Virginia Museum of the Civil War

This is the only state-owned Civil War museum in Virginia and is administered by the Virginia Military Institute. The site consists of three elements: The Virginia Museum of the Civil War, the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and the Historic Bushong Farm.The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail System. The museum focuses on the whole war in the Commonwealth of Virginia with special attention paid to the Battle of New Market on May 15th 1864 and the role played by the corps of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute. A total of 257 cadets from VMI participated in the battle with 47 wounded and 10 killed because of the fighting. The museum features exhibits, dioramas, artifacts from the battle and an Emmy-award winning film called Field of Lost Shoes shown hourly in the theater. Outside visitors will enjoy three hundred acres of core battlefield property accessible by foot or car. The New Market Battlefield State Historical Park offers two walking trails across the farm and battlefield terminating atop Bushong's Hill and two scenic overlooks 100 feet above the Shenandoah River. Historically-named features include the Field of Lost Shoes, a wheatfield so named by cadets because of lost footwear, and the Fatal Orchard, a dangerous part of the battlefield next to the farm. Finally, the Bushong Farm features seven buildings to explore. The two frame houses were witnesses to the battle that day. Exhibits inside tell the story of what life was like in the Shenandoah Valley before and during the Civil War.