VMI Casualties
The battle was not without its cost to the VMI Cadet Corps. Forty-eight cadets were wounded. The following ten cadets were killed outright or died later of wounds:
| Cadet | Hometown | Rank and Company | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Francis Atwill Class of 1866 (Sophomore) |
Atwillton, Virginia | Cadet Corporal Company A |
Died 66 days after the battle (20 July) at the home of Dr Stribling in Staunton Buried at VMI |
| William Henry Cabell Class of 1865 (Junior) |
Richmond, Virginia | Cadet First Sergeant Company D |
Killed in action Buried at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond |
| Charles Gay Crockett Class of 1867 (Freshman) |
Virginia | Cadet Private Company D |
Killed in action Buried at VMI in 1960 |
| Alva Curtis Hartsfield Class of 1866 (Sophomore) |
Wake County, North Carolina | Cadet Private Company D |
Died 42 days after the battle (26 June) in a Petersburg hospital Unmarked grave in Petersburg |
| Luther Cary Haynes Class of 1867 (Freshman) |
Essex County, Virginia | Cadet Private Company B |
Died 31 days after the battle (15 June) at the old Powhatan Hotel Hospital, Richmond Buried at his family home “Sunny Side” |
| Thomas Garland Jefferson Class of 1867 (Freshman) (a descendant of Thomas Jefferson) |
Amelia County, Virginia | Cadet Private Company B |
Died 3 days after the battle in a nearby private home Buried at VMI |
| Henry Jenner Jones Class of 1867 (Freshman) |
King William County, Virginia | Cadet Private Company D |
Killed in action Buried at VMI |
| William Hugh McDowell Class of 1867 (Freshman) (The Ghost Cadet by Elaine Marie Alphin) |
Beattie's Ford, North Carolina | Cadet Private Company B |
Killed in action Buried at VMI |
| Jaqueline Beverly Stanard Class of 1867 (Freshman) |
Orange, Virginia | Cadet Private Company B |
Killed in action Buried in Orange, VA |
| Joseph Christopher Wheelwright Class of 1867 (Freshman) |
Westmoreland County, Virginia | Cadet Private Company C |
Died 18 days after the battle (2 June) at the home of a doctor in Harrisonburg Buried at VMI |
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 Sir Moses 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 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. The name of each cadet who died is called, and a representative from the same company in today's Corps answers, "Died on the Field of Honor, Sir." A 3-volley salute is then carried out by a cadet honor guard, followed by an echoing, solemn version of Taps played over the parade ground. To culminate this ceremony, the entire Corps passes Virginia Mourning Her Dead in review.
Annually, the newly matriculated Rat Mass travels to the New Market Battlefield and recreates the famed charge of the VMI Corps of Cadets across the "Field of Lost Shoes", usually on a weekend. Four days prior to that, a march team consisting of first classmen (seniors) representing all companies and cadet government organizations depart from the Institute in Lexington, Virginia, and march 81 miles (130 km) to the New Market battlefield in honor of the grueling pace the VMI Corps set in May 1864.
The attack of the cadets was "reenacted" in the John Ford movie The Horse Soldiers, although for the plot it was moved to Mississippi.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of New Market