Battle of New Market Anniversary Programs
“The heavens were literally blackened with shells and canister”:
Artillery at the Battle of New Market
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and its partners are presenting a series of programs to commemorate the 159th Anniversary of the Battle of New Market - highlighting the actions and role of artillery during the fighting.
The programs are free, but pre-registration is requested. (In order to help with logistics and planning.) Registrants will receive additional information, including maps and driving and parking directions, prior to the events. To register, click here
For more information, email info@svbf.net.
Schedule for the Day
9 am Artillery Demonstration and Program:
10 am "Mothers & the Battle of New Market: Another Look at Civilians' War Experiences” – Sarah Kay Bierle
11 am Artillery Demonstration and Program:
Noon “A Cold Chill Runs Down Our Backs”: Artillery on Manor’s Hill – Ron Minor
1 pm Artillery Demonstration and Program:
2 pm “The Air Seemed Alive With Bullets”: Artillery on the Rice Farm – Keven Walker
3 pm Artillery Demonstration and Program:
3-5pm Keith Rocco Print Signing (Strayer House)
4 pm “I Could See the Shells Mow Them Down” Artillery on Bushong’s Hill – Aaron Siever
6 pm Closing Commemorative Program on Battery Heights – Keven Walker
Program Details
Artillery Demonstration
9:00 am
New Market Battlefield Military Museum, 9500 George Collins Parkway, New Market
Mothers & the Battle of New Market: Another Look at Civilians' War Experiences – Sarah Kay Bierle
10:00 am
United Methodist Church, 9330 N. Congress St., New Market
Come explore the civilian experience under fire through the lens of motherhood...it is Mother's Day Weekend, after-all. During the Battle of New Market on May 15, civilians were caught in the crossfire of artillery and rifle fire as soldiers in blue and gray fought through the streets of the town and in the surrounding fields. New mothers found hiding places for their infants, others sheltered with their children in cellars, while far from the battle some mothers would receive news of narrow escapes or tragedies that happened at New Market. The idea of motherhood also carried into the memory of New Market as local women held a maternal role toward veterans and in the burials and remembrances of fallen soldiers.
Artillery Demonstration
11:00 am
New Market Battlefield Military Museum, 9500 George Collins Parkway, New Market
“A Cold Chill Runs Down Our Backs”: Artillery on Manor’s Hill – Ron Minor
Noon
New Market Battlefield Military Museum, 9500 George Collins Parkway, New Market
Artillery action on Manor’s Hill started on the afternoon of May 14 – the day before the battle – when Federals on the height exchanged fire with Confederate guns on Shirley’s Hill. “The firing was kept up until dark,” one Federal remembered. The next day, the Battle of New Market began with a thunderous two-hour artillery duel between Confederate and Union cannon, including the Federal guns on Manor’s Hill commanded by Capt. Chatham T. Ewing. This program will cover those artillery actions on May 14 and 15, the larger battle around it, and the importance of the Manor’s Hill position.
Artillery Demonstration
1:00 pm
New Market Battlefield Military Museum, 9500 George Collins Parkway, New Market
“The Air Seemed Alive With Bullets”: Artillery on the Rice Farm – Keven Walker
2:00 pm
Stanley Hall, Rice Property, 9137 North Congress Street, New Market
When the Federals were forced to withdraw from their initial Manor’s Hill/River Road line, they first fell back to a new line around the Rice Farm on the northern edge of town, which included the Rice House – Stanley Hall. (The house was used as a headquarters by Union Gen. Franz Sigel during the battle, and as a hospital after it.) The new line included 6 Napoleon cannon commanded by Union Capt. Alfred von Kleiser that were positioned along the Valley Turnpike on the Rice Farm. When a new artillery duel broke out, von Kleiser’s guns – the closest guns to the advancing Confederates – endured the bulk of the southerners’ fire. This program will explore the artillery actions on the Rice Farm, the experiences of von Kleiser’s guns, and the Confederate attack that surged against the Rice Farm line.
Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm
New Market Battlefield Military Museum, 9500 George Collins Parkway, New Market
Print Signing with Keith Rocco
3:00-5:00 pm
The Strayer House (SVBF Headquarters), 9386 S. Congress St., New Market
Celebrated historical artist Keith Rocco will be at the Strayer House from 3-5 pm to sign limited-edition canvas giclees of painting, “They Were Ready For Us": The VMI Guns and the Union Cavalry Charge at the Battle of New Market. Donors who give $500 or more to preserve the Battery Heights property - the centerpiece of the painting - will receive a free copy of the print. The prints are only available to donors.
“They Were Ready For Us” depicts Union Maj. Gen. Julius Stahel’s cavalry charge during the Battle of New Market, as seen from the Confederate defensive line on Battery Heights. Shown at left center are VMI cadets working their two-gun section of guns, watched over by VMI Cadet Collier Minge. The lead portion of Stahel’s attacking cavalry can be seen at right on the Valley Turnpike. In the middle, just in the distance, is the 22nd Virginia Infantry, commanded during the battle by Colonel George S. Patton (grandfather of the future World War II hero). Smoke from the furious fighting on the Bushong Farm is visible on the horizon. The painting was generously commissioned by SVBF member Brian Mattingly to support the foundation’s efforts to preserve and interpret the Battery Heights property.
“I Could See the Shells Mow Them Down” Artillery and the Fighting on Bushong’s Hill – Aaron Siever
4:00 pm
Virginia Museum of the Civil War, 8895 George Collins Parkway, New Market
While the Federals on the Rice Farm were soon overwhelmed, their brief stand gave the Federals enough time to create a new, much stronger line on Bushong’s Hill, bristling with 12 cannon. When the Confederates launched their next attack, the Union cannon on the hill ripped into the southerners. “I could see the shells mow them down by scores...” one Union soldier remembered. “[T]he first rebel line melted away.” Torn apart by the fire, the left center of the Confederate line fell back, leaving a dangerous gap – a gap that would be filled by the 26th Virginia Battalion and the young VMI Corps of Cadets. This program will look at the pivotal role that Union artillery played in repulsing the Confederate attack – and how the rifle fire of Confederate infantryman would soon force the withdrawal of the guns, leading to the success of the climactic southern assault.
Closing Commemorative Program on Battery Heights
6:00 pm
Battery Heights/Buhl Property, behind Budget Inn, 2912 Old Valley Pike, New Market
Battery Heights was the position of the Confederate line – with artillery at the center – that repulsed the Union cavalry attack during a decisive moment during the battle, helping the Confederates regain the initiative and leading to the final decisive southern assault. (This is the cavalry charge portrayed in Keith Rocco’s painting, “They Were Ready For Us”; see above for more information.) This closing commemorative program hosted by SVBF CEO Keven Walker will look back at that story, honor the men who fell here, celebrate the preservation of the property, and conclude with a thunderous 10-cannon artillery barrage.