Lexington Universities

In order to finish the story of the VMI cadets who fought in the Battle of New Market, we went to Lexington to visit two universities.

We visited Virginia Military Institute before but at the time we didn't know about the graves and memorial of the cadets who were killed at the Battle of New Market in 1864.  So we came back to see the graves and pay our respects.

Virginia Mourning her Dead

This sculpture honors the ten cadets who fought and died after being wounded on the battlefield at New Market.  Dedicated in 1903 and moved to its current location in 1912, the bronze sculpture was created by the artist Moses Ezekiel (remember him from the Thomas Jefferson statue at New Market Museum?).  Ezekiel, born in Richmond, was the first Jewish cadet to attend VMI and served as a corporal in the color guard during the Battle of New Market.  He graduated in 1866.

Individual grave markers for the fallen cadets are visible behind the base of the sculpture.  Remains of six of the young men who died are set in a copper box inside the foundation of the monument; the other four cadets are not buried at VMI.

A ceremony to commemorate the deaths is held every year at the monument on the anniversary of the battle.  The name of each fallen cadet is called out; after each name, a cadet chosen for the ceremony replies "Died on the field of honor, Sir". Floral tributes, a prayer, and a three-volley gun salute are then followed by a rendition of "Taps" and the hymn "Amazing Grace."

From there we went back to Washington & Lee University (next door to VMI), another place we'd visited before.  Our first visit was to see the grave of Robert E. Lee but the area was under construction and we were unable to view it.  So since we were here.....

The University Chapel was constructed from 1867-1868 at the request of Robert E. Lee, who was president of the school (then known as Washington College).  The Victorian brick architectural design was probably the work of Lee's son, George Washington Custis Lee, with details contributed by Col. Thomas Williamson = both men were professors in the engineering department at VMI.  Built of brick and native limestone, the Chapel was completed in time for graduation exercises in 1868.  Lee attended weekday worship services here with the students and the lower level housed his office, the treasurer's office and the YMCA headquarters (student center).

Upon completion and during Robert E. Lee's lifetime it was known as the College Chapel.  Lee was buried beneath the chapel in 1870.

There was a nice volunteer just waiting to escort us up to the front of the chapel and give us a brief overview.

Lee Chapel was officially renamed University Chapel on June 4, 2021 by the university's board of trustees.  The university also announced the discontinuation of its school holiday known as "Founders Day", held on Robert E. Lee's birthday, and significant upcoming redesign and renovations of the Chapel to be overseen by the board "to restore its unadorned design and physically separate the auditorium from the Lee family crypt and Lee memorial sculpture".  You can see the "new" wall behind the pulpit separating the crypt and sculpture.

The chapel seats about 600 in its main area and has a small, three-sided balcony.

After attending a vestry meeting at Grace Episcopal Church on the evening of September 18, 1870, Robert E. Lee suffered a stroke.  He died two weeks later on October 12 at the age of 63 from complications of pneumonia.  

College classes were immediately suspended and local businesses closed in his honor.  The next day, a procession of mourners led Lee's casket to the College Chapel, where his body lay in state, accompanied by an honor guard of students.

The funeral procession took place on October 15.  Riderless, Traveller walked behind the caisson.  Lee's burial vault was installed in the college library, on the chapel's lower level.  In 1873, both his wife and daughter, Anne, were interred beside him.

The crypt was added after Lee's burial.

In the crypt are the remains of Lee, his wife Mary Anna Custis Lee, his seven children, and his parents, Revolutionary War Major-General Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and Anne Hill Carter Lee.  

"Recumbent Statue" of Robert E. Lee asleep on the battlefield, by Edward Valentine.  It is often mistakenly thought to be a tomb or sarcophagus, but it is a statue on a base or couch.

The recumbent statue was unveiled and dedicated as the main feature of the chapel on June 28, 1883.  The keynote speaker, John W. Daniel, soon to be a U.S. Senator from Virginia, filled in for the absent Jefferson Davis.  He lamented that Lee had died a prisoner on parole, his American citizenship never fully restored.

Interesting to see what the chapel looked like back in the early days.

Lee's office is preserved much as he left it for the last time on September 28, 1870.  The rest of the lower level became a museum in 1928, exhibiting items once owned by the Lee and Washington families.

Exactly as he left it?  Historic photographs indicate that some details may not be quite as Lee left them.  In a stereo view taken immediately after his death, the desk and bookcase are in some disarray.  Another photo, taken shortly after shows objects in the same locations, but the room has been tidied - perhaps to reflect Lee's reputation for orderliness.  Over the years, many documents and books have been transferred for preservation and research to W&L's Special Collections.

Lee's office, October 1870

Stereo View, Boude & Miley, Lexington, Virginia

The office today.

I'm glad we were able to make the trip back and see the transformation.

New Market

Next up was New Market - the site of the Civil War battle in 1864.   

The battle is primarily remembered today for being the only time in American history a school's student body was used as an organized combat unit.  During the battle, Confederate general John C. Breckenridge ordered cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), some of them child soldiers no older than 15, to join an attack on the Union lines.  The event has gone on to become central to many of the institute's myths and traditions.  A fictional movie, The Field of Lost Shoes, was released in 2014 based on the battle which follows a group of seven cadets based on real characters.  The title of the movie refers to the large number of soldiers' boots left on the battlefield due to the muddy conditions during the battle.

Of the 257 VMI cadets who fought in the Battle of New Market, ten were either killed outright or later died of their wounds.  Six of the ten are buried at VMI in Lexington (more on this to come).  In 2005, VMI replaced the original 1866 marble gravestones of the six cadet casualties with new stones and added memorial stones for the four cadets buried elsewhere.  VMI brought the gravestones to the battlefield and installed them here in 2006.  You can see five of the stones above.

We went into the museum and saw some interesting items.

This stained slab-glass window is 28 feet long and created by Israeli-born artist Ami Shamir.  The window was the brainchild of Robert Blood, who designed the original museum exhibits for the opening in 1970.

The initial concept for the window called for clear glass that would permit views of the Allegheny Mountains to the west.  However, it was noted that the view was often obscured by summer haze so it was recommended that it be a stained-glass window to convey graphic images associated with the Battle of New Market. 

The artist had executed a number of similar windows in Israel and Europe.  For this project, he included such elements as flowing lines to suggest the Shenandoah Valley and the river of the same name, and flags and seals of VMI, the Confederacy and the Union, to portray the conflict at New Market.  The names of the ten cadets who were killed or mortally wounded in the battle are inscribed as the central feature.

Thomas Jefferson, by Moses Ezekiel

Moses Ezekiel was a VMI cadet at the Battle of New Market.  After the battle, Ezekiel discovered his best friend, Cadet Thomas Jefferson, mortally wounded.  Moses cared for Thomas until the wounded cadet died two days later.  Thomas Jefferson was a descendant of the president.

After the Civil War, Ezekiel studied in Berlin and pursued his sculpting career in Rome.  Knighted by the Kings of Italy and Germany, he became one of the most famous American artists of his era.

The statue was commissioned by the City of Louisville, Kentucky in 1899.  A copy was placed at the University of Virginia in 1910.  The artist donated the model to VMI in 1914.  In describing his work, Ezekiel said:

On top of the Liberty Bell, crowned with laurel leaves, I placed a very simple figure of Thomas Jefferson in his continental costume holding the Declaration of Independence in his hand.....Everybody else had always represented Jefferson as an old man, but, as he was about thirty-three years of age at that point, I decided to give him the benefit of his youth.

Lee on Traveller, Frederick Volck (1822-1891)

German-born artist Frederick Volck began sketches for this statue as early as August, 1864, while he was employed by the Confederate Bureau of Naval Ordnance.  General Robert E. Lee sat for this work, and Volck used Lee's death mask to refine the statue's details.  The artist even measured Traveller to assure the accuracy of the proportions.  Volck completed the statue in the mid-1870s and presented it to Virginia Military Institute as a token of esteem.

It was interesting to learn how the National Confederate flag originated.  This is hard to read but you can see how the Virginia State flag and the United States flag morphed into the Confederate flag.

These three items were carried and used by Cadet Charles H. Read during the Battle of New Market.

TOP:  Made of cedar, this wooden "drum" canteen is inscribed with the following:  "C.H. Read, Company A".

CENTER:  Leather belt with a Virginia seal, "spoon and wreath" buckle.  This type of belt is designed to support a sword and was typically worn by non-commissioned officers.

BOTTOM:  Leather cartridge box with an insert manufactured by the Emerson Gaylord Company in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  Worn on either a belt or a strap, the cartridge box held approximately 40 paper cartridges.  Each cartridge contained a lead bullet and a black powder charge.

A Confederate officer's coat.  

So hard to get photos of items behind glass

Costumes from the Field of Lost Shoes were on display.

In 2016, Martin Kaminsky donated his collection of Civil War firearms to VMI/Museum of Civil War.  A display of over 100 pieces traces firearms usage in the Civil War from the improvised and obsolete designs early in the war to those at war's end.  The exhibit highlights the excess of attempts at rapid-firing, breech-loading designs, which Lt. Col. Troy Marshal, site director of the museum, calls "the race to build a better mouse trap" - an array of bolt actions, tipping barrels, falling blocks, and hinged-breech designs that were fed paper, brass or rubber-cased cartridges.

I'm about as far from a weapon expert as anyone could be but I was impressed with the displays.

Second part of the story coming up.

Charlottesville

We took a few hours in Charlottesville to revisit a few places.

Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson

We visited here early in our journey but decided we wanted to visit again.  You can read about our earlier visit HERE.

It was very hot so we took the tram to the Jefferson family cemetery to pay our respects.  And then walked back UP the hill to the house.

Look who we met!

We'd heard that his talk about his life and decisions made was good so we went inside to hear what he had to say.  He took questions after he concluded his talk and each answer was from his point of view all those years ago.

The next stop was a new one for us.

It looks like a fun place to meet up with friends.

The wine wasn't great but hey, we had to buy some anyway.

The main reason we wanted to visit Charlottesville was to make a return visit to Trump Winery.  Our dear friend, Patryce, has been battling leukemia for several years and just days before our visit her situation took a serious turn for the worse.  If it's one thing she loves, it's sparkling wine!  And after our previous visit, we introduced her to Trump wine and she LOVED it.  Her birthday was about a month after our visit so we wanted to arrange to have some sent to her for her birthday.

What a patriotic way to enter the winery.

We've been to a lot of wineries and this might just be the most beautiful one we've ever visited.

We went into the tasting room and enjoyed some wine.

After a snack.....

.....we toasted Patryce and sent our prayers her way.

We learned that the Trump Cidery had recently opened down the street so we headed there.

The ciders are crafted with locally sourced apples and each batch reflects flavors of the region from crisp and tangy to rich and robust.

The flight was nice and we enjoyed talking with the 'bartender'.  They'd only been open about a month and he was excited to be in his new job.

Yes, we bought a bottle

The patio is beautiful and you can see for miles.

You can even see the winery in the distance.

Sadly, just four days later Patryce's battle ended.  Every time we drink sparkling wine we will make a toast to our friend of over 40 years.  RIP, Patryce.