Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was a battle fought on May 15 , 1864 , in Virginia during Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War . A small Confederate army , which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute ( V . M . I . ) , forced Union Major General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah Valley . Background . In the spring of 1864 , Union commander in chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S . Grant set in motion a grand strategy designed to press the Confederacy into submission . Control of the strategically important and agriculturally rich Shenandoah Valley was a key element in Grant ' s plans . While he confronted General Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia in the eastern part of the state , Grant ordered Major General Franz Sigel ' s army of 10 , 000 to secure the Valley and threaten Lee ' s flank , starting the Valley Campaigns of 1864 . Sigel was to advance on Staunton , Virginia in order to link up with another Union column commanded by George Crook , which would advance from West Virginia and destroy the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad and other Confederate industries in the area . Sigel ' s force totaled about 9 , 000 men and 28 cannons , divided into an infantry division commanded by Brig . Gen . Jeremiah C . Sullivan and a cavalry division commanded by Maj . Gen . Julius Stahel ( detachments made during the campaign reduced the Union force to about 6 , 300 by the time of the battle ) . Receiving word that the Union Army had entered the Valley , Major General John C . Breckinridge pulled together all available forces to repulse the latest threat . His command consisted of two infantry brigades under John C . Echols and Gabriel C . Wharton , a cavalry brigade commanded by John D . Imboden , and other independent commands . This included the cadet corps of VMI , which had an infantry battalion of 247 cadets commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ship and a two gun artillery section . Breckinridge concentrated his infantry at Staunton , while Imboden slowed Sigel ' s movement southward along the Valley . On the morning of May 13 , Breckingridge decided to move north to attack Sigel instead of waiting for Sigel to reach Staunton . By the evening of May 14 , Sigel ' s advance forces had reached a position north of the village of New Market , while Breckingridge was at Lacy ' s Springs eight miles south of New Market . The Confederates started towards the Union positions at 1 a . m . on May 15 , hoping to trap and crush the Union army . Battle . The two forces made contact south of New Market about mid - morning , with the main Union line west of the town near the North Forth 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 of the Shenandoah River 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 cadets 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 . About 11 a . m . , Breckinridge then decided to launch an attack on Moore using his infantry , while Imboden ' s brigade crossed Smith ' s Creek east of New Market , ride north , and recross the stream behind the Union lines . Stahel arrived at New Market at this time with additional troops , followed shortly afterwards by Sigel . 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 known as Bushong ' s Hill . 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 . Breckinridge reluctantly ordered the VMI cadet battalion to fill the gap ; while the battalion was moving forward to the Bushong orchard , Ship was wounded and was replaced by Captain Henry A . Wise . At this time , Sigel launched two counterattacks . On the Union left , Stahel launched a mounted charge with the cavalry but was routed , while three infantry regiments attacked on the Union right and were repulsed as well . After the repulses of the Union attacks , Breckinridge started his advance again shortly after 3 p . m . with his infantry force ; while crossing a field near Bushong ' s orchard , several VMI cadets lost their shoes in the mud , which led to the field being called the " Field of Lost Shoes " . As the Confederate line got closer to the Union artillery , Sigel ' s batteries were forced to retreat as the infantry started breaking towards the rear . Five cannons were abandoned to the Confederates , one of which was captured by the VMI cadet battalion . Battery B of the 5th U . S . Artillery , which had just arrived on the field , and two infantry regiments slowed the Confederate pursuit . At this time , Breckinridge halted his forces until the supply trains arrived to resupply the troops . While the infantry was being resupplied , Imboden arrived with his brigade with the news that the creek was too swollen to be crossed . Sullivan arrived during this time with the 28th and 116th Ohio Infantry ; Sigel managed to organize a rearguard on Rude ' s Hill , with Sullivan ' s infantry east of the turnpike , some of Stahel ' s cavalry west of the road , and the artillery behind the line . Due to the exhaustion of the men and low ammunition , Sigel decided to retreat back across the Shenandoah River to Mount Jackson . The Union army managed to cross the river and burn the bridge before the Confederates could catch up . Aftermath . Union casualties totaled 841 for the battle : 96 killed , 520 wounded , and 225 captured or missing , a casualty rate of 13 . 4 % . The Confederates lost 43 killed , 474 wounded , and 3 missing , 13 % of the army . The wounded from the battle were cared for in Bushong ' s barn and in the town at the Smith Creek Baptist church and a warehouse , while the dead were buried in the graveyard of St . Matthew ' s Lutheran Church . Sigel staged a rapid retreat northward to Strasburg , leaving the field and the Valley to Breckinridge ' s army . After learning of the Union defeat , Grant became furious and replaced Sigel with David Hunter ; Sigel was assigned to command the department ' s reserve division based in Harpers Ferry . Sergeant James Burns of the 1st West Virginia Infantry received the Medal of Honor in 1896 for saving the regimental flag in the battle . The Confederate victory allowed the local crops to be harvested for Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia and protected Lee ' s lines of communications to western Virginia . The Virginia newspapers and the Confederate soldiers in the battle compared Breckinridge to Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson . Following Sigel ' s retreat , Lee suggested that Breckinridge follow the Union army and invade Maryland ; however , the flooded rivers in the northern Shenandoah Valley and the length of his supply line prevented Breckinridge from making a pursuit . Breckinridge ' s forces were transferred to eastern Virginia , where they reinforced Lee ' s army at the Battle of Cold Harbor . VMI casualties . Forty - seven V . M . I . cadets were wounded in the battle . The following ten cadets were killed outright or mortally wounded : 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 , sculpted by Sir Moses Ezekiel , VMI Class of 1866 , who was a veteran of the battle . The names of all of the cadets in the Corps of 1864 are inscribed on the monument , and six of the ten cadets who died in the battle are buried at this site . The ceremony features the roll call of the names of the cadets who lost their lives at New Market , a custom that began in 1887 . As the name of each cadet who died is called , a representative from the same company in the modern Corps answers , " Died on the Field of Honor , Sir . " A 3 - volley salute is then carried out by a cadet honor guard , followed by Taps played over the parade ground . To culminate this ceremony , the entire Corps passes " Virginia Mourning Her Dead " in review .