New Market stories - Moses Ezekiel

&emsp;&emsp;As published by Jewish-History.com: "Ezekiel's war service came as a member of the Newmarket Corps or 'Baby Corps,' which fought effectively as the 295-man VMI Cadet Battalion in the Newmarket Battle. Moses Ezekiel participated in the fight as a private of Company 'C,' first in the forced march to Staunton, Harrisonburg and Newmarket, and then in the direct assault on the Union positions which defeated Sigel's forces. The battle was credited with saving the Shenandoah harvest for the Rebel forces fighting in the East. &emsp;&emsp;"After the battle, Ezekiel's efforts focused on the sad mission of recovering the dead and wounded )the small cadet battalion had suffered 24 percent casualties). He first wandered the battlefield with B.A. Colonna [VMI 1864] searching for their mutual friend, Thomas Garland Jefferson [VMI 1867], a descendant of the third U.S. President. They found Jefferson, desperately wounded in the chest and lying in a hut. Ezekiel then walked, fare-footed (as his shoes had been lost in the mud during the assault), into Newmarket to find a wagon. &emsp;&emsp;"The subsequently took Jefferson to the home of Lydie Clinedinst (Ezekiel wrote in 1884 from Rome to clarify misinformation that Miss Clinedinst (Mrs. Crim) had been confused with another lady or ladies, and had done no more than provide her home to the cadets). While Jefferson remained in bed in agonizing pain for two days, Ezekiel nursed him and read to him from the Bible. &emsp;&emsp;"On the evening of Tuesday, May 17, 1864, by candlelight, the Clinedinst family listened as young Moses read to his dying Christian friend the requested passages from the New Testament (John, Chap. 14): 'In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.' As Jefferson's fevered mind wandered, he thought Ezekiel was first his mother, and then his sister. As he lost his sight, he asked for a light. 'Only then it dawned on me,' wrote Ezekiel, 'that all hope was past and [he was] in his [death] agony.' The family gathered around, as Ezekiel held him in his arms while he died."