Tuesday was spent exploring the “Valley Pike” between New
Market and Edinburg, Virginia. Valley
Pike is the traditional name given for the Indian trail and roadway which now is
designated as U.S. Route 11 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
New Market Battlefield Historic Park and Museum of the
Civil War
We started the day by carpooling from the campground to the
New Market Battlefield Historic Park and Museum of the Civil War in New Market,
Virginia. The Museum of the Civil War
commemorates the May 15, 1864 Battle of New Market with emphasis that the role of
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) cadets played in the battle. A Confederate army of 4,100 men,
which included 247 VMI cadets, forced Union Major General Franz Sigel and his
army out of the agriculturally rich Shenandoah Valley. Of the 43 Confederate soldiers
killed during the battle, ten were students from VMI.
Upon arrival at the museum, we watched the film “Field of
Lost Shoes” that depicts the 17 – 23 year old cadets as they prepared for battle
at the school and their march of 79 miles to New Market through the rain
everyday of the march. It shows their
love of Virginia and the Confederacy.
The film also shows how the cadets overcame their fear of war to bravely
march through the muddy battlefield to attack Union artillery. During their attack, many cadets lost their
shoes in the mud.
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| Our Ole Miss Recruit for VMI |
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| We Learn About the Battle of New Market |
We walked over some of the battlefield where the attack occurred and then into the Bushong House that was converted into a field hospital for a week after the battle.
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| The New Market Battlefield |
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| Inside the Bushong House |
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| Field Hospital |
As way to remember the battle and the cadets who died as
part of the battle, the New Market Day ceremony is an annual observance held at
VMI in front of the monument Virginia Mourning Her Dead, a memorial to
the New Market Corps, sculpted by Cavaliere Moses Ritter von Ezekiel, VMI Class
of 1866, who was a veteran of the battle. The names of all of the cadets in the
Corps of 1864 are inscribed on the monument, and six of the ten cadets who died
in the battle are buried at this site. The ceremony features the roll call of
the names of the cadets who lost their lives at New Market, a custom that began
in 1887. As the name of each cadet who died is called, a representative from the
same company in the modern Corps answers, "Died on the Field of Honor,
Sir."
Edinburg Mill
After a picnic lunch, we traveled north to Edinburg, VA to the Edinburg Mill. This is a three-story building filled with “stuff” that represented life in the Shenandoah Valley over the years. I’m sure that some people really enjoy seeing all of the antiques, but the building was just jam-pack full of stuff.
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| Connie Feeds the Ducks Behind the Edinburg Mill |
While at the mill, we watched the film “The Burning” that
told the story of Union General Philip Sheridan’s march through the Shenandoah
Valley. This was 12-day period when
Union forces brought war to the residents of the valley. The Union cavalry systematically torched mills,
barns, homes, crops, supplies, and anything considered a possible aid to the
Confederate effort. Fortunately, the
Edinburg Mill was spared the torch because the owner, Major George Grandstaff had
served in the Mexican Wars. General
Sheridan, out of respect for Major Grandstaff, ordered that the building to be
saved.
Lagniappe (a little something extra)
After leaving the Edinburg Mill, we traveled to a huge covered
bridge. While there, a group of people
went in search of, and found, a geocache located under the bridge.
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| We Explore the Covered Bridge |
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| It Sure is a Dark Place |
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| Where is That Darn Geocache? |
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| Let's Look at This Tree |
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| Is This Your Little Geocache? |
