The Civil War Battle of New Market, Virginia took place on May 15, 1864. The Virginia Military Corps of Cadets participated as a unit in this engagement, and ten cadets were killed or died later as a result of their wounds. The battle was fought in response to Union General Franz Sigel's march up the Shenandoah Valley from Winchester towards Staunton, Virginia. The Confederate force then in the Valley, commanded by General John Imboden, was reinforced at Staunton by troops commanded by General John C. Breckinridge, and by the VMI cadets commanded by Major Scott Shipp. The Confederate troops marched north where the battle took place on the afternoon of May 15. At about 4 p.m., Sigel ordered a retreat and fell back to Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

The individuals largely responsible for compiling this collection had strong ties to VMI and to the battle. Henry A. Wise, the son of John Cropper Wise and Anne Finney, was born in Accomac County, Virginia in May 1842. He graduated from VMI in 1862 and served in the Confederate Army until he was captured and paroled, also in 1862. During the period of his parole, he returned to VMI as a faculty member and tactical officer. Wise was in command of Cadet Company A at the Battle of New Market and took command of the Cadet Battalion after Scott Shipp was wounded. After the War, Wise resumed his career as an educator in the Tidewater area (Virginia) and in Baltimore, Maryland. He died in Norfolk, Virginia on July 11, 1918.

Benjamin Azariah Colonna, the son of John Wilkins Colonna and Margaret Jones, was born in Accomac County, Virginia in October 1843. He graduated from VMI in 1864 and, while at VMI, took part in the Battle of New Market as Cadet Captain of Company D. Following the War, Colonna worked as a surveyor and civil engineer. He maintained a lifelong interest in the battle and was responsible for the accurate mapping of the battlefield. He died in 1924 in Washington, D.C.