The following is the introduction to the list of casualties sustained by the cadets of VMI at the Battle of New Market, as listed
in Seed Corn of the Confederacy.
In the Blink of an Eyeİ
Four hours. Two hundred forty minutes. Compared to the life span of the average human being it is but
a miniscule portion. A blink of an eye. But in that blink of an eye on May 15, 1864, the Corps of Cadets from the Virginia Military
Institute marched into immortality.
In the blink of an eye, 257 boys stepped onto a battlefield, emerging as men on the other
side.
In the blink of an eye, 10 of their companions and classmates fell, never to rise again. Many others received wounds,
some so devastating that they suffered the pain for the rest of their lives. All wore their scars as badges of honor, forever proud
of their roles in history.
In the blink of an eye, the Cadets of VMI were transformed from boy soldiers to heroes, performing
as a group in a manner never seen before or since.
In the blink of an eye, they became legends.
In the blink of an eye
257 youths were robbed of their innocence in a way that no one ever should be. They came under fire, and passed the test.
In
the blink of an eye, 10 brave young men paid the ultimate price. They carried common names: Cabell, Atwill, Jefferson, Crockett, McDowell,
Jones, Stanard, Hartsfield, Haynes, Wheelwright . . . but what they did was far from commonplace.
Who among us knows what these
10 young heroes may have become had they been given the chance to live? If the achievements of their classmates can be used as a barometer,
they would have been successful. There may have been a great physician in the group. Or a judge, or a banker. Maybe there would have
been a governor among them. Or perhaps a future President of the United States.
We'll never know, because they were plucked
from us just as they approached the threshold of manhood. They never had the chance to reach their potential. They were gone too soon.
In the blink of an eye.
