Battle of New Market Facts

Date

• May 15, 1864

Location

• Shenandoah County, Virginia

Campaign

• Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864
• Lynchburg Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Major General Franz Sigel

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Major General John C. Breckinridge

Union Forces Engaged

• Department of West Virginia

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Department of Western Virginia

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 6,275

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 4,090

Estimated Union Casualties

• 840 (killed (96), wounded, captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 540 (killed (43), wounded, captured/missing)

Result

• Confederate victory

Significance

• The Battle of New Market was the opening Battle of the Lynchburg Campaign (May–June 1864) and of the larger Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864.
• Among the Confederate soldiers who fought at the Battle of New Market were 257 Virginia Military Institute cadets, some as young as fifteen years of age.
• The Confederate commander at the Battle of New Market, Major General John C. Breckinridge, was a U.S. presidential candidate who lost to Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1860.
• Among the Confederate casualties at the Battle of New Market were 10 Virginia Military Institute cadets who were killed and 57 who were injured.
• The Confederate victory at the Battle of New Market left the Shenandoah Valley in Confederate hands for most of the summer of 1864.
• After the Battle of New Market, Union commander Franz Sigel was relieved of his command and replaced by Major General David Hunter.
• On June 12, 1864, Union Major General David Hunter ordered the burning of the Virginia Military Institute after his troops occupied Lexington, Virginia.

Timeline of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864

These are the main battles and events of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 in order.

• May 15, 1864 — Battle of New Market
• June 5, 1864 — Battle of Piedmont
• June 17–18, 1864 — Battle of Lynchburg
• July 9, 1864 — Battle of Monocacy
• July 11–12, 1864 — Battle of Fort Stevens
• September 19, 1864 — Battle of Opequon
• September 22, 1864 — Battle of Fisher’s Hill
• October 9, 1864 — Battle of Tom’s Brook
• October 19, 1864 — Battle of Cedar Creek