The Church Cemetery

The Church Cemetery. "The hand-to-hand fighting down in the old churchyard". , Across the road is the cemetery at what was St. Matthew's Lutheran Church during the Civil War. On the morning of the Battle of New Market, six Union cannon commanded by Capt. Alonzo Snow were in the cemetery, supporting the Union infantry positioned along River Road in front of you., When Confederate cannon on Shirley's Hill, 3/4 of a mile behind you, fired the first shots of the battle at 8am, Snow's guns roared out in reply. The Confederates aimed counterbattery fire at Snow's guns, sending shells crashing among the tombstones - with stray shots falling in the streets of town. The artillery exchange continued throughout the morning. When the Confederate infantry advanced over Shirley's Hill at 11am, Snow's guns targeted the exposed southerners. One shell exploded in the ranks of the slower-marching VMI Cadets, wounding five., When the Confederates later pushed the Federals through town, some of the fighting spilled through this cemetery. Lydie Clinedinst, watching from her window 200 yards behind you, later recalled seeing "the hand-to-hand fighting down in the old churchyard.", After the Battle of New Market, many of the Confederate dead were interred in this cemetery, including four VMI Cadets who were buried two days after the battle. (Ultimately, six cadets would be buried here. All were later reinterred elsewhere.) The fallen cadets were carried in caissons along the Valley Turnpike, accompanied by surviving cadets and townspeople. "The large grave for four was dug in the old cemetery, "recalled local resident Perry Cook. "Three volleys were fired, then the grave was filled.", The Union Dead, The people of New Market refused to allow the Union dead to be buried in the cemetery. Exhausted Confederates hastily buried the Federals outside town, along the turnpike, covered by only a few inches of earth. Rain later washed away the dirt, and when Federals under Gen. David Hunter returned to New Market two weeks later, they found decomposing body parts of their comrades protruding from the ground., (Captions):, "Awaiting the Enemy's Fire." , Drawing by Arthur Lumley, c. 1862. Library of Congress., VMI Cadets who fought at New Market standing in front of the Confederate monument in the center of the cemetery on the 50th anniversary of the battle, May 15, 1914. , Image courtesy VMI Archives., This marker was made possible through the generosity of Albert and Jacqueline Alling.