The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-07-03
THRILLING STORY
From the Records of the Corps of
Cadets of the
MILITARY ACADEMY.
In the War or Southern Intlcpcbd
encc. The caIlan, Charge OF
the Boy Battalion nj
Now Market
New Market.

Now Market.
| 1t is 4 record lIncxamplcd in his
| tory, this story Of some two hundred
and twenty-five boys, under IS, par
ticipating in a sanguinary and hard
| fought battle, where the service they
rendered was so timely and effective,
that it materially contributed To the
fortunes Of The day. In the month
OF May, 1861, three battles were
fought on the soil Of Virginia. Two
were on the eastern side of tho Blue
Ridge Mountains, and one in the
famous Valley of the Shenandoah,
where still! walked the wrath Of Stone
| wall Jackson, dead aL ChancclUrSvillc c
the May previous. The gigantic con
flictS Of the Wilderness and SpottSyl.
vanla Court House, May 5 to and
May s to Is, which ill so large space
| on the canvas Of one of the worlds
greatest wars, would inevitably throw
into the shade the small battle In the
valley, but for tho romantic circum-
stance that on the Confederate side
i5 was partly fought by the CADETS Of
the Virginia Military AcadLutc. Net
the battle OF New Market was III itself
no insignificant factor in the defence
OF Virginia and tho protection of the
Confederate Capital.
The Federal general, Sigcl, who had
established himself at Winchester, in
April, had 4 force of about 5000 in
fantry, $500 cavalry and three or
four field batteries, and was making
ready for Il forward movement. TO
meet him, Gen lmbodin, Of the Con-
fcdcratc cavalry, who was in camp in
Rockingham County, over seventy
miles from Winchester, advanced with
Il force of ,l92 men and 100 scouts,
who operated in Sigcl's front and rear.
The reserves" of Rockingham and
| Augusta counties, about 900 men.
| were notified TO be ready ut Il mo-
ment'S warning to join -lmbolcn, and
The same order was Sent. to the COM
mandant Of the Virginia Military In
SIitute. lmbodcn'S Skilful tactics
granted him Il respite of several days,
| which enabled Gen. I1rcckinridge to
reach him from Southwest Virginia
with $500 veteran troops. Brock
| inrdgc then took command, and the
battle of New Market was fought on
the 9th OF May. The scene of the
conflict "a ittlef fyil llage with las p;opnla4l
tiona OF one soul 60.
between the mountains and the river,
in Shenandoah County, its undmlating
ground smiling with orchards and
gardens and fertile fields of grain.
The cadets left the Institute on the
llth OF May. Tllcy were UP before
daybreak making their preparations,
and, after an early breakfast were on
| the march. With the ardor OF youth
they went ioyfnlly to the fray. One
OF them, ten years later, recalled the
sensations of the hour us the most
joyous moment of his lifc.m The bows
in their gayety and eXubcrant spirits
shouted and sang and whiStlcd rs they
swung along, all OF them joining, now
and then, in the chorS of some favorite
air. Arrived IT Staunton they had
yet forty miles 20 make before reach
ing New Market. 1T proved a long
and toilsomc march altogether, of
four days duration, through falling
A'iaii ot'N "SS hSlOo fstlNl IilllQy
Rut the battle day dawncd bright and
beautiful, though Il terrific thunder
storm came later, minghng its tcrrors
and grandeur with the thunder of the
guns. The boy battalion on their ar
rival were quickly in line, having been
assigned central position so as to be
as little exposed as possible. The
gallant Kcntuckian in command,
gentle and brave, and one of the
handSomcSt men to he found in either
army, on whom had fallen the man
tie, and with it The spirit, Of Stone
wall jackson, looked tcndcrly upon
the youths, called from their stu lies
to face a field Of battle, and would
ram have spared them the fiery
ordeal
Hiding up to the :adct corps, Just
before The engagement, his graceful
and commanding figure Il conspicuous
object on the field, Gen lircckinridge
said: Young gentlemen, | hope |
Will not have to call upon you to-day,
but know if | should be obliged to
do so that you will do your duty" And
nobly did they respond to this expccta-
tion. The battle was progressing
successfully for the Confedcratcs,
though stubbornly contested by the
Union forces. when Il terrible fire met
lsrcckinridgc from one Of Sigcrs
batteries, which was on elevated
ground, doing much damage to the
Confederate infantry. 1T was then.
at about2 O'clock III the day. that
the cadets were called into action,
though they had already suffered
several casualties from random shells.
The boys, with The agility and en-
thuSiasn of their years, ontran the
veterans who were alongside of them.
crossing Il deep and rock gully about
three hundred yards from the battery.
under The concentrated fire OF its six
guns, plunging through thorns and
brcrS and over fallen logs and stllmps
Of trees. Then they waited for the
CID Virginia regiment some two or
three minutes, keeping their forma-
ton With wonderful GOODNESS while
the battery was doing its deadly work
upon their youthful ranks. When
the order was given to charge, the en-
counter was soon over, though the
gunncrS stood gallantly to their guns
until ovcrpowercd. a cadet mounted
Il casson and waved from it in
triumph the Virginia State flag. Lhc
coorS of the institute, rolsing a wild
yell Of triumph from the Confcdcr-
atcS.
There was then a general advance