The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will be Theirs by the Sword
About
In the predawn darkness of September 29, 1864, Black Union soldiers attacked a heavily fortified position on the outskirts of Richmond known as New Market Heights. In a few short hours of desperate fighting, these soldiers struck a blow against experienced troops of Robert E. Lee’s vaunted Army of Northern Virginia and proved to their detractors that they could fight. Fourteen of these Black soldiers would be awarded the nation’s highest honor – the Medal of Honor. Jimmy Price, author of The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will be Theirs by the Sword, which the Journal of Southern History claims “offers considerable insight regarding the black military experience,” will present a talk on this often overlooked 1864 battle and its important legacy in American history. Jimmy Price is a Historian with the National Cemetery Administration and a founding member of the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association. He received his M.A. in Military History from Norwich University in 2009. His first book, The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword, was nominated in the nonfiction category for the 15th annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards. His second book, The Battle of First Deep Bottom, was released to critical acclaim in 2014. Jimmy has also contributed essays to A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, Hallowed Ground magazine, and the International Encyclopedia of the First World War. He lives in Fredericksburg with his wi
