Episode 2 of 3
VMI Cadets Attack
- When
- 15 May 1864
- Where
- New Market
VMI cadets, averaging 18 years old, joined an attack on Union lines ordered by General Breckinridge.
General John C. Breckinridge ordered cadets from the Virginia Military Institute to join an attack on the Union lines. The cadets averaged 18 years of age, though several were no older than 15. This was the only time in American history a school's student body was used as an organized combat unit.
Sources
- Battle of New Market Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.