The New Market Battlefield

On this day in 1864, students from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington participate in the Battle of New Market, Virginia, part of the multipronged Federal offensive in the spring of 1864 designed to take Virginia out of the war.
 
The Battle of New Market, Virginia was fought on this day in 1864. This battle was part of the Valley Campaigns in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), fought Federal Major General Franz Sigel and his army out of the Shenandoah Valley. This battlefield is known as the "Field of Lost Shoes." Virginia Military Institute Cadets lost their shoes in the mud during this rainy and bloody conflict.

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Thanks!

I really enjoy Bruce's web site www.civilwaralbum.com.

Our trip.....

* Winchester
* Kernstown
* Front Royal
* Cedar Creek
* Hupp's Hill
* Fisher's Hill
* Tom's Brook
* Rude's Hill
* New Market
* Harrisonburg
* Cross Keys
* Port Royal
* Piedmont
* Fort Johnson
* McDowell
That's spooky. We made the exact same trip in 2015. We stayed at the Massanutten resort and visited every site we could in the Valley. I was amazed by the help we got at the Cedar Creek visitors center in a strip mall in Middletown, VA. Great pictures, Bill.
 
Bushong Farm

Though I am not of wealth, I have a treasury of love for you..." These are the words Jacob Bushong wrote to his sweetheart, Sarah Strickler, in 1814. Four years later on March 5, 1818, they married. Jacob built a small log cabin for his bride, which is the 1818 House today.

Of their six children, only four lived to adulthood: Harrison, a mechanic and builder who died before he was forty; Elizabeth, a talented needle worker with a keen mind; Anderson, a farmer like his father and the first to marry and bring the joy of grandchildren to the farm; and Franklin, an artistic fellow who settled in the West before Civil War gripped the nation.

In 1864 the Bushong’s fertile fields of wheat became a battleground. Three generations of the family took shelter in the basement of their home. After the battle, they continued to live in the basement as their home became a hospital. Determined and strong, they rebuilt in the aftermath of war. The family continued to grow and continued to farm the land.

Not until 1942 did the property pass out of their hands. By 1944 it was owned by George Collins, VMI Class of 1911, and was on its way to becoming a permanent memorial to those participating in the Battle of New Market.

* The Bushong Farm at the New Market Battlefield.

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Been planning a trip "down" the valley, starting in Lexington and making my way north. Found Bill's trip notes very helpful. This place is on my list. Trying to figure how I can a) possibly sneak in a hike through the Shenandoah national park, and b) timing.
 
I've driven by the entrance on the interstate a hundred times and never stopped. I feel pretty dopey now....

I really enjoyed the visitor center. The movie is outdated by it is very informative. The museum starts at the first shot at Fort Sumter and ends with the surrender at the Appomattox Court House.

I was very impressed with the battlefield trail. The Bushong Farm complex is top notch!

Bill
 
I really enjoyed the visitor center. The movie is outdated by it is very informative. The museum starts at the first shot at Fort Sumter and ends with the surrender at the Appomattox Court House.

I was very impressed with the battlefield trail. The Bushong Farm complex is top notch!

Bill
Did you get to Bell Grove? I enjoyed it very much.
 
This is without doubt my favorite small Civil War battlefield. It is compact, very well maintained by the State of Virginia and tells a compelling story of the VMI cadets in their only battle. The Visitor Center is first rate and the Bushong Farmhouse is beautifully preserved. I hope to get back there again someday.
 
Dry...the fields and soil is pretty solid... put some rain on it and it immediately turns into a soupy bottomless quagmire... The Field of Lost Shoes also became the Field of Lost Fords, Chevys, Dodge's etc... farm tractors struggled to pull (drag) the vehicles out of the muddy abyss...
I know I'm a little late getting here,but that's funny.
 
I know I've mentioned this elsewhere in the forum but there is a very nice display of New Market/VMI artifacts at the American Freedom Museum in Bullard,Texas.
 
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