Fame, Obscurity, Controversy: Moses Ezekiel, Cadet and Sculptor

American sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel lived and worked in Rome for the majority of his career, yet created sculptures dedicated to America and to the Confederacy. Photo is from, Hilary A. Herbert’s "History of the Arlington Confederate Monument.” Public Domain

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.