A Genuine Relic

At the Battle of New Market, fought on May 15, 1864, a 3 inch rifle shell fired by Snow’s Maryland Battery struck this post while General John C. Breckinridge sat on his horse in the middle of the Pike about 5 yards away, raising his field glass to observe the enemy’s position, with his staff grouped a few yards to the rear. The battery was positioned on top of a hill about 1200 yards north and 150 yards east of the Valley Pike, now known as U.S. Route No. 11. In the battle between Breckinridge and General Franz Sigel, 221 cadets of the Virginia Military Institute served in the infantry and 30 in a section of artillery; nine cadets were killed and forty-seven wounded. The battle ended in a complete Confederate victory, and the fleeing Federal forces crossed the North Fork of the Shenandoah River near Mt. Jackson, burned the bridge, and escaped further pursuit, ending the battle. Through the gap in Massanutten Mountain east of New Market, the armies of General Stonewall Jackson passed back and forth three or four times during the Civil War of 1861–65.

New Market, Virginia · United States