MARCH 30, 1921 - Moses Ezekiel's Funeral at Arlington

Coming Home: Part 3+ Honoring the Ten Fallen Cadets

COMING HOME: THE TEN FALLEN CADETS OF NEW MARKET

Artist's rendering. The actual Virginia Mourning Her Dead monument and cadet grave markers are located at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

They were not seasoned soldiers.

They were students. Boys. Teenagers.

On May 15, 1864, they marched onto a rain-soaked field in the Shenandoah Valley and stepped into history.

These are their names.

1. Samuel Francis Atwill, age 18¹

Company A, from Westmoreland County, Virginia

Died of wounds, July 3, 1864

2. William Henry Cabell, age 18²

First Sergeant, Company D, from Nelson County, Virginia

Killed in action, May 15, 1864

3. Charles Gilmer Crockett, age 17³

Company D, from Wythe County, Virginia

Killed in action, May 15, 1864

4. Alva Courtland Hartsfield, age 19⁴

Company D, from Buckingham County, Virginia

Died of wounds, June 26, 1864

5. Luther Carey Haynes, age 19⁵

Company B, from Essex County, Virginia

Died of wounds, June 5, 1864

6. Thomas Garland Jefferson, age 17⁶

Company B, from Amelia County, Virginia

Died of wounds, May 30, 1864

7. Henry Jenner Jones, age 17⁷

Company D, from King William County, Virginia

Killed in action, May 15, 1864

8. William Hugh McDowell, age 18⁸

Company B, from North Carolina

Killed in action, May 15, 1864

9. Jaqueline Beverly "Jack" Stanard, age 19⁹

Company B, from Orange County, Virginia

Died of wounds, May 22, 1864

10. Joseph Cabell Wheelwright, age 17¹⁰

Company C, from Richmond, Virginia

Died of wounds, May 15, 1864

Some fell where they stood.

The rest carried their wounds from that field.

All ten died because of what happened at New Market.

They were students.

They were sons.

They were boys.

They were cadets of the Virginia Military Institute.

And they are not forgotten.

Defend Arlington Note: Moses Ezekiel knew them all

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NOTES ON AGES AND DATES

Ages at time of battle are calculated to May 15, 1864. Birth dates are drawn from VMI Archives, battlefield markers, genealogical records, and academic sources. Discrepancies exist across sources and are noted below.

¹ Samuel Francis Atwill. Born 1846, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Exact birth date not confirmed. Age 17 or 18. VMI Archives lists him as Class of 1866. Died of wounds July 3, 1864. Some sources say 66 days after the battle, others 49. Date of death requires further verification.

² William Henry Cabell. Born November 13, 1845, Richmond, Virginia. Age 18 at New Market. Son of Dr. Robert Gamble Cabell. His paternal grandfather was a Governor of Virginia. Killed in action May 15, 1864.

³ Charles Gilmer Crockett. Born December 3, 1846, Wythe County, Virginia. Age 17. Killed by the same artillery shell as Cabell and Jones. Buried temporarily at New Market, later reinterred beneath the New Market Monument at VMI.

⁴ Alva Courtland Hartsfield. Born June 5, 1844, Wake County, North Carolina. Age 19, not 17 as some sources indicate. Transferred to VMI from the University of North Carolina in 1863. Died June 26, 1864 in Petersburg. Buried in Blandford Church Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia.

⁵ Luther Carey Haynes. Born February 11, 1845. Age 19. Died June 5, 1864 at a hospital in the Powhatan Hotel, Richmond. Some sources give his middle name as Cary.

⁶ Thomas Garland Jefferson. Born January 1, 1847, Amelia County, Virginia. Age 17. Great great nephew of President Thomas Jefferson. Died in Moses Ezekiel's arms. Eliza Crim nursed him in her home in New Market. Date of death listed variously as May 17 and May 30 across sources. Requires further verification.

⁷ Henry Jenner Jones. Born March 10, 1847, King William County, Virginia. Age 17. Killed by the same artillery shell as Cabell and Crockett. Buried beneath the New Market Monument at VMI.

⁸ William Hugh McDowell. Born December 1845, North Carolina. Age 18. The subject of the young adult novel The Ghost Cadet. Buried beneath the New Market Monument at VMI.

⁹ Jaqueline Beverly Stanard. First name confirmed as Jaqueline, also spelled Jacqueline and Jacquelin across sources. Julian does not appear in any primary or secondary source consulted. Confirmed as Jaqueline in VMI Archives catalog, VMI Battle of New Market research guide, Emerging Civil War, WikiTree, Geni, and Find A Grave. Born April 27, 1845, Orange County, Virginia. Age 19. Called Jack by his friends and Bev by his family. VMI Cenotaphs page lists birth year as 1840, which appears to be a typographical error inconsistent with all other sources. Birth year of 1845 confirmed by genealogical records, Find A Grave, and his own letters in which he states he is over 18. Disobeyed orders to guard the baggage wagon in order to join the charge. Died of wounds. Buried temporarily at New Market, later reinterred at Graham Cemetery, Orange, Virginia.

¹⁰ Joseph Cabell Wheelwright. Born November 16, 1846, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Age 17. Died of wounds. Buried beneath the New Market Monument at VMI.

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Primary Sources: VMI Archives, Battle of New Market records. VMI Cadet Cenotaphs, Virginia Museum of the Civil War. Battlefield marker, Died on the Field of Honor, New Market Battlefield State Historical Park. American Battlefield Trust, And May God Forgive Me for the Order. Emerging Civil War, Burying Their Friends, May 2021. Saber and Scroll, Died on the Field of Honor Sir, academic journal. Genealogical records via WikiTree, Geni, and Find A Grave.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Every effort has been made to verify the names, ages, and dates presented here through primary sources, institutional records, and genealogical documentation. Minor discrepancies exist across sources and are noted above. Where conflicts remain unresolved, the most consistently supported information has been used. This is a good faith effort to tell the truth about ten young men who deserve to be remembered accurately. Corrections from those with primary source documentation are always welcome.

By Mindy Esposito / March 27, 2026 / Nashville, Tennessee

Mindy Esposito is an independent historian, writer, and Confederate heritage advocate based in Nashville, Tennessee. She has spent more than two decades in primary source research on nineteenth and twentieth century American history.

COMING HOME: MOSES EZEKIEL'S FUNERAL AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY Honoring the Ten Fallen Cadets

March 29, 2026 is 827 Days since Moses Ezekiel's Memorial/Gravestone was removed from Arlington National Cemetery. March 30, 2026 will mark 105 years since he was interred at the base of his Reconciliation Memorial.