On the morning at the beginning of the Battle of New Market, the western portion of the Union line on Manor's Hill was held by the 123rd Ohio Infantry and the 18th Connecticut Infantry, with the cannon of Battery G, 1st West Virginia Light Artillery Regiment, commanded by Capt. Chatham T. Ewing, behind them. Formerly known as the Plummer Guards, the battery had been formed in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1861 and offered its services to the Unionist government formed in Wheeling, VA. When Confederate Gen. John C. Breckinridge arrived on the field that morning, he placed artillery on Shirley's Hill and opened fire, and Federal guns, including Ewing's cannon, replied. For two hours the opposing cannoneers traded fire. At 11am, with the Federals showing no sign of attacking, Breckinridge ordered his infantry to advance. Maj. Peter Otey of the 30th Virginia Battalion later recalled that his battalion was ordered to drive in the enemy's skirmishers, bringing on the fight. Otey and his men advanced down Shirley's Hill toward the valley between the two hills, and although the Federals sent forward their own skirmishers, one Connecticut soldier recalled that they found the Confederates too thick and had to fall back. Breckinridge's main force then descended Shirley's Hill. Most hurried, but the young VMI Corps of Cadets marched in parade-ground fashion, exposing them to artillery fire that wounded five cadets. After a pause at the base of Manor's Hill, Breckinridge ordered his troops forward on a wide front that outflanked the Union line. Advancing up the slopes, the Confederates used their rifle butts to knock rails from a fence in their way. A Union artilleryman remembered a cold chill running down their backs as they watched the approach, but when the Confederates reached the rise they met little resistance. The only significant fighting here was a brief clash between the 18th Connecticut and the 51st Virginia. By the time Union Gen. Franz Sigel arrived on the field, he had already begun abandoning this position and withdrawing his troops north.