The Shadow
BY ANNIE SINK
A beautiful, spring day dawned in Lexington on May 10, 1864.
It was a special day for all of Lexington because it was the anniversary of the death of Stonewall Jackson.
A special ceremony was held at the cemetery where Gen. Thomas J. Jackson had been buried and an honor guard had been selected from the cadets to raise a flag over the grave.
Sometime after midnight, that night the cadets were awakened to the long drum roll—which was their call to assembly.
They ran out to the parade ground, many still half asleep where they were ordered to fall in, after which the roll was called.
Adjutant Cary Weston then read a dispatch from Confederate Gen. John Breckinridge that he had sent to Superintendent Francis Smith.
The message read as follows, “Sigel is moving up the valley. Was at Strasburg last night. I cannot tell whether this is his destination. I would be glad to have your assistance at once with the cadets and the section of artillery. Bring all the forage and rations you can. Have the reserves of Rockbridge ready, and let them send at once for arms and ammunition if they cannot be supplied at Lexington.”
The cadets’ hearts were pounding with excitement because many of the boys had written to their parents asking permission to leave the institute to fight in the war.
None had been granted permission.
They They were told that because Gen. Smith was ill, Col. Gilham would go in his place and Major Scott Ship, a 24 year old graduate from the institute who now served as a commander of cadets, would lead them on the field.
Some, however, would be selected to remain behind as guards.
Major Ship wanted to talk to the boys briefly, as he faced the young boys, so full of romantic ideas about the war.
He told them that they would leave at daybreak and to take two days rations and they would get more food and supplies along the way.
They were each supplied with 40 rounds of ammunation.
The cadets who were to stay behind as guards were chosen and the others were told to be on the parade ground at 4 a.m. with blankets, full haversacks, and full canteens.
The corps, being a military institute already, had ammunition, tents, rifles, and knapsacks, but they had to be loaded onto wagons. The Boys staying behind were assigned this task.
Gen. Smith ordered 500 pounds of bacon, 100 bushels of corn, and as much hay that could fit in the wagons.
They would pick up 64 barrels of flour in Staunton.
Breakfast was served by candle light, though the boys were too excited to eat.
They stuffed rolls and biscuits into their knapsacks for the march.
When assembled, Ship told te boys the artillery’s departure would leave a few hours later because they hadn’t been able to find enough horses on such short notice.
He ordered the musicians to the front as the boys began stepping out. As they crossed a wodden bridge, the Institute disappeared.
Some of them had seen it for the last time.
It was late morning when the cadets, under commander Ship, turned north at the Valley Turnpike and set a steady pace.
As the day wore on, the boys’ lively chatter turned into complaining.
The older boys’ were remembering other times they had been called out, but were never allowed to go into battle.
Some felt it would be different this time.
A lot of the cadets were experiencing severe foot pain due to the hot surface of the road.
Their corps surgeon frequently dismounted to let one of the boys ride.
Commander Ship instructed the boys to stop for a short rest.
Mid-afternoon, Ship called a halt to make early camp. After their evening meal, while sitting around the fire, a soft rumble was heard in the distance.
They wondered if it was artillery, but decided it was thunder.
Soon rain began to fall and there would be no more dust for the rest of their expidition. Their artillery arrived in camp that night.
Ship ordered the cadets, wet and muddy, into rank the next morning after breakfast, with the artillery falling in behind company D.
Mid-morning, they passed a group of soldiers resting by the side of the road, and they said unkind things to the cadets.
They called them, “The Kiddy Corps,” and asked if their mothers knew that they were playing soldier with the big boys.
Rain then continued to fall.
Ship roade into Staunton that afternoon to meet Gen. Breckenridge and eas told to have the corps continue moving down the valley the next day.
Upon reaching Staunton that evening, the boys were again subjected to smart remarks by veteran soldiers.
Ship ordered them to remain silent. They made camp that night in a drizzle and awoke the morning of the third day to light rain.
That day, they met people in carriages leaving to avoid the union Gen. Franz Sigel’s advance.
Behind there were farmers driving their cattle, hogs, sheep, even ducks, and geese.
That night they set up camp south of Harrisonburg.
The next morning, May 14, the cadets awoke soaked to the skin, as it was still raining.
Except for the rain, the day was uneventful. That night John Wise was standing guard dutyand just after midnight, he heard hoof beats pounding into camp.
It was an aide from Gen. Breckenridge sending a message to Commander Ship, requesting that he bring the cadets north to New Market as quickly as he could.
There had been skirmishing for several days and more union troops kept coming in. Things were looking serious.
Wise rushed to awaken the boys, they marched away in the night in the dark and in complete silence.
By dawn, they were within a few miles of New Market where they stopped by the roadside for nearly two hours.
They could see flashes and hear the roar of artillery.
The two sides were already fighting. Later that morning, they moved into New Market in the mud and rain.
That morning, Jacob Sushong told his wife Sarah that they should moved to the cellar for safety.
He had just come in from the orchard where he had seen a union regiment forming a battle line.
Jacob was angry because the invaders were trampling his wheat crop into the mud.
He had already put his livestock in the cellar several days ago to prevent their being eaten by union soldiers.
The cadet’s artillereists quickly joined the rest of the artillery on the crest of Shirley’s Hill, unlimbering and taking a position on the right of the line.
Gen. Breckenridge assembled his commanding officers and gave instructions as to their position.
Next, he called Commander Ship and told him they were to be the reserved and their position would be two to three hundred yards to the rear of the main line of battle.
Ship protested, and Breckenridge told him he didn’t plan to use the boys unless it became necessary.
At Breckenridge’s command, his veterans moved quickly down the hill.
Soon came time for the cadets to move forward. The color bearer unfurled the flag, fife and drummers began to play and the cadets stepped out, marching in step in spite of being shot at and showered with mud, and it raining.
Several boys were struck by fragments of a shell upon reaching the bottom of the hill.
Mini balls screamed over their heads as they crossed the field in ankle-deep mud.
Jacob Bushong and Sarah huddled in the cellar with their farm animals, terrified as bullets struck the sides of the house.
As the union line advanced, their commanders ordered double-loading with grape and canister, which when fired, decimated the center of the confederate line opening up a huge gap in the center.
Gen. Breckenridge looked acrosss the field seeing the white flag of VMI riddled with bullet holes, he was about to make the most difficult decision of his career.
With tears in his eyes, he gave the order, “Put the boys in and may God forgive me for the order!”
Commander Ship, moved the boys into the center of the line after which some of them went down either killed or wounded.
When they reached the Bushong house, their line divided and companies A and B went around the right side of the house and companies C and D the left side.
they ran into the orchard where they noticed many of them were wounded and bleeding.
After Commander Ship was hit by a spent shell, Capt. Wise took command and ordered the cadets to take cover behind a rail fence north of the orchard, where he told them to commence firing.
The battle was so noisy, some of the Union regiments didn’t hear the order to advance and some were retreating from the heavy Confederate firing.
Knowing the outcome of the battle hinged on his next move. The Union commanding officer ordered the line to move forward.
Henry Wise also ordered the cadets to, “Get up from here and give it to the Yankees!”
The wheat field lay under two inches of water and ankle-deep mud. Many had their shoes pulled off by the thick mud and forever after the boys referred to that wheat field as the, “Field of Lost Shoes.”
Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the rain poured.
Union Gen. Sigel gave the order for his artillery to be moved back as the cadets charged across the wheat field.
They waited too long to get the guns limbered and the boys overtook them seizing a 12 pounder and caisson.
The 34th Mass,-12th W. VA.,-54th Penn,-and 123rd Ohio began a gradual retreat toward Mount Jackson and before long were in full rout with Confederates in pursuit.
A Union officer said he never saw such discipline until he saw the cadets advance.
After the battle two Confederate soldiers were walking together and one commented that it was a year ago that they had laid “Stonewall” to rest and thought he might have influenced the way the battle turned out.
The other said they couldn’t forget the boys who fought and that they were Jackson’s too.
“He taught them to fight real good and that’s a fact.”
There were over fifty wounded, five killed , and several more died later of their wounds.
The youngest soldier to fight was fifteen and the oldest soldier to fight was 25.
