September 29th, 1864 – The Battle of New Market Heights

Conflict: American Civil War

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: Virginia (USA)

Outcome: Confederate victory

In a coordinated drive into the Shenandoah Valley, 10,000 Federal troops marching out of Cedar Creek were attacked by 5,000 Confederate soldiers under General John Breckinridge. The Federal General Franz Sigel failed to bring his entire force to bear and had to retreat. The battle is noteworthy for the fielding of Virginia Military Institute cadets among the Confederate forces. The Confederates lost 577 men against 831 casualties for the Union.

The Charge of the New Market Cadets, by Benjamin W. Clinedinst

Points of Interest:

• Among the Confederate casualties were 10 killed and 47 wounded cadets along with the death of their professor, Scott Shipp.

• After the defeat at New Market Heights, General U.S. Grant replaced Sigel with General David Hunter.

Portrait of Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel, officer of the Federal Army by an unknown photographer

John C. Breckinridge CSA by an unknown artist

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Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.

Catton, Bruce (1955). This Hallowed Ground. Kingsport, Tennessee: Kingsport Press, Inc.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Hogue, James M. & McPherson, James M. (2009). Ordeal By Fire. New York: MaGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.