New Market
May 15, 1864
For the spring of 1864, Grant planned to apply simultaneous pressure to as many points of the Confederacy as possible. Sherman advanced on Atlanta. Butler's Army of the James moved upriver to take Richmond while Meade's Army of the Potomac tried to destroy Lee. In southwest Virginia, Averell's cavalry was to destroy the saltworks at Saltville, join Crook who was to destroy the railroad bridge over the New River, and together move on the vital rail center of Lynchburg. There they were to meet up with a force approaching from the Shenandoah Valley under Franz Sigel. Crook defeated a rebel force at Cloyds Mountain and joined Averell, who decided against attacking the salt works. Crook heard nothing concerning Sigel and withdrew to West Virginia.
Sigel had advanced slowly up the Shenandoah Valley with his forces badly strung out, opposed only by Confederate cavalry under Imboden. Commanding the Confederate district of Southwest Virginia, former Vice President of the United States John C. Breckinridge made a bold decision. Leaving McCausland's brigade to deal with Crook and Averell, he moved Wharton's brigade from Dublin and Echols' brigade from Lewisburg north into the Shenandoah. Here they were joined by 1,000 nearly useless home guards and around 250 cadets from the Virginia Military Institute. Upon learning that his cavalry had skirmished with the Yankees on May 14th, Breckinridge ordered his men north in a night march from Lacy's Springs in the early hours of May 15th.
Shirley's Hill
This is the view looking north from Shirley's Hill. In the early daylight hours of May 15th, Confederate artillery and infantry deployed here facing Union troops across the valley on Manor Hill. Union cavalry screened the area on the left of the picture known as Indian Hollow. The northern end of this hollow would figure later on in the climax of the battle. Union infantry were deployed starting on Manor Hill and extended to the Smith River in the Valley on the right of the picture. Breckinridge deployed his infantry extending toward the river in such a way as to exaggerate his numbers. He also sent Imboden's cavalry on a failed mission further to the right across the river then north to capture a vital Union bridge on the Union line of retreat. On the right of the picture is the town of New Market.
Manor Hill
Here stood the Union line, right behind the Days Inn, which along with a private museum, have only recently spoiled the site. This single picture frame best shows the view of the Union troops without the modern intrusions. Only a fraction of the Union force held the line, as most of the army had not yet arrived. Breckinridge waited on the defensive, then after 11am sent his infantry on the attack. The Union line held briefly, then fell back. A few hundred yards to the rear they made a brief stand before joining reinforcements further back on Bushong Hill. The coming battle on Bushong Hill, like the fighting before, was fought through thunderstorms.
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From the Hall of Valor Breckinridge continued the advance past Manor Hill. This is the view from the Confederate left which continued its advance along the ridgeline which extends north from Manor Hill. On the far right of the picture is New Market Gap, which cuts through the Massanutten, a massive mountain that divides the Shenandoah Valley. In the spring of 1862 Stonewall Jackson moved through this gap on his way to attack Front Royal. From this position the Confederate infantry were unable to see their comrades on the right flank advancing along the Valley Pike, now Route 11, but they could see Union artillery and infantry on the ridgetop in the distance. The Union flank was anchored on a cliff overlooking the Shenandoah River. The advance took the Confederates through the Bushong Farm. Toward the Confederate center, troops moved past the house and through the orchard. These troops took heavy casualties. Here on the left, the men had to negotiate two fence-lines before advancing on the ridge. On the far left of the picture is the end of Indian Hollow. The Confederates who had advanced through the hollow had been largely sheltered from Union fire, but they were now forced to the right as they approached the cliff and essentially formed a second line of infantry.
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