The Battle of New Market took place on May 15, 1864 and has been made famous in numerous films and literary works. Hundreds of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, many of them children, fought toe-to-toe with Union veterans, their small frames the only thing holding back the Federal blue tide. For years, the boys were honored in both Virginia and American history. New Market was a battle for the crucial Shenandoah Valley, the breadbasket of the South and a major southern transportation nexus. Tens of thousands of men met on the lush, mud-infused battlefield at the crossroads of New Market. This is the story of that battle. It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.

Download episode 84 here: download link

Maps and Images:

Extensive maps and images are posted to the definitive historical atlas of the Battle of New Market located here.

Music Source:

Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio /// website: karlcasey.bandcamp.com

References:

Seed corn of the Confederacy : the story of the cadets of the Virginia Military Institute at the Battle of New Market by James Gindlesperger (1997)

The Battle of New Market by William Davis (1975).

Long gray lines: The Southern military school tradition by Rod Andrew.

Cadets at war: the true story of teenage heroism at the Battle of New Market by Susan Beller

The Battle of New Market. A story of V.M.I. by Paxton Davis

Valley thunder: The Battle of New Market by Charles Knight (2011).

Harrison, L.H. (1951). John Breckinridge: Western statesman. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. New York University.

Engle, S.D. (1989). Yankee Dutchman: A biography of Franz Sigel. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Florida State University.

Van Kirk, J.A. (1937). The public career of John Breckinridge. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Northwestern University.

Tucker, M.T. (1968). Political leadership in the Illinois-Missouri German Community, 1836- 1872. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Illinois.

Work, D. (2004). Lincoln’s political generals. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Texas A&M University.

Shapira, Ian. December 7, 2020. “VMI removes statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson after long resistance.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vmi-stonewall-jackson-statue-removed/2020/12/07/a4721c98-3891-11eb-9276-ae0ca72729be_story.html

Moody, Josh. January 30, 2022. “VMI Leader Issues Rare Public Rebuke of Alumnus.”
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/01/31/vmi-leader-issues-rare-public-rebuke-alumnus