Military
20
The Battle of New Market began here at 2:00 p.m. when 4,500 Confederates under the command of Generals John C. Breckinridge and Gabriel C. Wharton attacked 6,000 Federal troops who had established this hill as their first defensive position. Fully 90% of the day's casualties were sustained here, with the Confederates outmaneuvering and outfighting General Franz Sigel's Union troops on all fronts. By 2:45 p.m., Sigel was compelled to retreat to a second defensive position one mile north of here. In hot pursuit, Breckinridge drove him to yet a third defensive position at Rude's Hill, then forced him to flee across the Shenandoah River. The battle, which saw 149 men killed, 994 wounded, and 228 missing, marked the last Confederate victory in the Shenandoah Valley.
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New Market, Virginia · United States
