Battle of New Market

by William C. Davis

Reprint of the 1975 Doubleday original.

On May 15, 1864, at a little crossroads hamlet in Virginia, the fate of the Shenandoah Valley may have been decided and, with it, the ability of the Confederacy to survive in Virginia for another season.

The Battle of New Market is the story of one of those seemingly incredible hair’s-breadth miracles that now and then dot the Civil War landscape. A scratch force of hastily assembled Confederates, outnumbered up to the last minute, meets and decisively overcomes a superior Yankee army. A former vice president and onetime candidate for the presidency commands the Rebel forces. The Corps of Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute-some of them boys no older than fourteen-march to battle with the veterans, commencing a tradition and a legend that persist to this day.

All these and more make up the dramatic story of New Market, and are told here in the most thoroughly researched and clearly presented book ever written on this legendary battle. Courage and heroism, youth and manhood, North and South all meet compellingly in these pages, just as they met in the pelting rain on the battlefield that may have saved Virginia.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Civil War Eastern Theater, American History, Military History, 1864 Shenandoah Campaign

249 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Currently professor of history at Virginia Tech, William C. Davis has written over fifty books, most about the American Civil War. He has won the Jefferson Davis Prize for southern history three times, the Jules F. Landry Award for Southern history once, and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

For several years, he was the editor of the magazine Civil War Times Illustrated. He has also served as a consultant on the A&E television series Civil War Journal.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

William C. Davis's The Battle of New Market is an able account of a minor, but dramatic Civil War campaign. In May 1864 Franz Sigel's small Federal army based in West Virginia invaded the Shenandoah Valley in conjunction with Grant's Wilderness Campaign; opposing him was a scratch force of militia, cavalry and Virginia Military Institute cadets led by John Breckinridge. They met at New Market on May 15th, a dramatic back-and-forth battle which resulted in a decisive Confederate victory. Davis is a skilled narrative historian and he makes the ebb-and-flow of the fighting compelling, while also providing able sketches of the major personalities. Both commanders, interestingly, were more politicians than generals: Sigel, an exiled German revolutionary whose role in recruiting German immigrants to the Union cause ("I fights mit Sigel!") was judged to outweigh his meager tactical abilities; Breckinridge, a former Senator and Vice President from Kentucky who proved to be a surprisingly able commander. The book is highly readable though Davis is unconvincing when he tries to persuade readers that it was a decisive clash. Sigel was driven from the Valley, but the Federals returned soon afterwards, first in the person of the equally incompetent David Hunter and the much more able Phillip Sheridan, laying waste to the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy." The battle is remembered, if at all, for the role of the teenaged VMI cadets who played a crucial role in repulsing a key Federal assault and launching a decisive counterattack of their own (dramatized recently in a film, The Field of Lost Shoes). Still, Civil War buffs can look past the publisher's hype and enjoy a skilled recreation of this little-known battle.

[Sarah Bierle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written historical account of the Battle of New Market (1864). I appreciated how the book delved into background on the commanders, explained the topography, and highlighted the bravery of many units. Certainly the Virginia Military Institute cadets deserve recognition and glory, but the book reminds us that there were other units fighting at this battle too. Local civilians and aftermath are briefly mentioned.

Highly recommended as a basic book for understanding the whole battle.

[Derrick Lapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for new cadets entering Virginia Military Institute. I read prior to my Rat Year, and have re-read several times in the many, many, years since.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.45

[Matthew William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic work on the Shenandoah campaign of 1864! One of my favorite historians!!

[Pete Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takes a relatively small battle and show how it's strategic meaning reverberated throughout the Virginia theater of operations.

Great writing and a fun read!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many would consider the Battle of New Market insignificant when compared to battles such as Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Richmond. In this fight the students of the Virginia Military Institute marched out to join General John C. Breckinridge against a superior force to defend their community.
Of 258 students, some as young as 15, 57 were killed.

[Bruce A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Market, Virginia, my home town.

[Ken Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reading for a book of its type. Mr. Davis moves the story along at a swift pace while providing just the right amount of detail.

[Shelly♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good concise book on the Battle of New Market. Included lots of little human interest factoids. Would have like a few more maps.

[Roger Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent analysis of a very interesting and important battle in the Civil War.