[Stonewall Jackson]], in a series of six small battles, had tied up [[Union Army|federal forces]] that could have been used against [[Richmond, Virginia]], the Confederate [[Capital city|capital]].<ref name=WertCWT/> Just a year later, Lee's army had used the valley to move [[north]] to [[invade]] [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=WertCWT/> In addition to providing the food necessary to keep Lee's army going, it remained a very real [[threat]] to [[Washington, D.C.]].<ref name=WertCWT/> The Shenandoah Valley was [[strategic]]ally the left [[Flanking maneuver|flank]] of Lee's defense of Richmond. Jackson had said early in the war, "If the Valley is lost, Virginia is lost."<ref name=CozzensEV>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Shenandoah_Valley_Campaign_of_1862 |title=Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 |author=Peter Cozzens |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |publisher=Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

Grant placed [[Major General]] [[Philip Sheridan]] in charge of clearing the Shenandoah Valley. He gave Sheridan the order "to put himself [[south]] of the enemy and follow him to the death…"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/cebe/learn/historyculture/showdown-in-the-shenandoah-valley-1864-valley-campaign.htm |title=Showdown in the Shenandoah Valley: 1864 Valley Campaign |website=Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park, Virginia |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> Siegel, under Sheridan's command, was ordered to march up the valley to [[Staunton]] from [[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]] (now in [[West Virginia]]).{{efn|In [[North America]] as well as many other places, "up" means going [[north]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/north |title=north |website=The Free Dictionary |publisher=Farlex |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> Generally when someone says they are going "up" a valley, they usually mean moving in a northerly direction. However, the [[Shenandoah River]] flows from [[south]] to [[north]] so in this case going "up" the Shenandoah Valley would be traveling south.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/summer-2010/valley-thunder-battle-of-new-market.html |title=Valley Thunder: The Battle of New Market |author=Charles R. Knight |year=2010 |publisher=Civil War Trust |access-date=1 September 2016 |archive-date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812035247/http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/summer-2010/valley-thunder-battle-of-new-market.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} Siegel was a [[political general]] and had not been trained at [[United States Military Academy at West Point|West Point]]. He had been appointed to his position to attract support from [[Germany|German]] [[Immigrants]] for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] cause. Siegel had shown poor tactical and strategic skills and had lost a number of battles.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/> Also, when he was under [[wikt:stress|stress]], he would [[wikt:bark|bark]] out his orders in [[German language|German]], confusing his men.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/> Yet he was Grant's choice for this mission.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/> Confederate General Brekenridge was also a political general, but proved to be more than Siegel could handle.<ref name=MorrisonNYT/>

== The battle ==
[[File:VMI Virginia Mourning Her Sons wmm2002.jpg|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Monument at [[Virginia Military Institute|VMI]] for the cadets killed at the Battle of New Market, six of whom are buried here}}]]
Siegel was sent into the Shenandoah Valley while Grant was fighting Lee, first at the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] then at the [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House]]. Siegel's main purpose was to prevent Breckinridge from reinforcing Lee.<ref name=WinemanEV>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/New_Market_Battle_of |title=Battle of New Market |author=Bradford A. Wineman |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |publisher=Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref>

As Siegel crossed the Shenandoah River north of New Market, he started making mistakes.<ref name=Shaara193>Jeff Shaara, ''Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America's Hallowed Ground'' (New York: Ballantine Books, 2006), p. 193</ref> He sent some of his force after the Confederate [[cavalry]] in the area. He ordered two [[regiment]]s of troops to stand guard over the bridges (apparently in case he had to retreat).<ref name=Shaara193/> Meanwhile, Breckinridge had managed to scrape together only two [[brigade]]s of Confederate infantry, a few cavalry, and 247 cadets from VMI in nearby [[Lexington, Virginia]].<ref name=WinemanEV/> On the morning of May 15, Breckinridge decided to remain on the [[Defense (military)|defensive]] since he had fewer soldiers and held the high ground. Siegel attacked but was quickly pushed back. Breckinridge saw he had an advantage and attacked the Union line in the afternoon during a heavy [[rainstorm]].<ref name=Shaara193/> He had intended to keep the cadets in reserve but now he needed them.<ref name=WinemanEV/> Siegel was forced back across the Shenandoah and this time burned the bridge behind him.<ref name=WinemanEV/>

== Aftermath ==
There were about 831 Union casualties. About 96 were killed, 479 wounded, and 256 were reported captured or missing.<ref name=WinemanEV/> The Confederates had about 577 casualties. Of these, 43 were killed, 534 were wounded, captured or missing.<ref name=WinemanEV/> In total, 10 VMI cadets lost their lives. The Battle of New Market is mainly remembered for the VMI Corps of Cadets who fought there and for those who died there. Beginning in 1878, VMI has held a formal [[ceremony]] every year.<ref name=ceremonyVMI>{{cite web |url=http://www.vmi.edu/archives/civil-war-and-new-market/battle-of-new-market/new-market-ceremony-history/ |title=New Market Ceremony History |publisher=Virginia Military Institute |access-date=1 September 2016}}</ref> About the same time they began the [[France|French]] [[custom]] of the roll call (reading the names out loud) of the dead who had been killed at New Market.<ref name=ceremonyVMI/> At each ceremony, a cadet is selected to answer for each of the 10 cadets who were killed. On the name being called, the cadet answers: "Died on the field of honor."<ref name=ceremonyVMI/>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nko8Ek4KDE The Battle Of New Market: 150th Anniversary; YouTube]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82aU6Grp2q8 Battle of New Market: Field of Lost Shoes; YouTube]

{{American Civil War |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:American Civil War battles|New Market]]
[[Category:1864 in Virginia]]
[[Category:May events]]
[[Category:1864 events]]