Conditions Governing Use

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

New Market collection, 1894-1915. MS 0002. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

The Civil War Battle of New Market, Virginia took place on May 15, 1864. The Virginia Military Corps of Cadets participated as a unit in this engagement, and ten cadets were killed or died later as a result of their wounds. The battle was fought in response to Union General Franz Sigel's march up the Shenandoah Valley from Winchester towards Staunton, Virginia. The Confederate force then in the Valley, commanded by General John Imboden, was reinforced at Staunton by troops commanded by General John C. Breckinridge, and by the VMI cadets commanded by Major Scott Shipp. The Confederate troops marched north where the battle took place on the afternoon of May 15. At about 4 p.m., Sigel ordered a retreat and fell back to Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

The individuals largely responsible for compiling this collection had strong ties to VMI and to the battle. Henry A. Wise, the son of John Cropper Wise and Anne Finney, was born in Accomac County, Virginia in May 1842. He graduated from VMI in 1862 and served in the Confederate Army until he was captured and paroled, also in 1862. During the period of his parole, he returned to VMI as a faculty member and tactical officer. Wise was in command of Cadet Company A at the Battle of New Market and took command of the Cadet Battalion after Scott Shipp was wounded. After the War, Wise resumed his career as an educator in the Tidewater area (Virginia) and in Baltimore, Maryland. He died in Norfolk, Virginia on July 11, 1918.

Benjamin Azariah Colonna, the son of John Wilkins Colonna and Margaret Jones, was born in Accomac County, Virginia in October 1843. He graduated from VMI in 1864 and, while at VMI, took part in the Battle of New Market as Cadet Captain of Company D. Following the War, Colonna worked as a surveyor and civil engineer. He maintained a lifelong interest in the battle and was responsible for the accurate mapping of the battlefield. He died in 1924 in Washington, D.C.

Scope and Contents

The New Market collection consists primarily of reminiscences of the Battle of New Market, Virginia (May 15, 1864) written by participants and other witnesses between 1894 and 1915. Written in response to specific inquiries and questionnaires, these memoirs were collected by various groups and individuals, including the VMI Alumni Association, author/historian Edward R. Turner, Henry A. Wise (VMI Class of 1862) and Benjamin A. Colonna (VMI Class of 1864). In addition to VMI cadet participants, information was received from veterans of other Confederate units, from Union soldiers, and from a small number number of eyewitnesses who were citizens of the town of New Market at the time of the battle.

Some of the responses are very detailed, while others contain little information other than the fact of participation. The accounts collected by Colonna reflect his particular interest in troop movements and positions, and in mapping the battlefield.

In addition to the memoirs, the collection also includes: Colonna's map of the battlefield and materials relating to the creation of the map Four documents (1864) related to the 34th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army units at the battle Printed material

Separated Material

Oversized items have been removed and are located in oversized case, manuscripts.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Artillery—Chapman's Battery
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Cavalry Regiment, 18th
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Cavalry Regiment, 23rd
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Infantry Regiment, 22nd
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Infantry Regiment, 26th
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Infantry Regiment, 62nd
• Confederate States of America. Army—Virginia Infantry, Regiment, 51st
• Correspondence
• Maps
• Memoirs
• Military maps
• New Market Cadets
• New Market, Battle of, New Market, Va., 1864—Personal narratives
• United States. Army—Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 18th (1862-1865)
• United States. Army—Maryland Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861-1865)
• United States. Army—Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 34th (1862-1865)
• United States. Army—New York Cavalry Regiment, 15th (1863-1865)
• United States. Army—New York Cavalry Regiment, 1st (1861-1865)
• United States. Army—New York Cavalry Regiment, 21th (1863-1866)
• United States. Army—Ohio Infantry Regiment, 123rd (1862-1865)
• United States. Army—Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 54th (1862-1865)
• United States. Army—West Virginia Infantry Regiment, 12th (1862-1865)
• United States. Army—West Virginia Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861-1864)
• United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Maps
• United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Personal narratives
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1864
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1865
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1866
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1867
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1869