The place: New Market, Virginia; the date: May 15, 1864. Under the command of General John C. Breckinridge, 257 cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and other Confederate troops charge across a rain-soaked, newly plowed field against General Franz Sigel’s Union forces. Many of the cadets lose their shoes in the muck, rendering that ground the “Field of Lost Shoes.” With a loss of 10 dead and 45 wounded, this battalion, most of them teenagers, sweep aside their enemies, capture some artillery pieces, and help win the day for the South. Among the cadets is a descendent of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Garland Jefferson, who is mortally wounded in the chest during this assault. After the battle, his best friend and roommate, also in the battle, seeks him out, commandeers a wagon, transports him to a private residence, and spends the next two days caring for his dying comrade, often …