On May 15, 1864, at New Market in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, a small Union force commanded by German-born Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel clashed with Confederates led by Maj. Gen. John C. Breckenridge, the former Vice President of the United States and a Democratic presidential candidate in 1860. Sigel's advance up the Valley was part of Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant's overall strategy to put pressure on all Confederate armies in Virginia simultaneously. The resulting battle was an all-day, sprawling engagement that included heavy fighting inside the small crossroads town in Shenandoah County, and the famous charge of the Virginia Military Institute cadets on the Bushong farm.
Learn more about this remarkable battle from the National Army Museum's John Maass and Kevin M. Walker, Chief Executive Officer of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation as they discuss key elements of the conflict including General Sigel's leadership, civilians in the town during the fighting, parts of the battlefield rarely visited today, and the action on the field where Union army hopes of victory were violently dashed.
*This program will occur twice: Tuesday, November 1 at 7pm (virtual only) and Tuesday, November 8 at 12pm (virtual and in-person at the museum).