University of Virginia Library

13. Chapter Thirteenth
Incidents about Home

I have related in a previous chapter that our
first home was in a large brick building called
indifferently "The Mudwall" or "The Delavan." This
building had been used by the Confederates for
a hospital, and so came under the jurisdiction
of the U. S. government at the close of the war.
Sometime in '67 or '68 the property was ceded
back to the original owners, and we had living
rooms fitted up for us in the building used for our
schools.

A colored family named Poindexter
had lo occupied some of the lower rooms in
Mudwall, having acted as servants in Maj. Heads
family while the military were there. This family
hastened to secure a home elsewhere as quickly as
possible, but it was necessary for Miss Gardner and
myself to remain until our rooms in the school
building were ready for us to occupy. Miss Gardner felt
that it wasn't quite safe for us to be entirely alone
in this big building at night, so a young man who
attended my evening school, volunteered to sleep

in one of the lower rooms to act as a guard, or be called
upon in any emergency. He was a tall strong
fellow quite black, and had been a soldier in some
one of the colored regiments. He was very anxious
to learn, and used to spend his evenings while
guarding our portals in studying his "Second Reader"
I do not now recall his name.

One evening there was to be some kind of a
political meeting among the colored people, so
he asked us if we would mind if he did not come
in until about 10 o-clock as he wished to attend
the meeting. We assured him that it would be all
right, and we would sit up until he came and
let him in, so we barred the doors securely
and went to our separate rooms to read or write.
Sometime between 9 and 10 Miss Gardner came
to my room in a state of great trepidation
declaring that she had heard some one walking
about in the rooms down stairs. I felt sure that
it was her imagination, but said I would go down
and see, so I took my lamp and went down, she
remaining lamp in hand at the head of the stairs
as a sort of rear guard. I searched three of the

rooms on the left of the hall without success, and
then as I started for the large room at the right,
I heard a slight sound and felt sure the intruder
was in there. It seemed anything but a pleasant
duty to go in, but I thought if danger was there it
was best to put on a bold front and meet it half
way rather than to wait for it to creep upon us,
so I went in — a little shaky, I must confess, but
determined to ferret out the cause of the sounds we
had heard. I looked all about the room, behind
the big pillars, and in the dark corners. There was
nothing there to produce any kind of a sound. There
was still one more room at the immediate left of the
front door, and as I came back into the hall, I heard
a slight noise in that direction. I started to go in
when a hearty laugh at the front door stopped me,
and I saw our guard looking in through the side
light you can imagine that it was with a sense of relief that I unbarred the door and admitted,
him. It happened that the meeting closed some
-what earlier than he expected it would, and it was
his step upon the piazza, and knock at the door that
Miss Gardner had mistaken for noises in the rooms
below. He saw me come down the stairs, as he
supposed to let him in, and could not, at first,
understand why I went hurrying from room to room
instead of opening the door. But when I came out of
the large room, and started for the one near the
door, the truth dawned upon him, and the comical
features of the situation struck him so forcibly that
he laughed aloud — the best thing he could have
done, as nothing else could have swept away
the creepiness of the situation so promptly as did
that merry, hearty laugh.

I have mentioned in a previous chapter some of
the annoyances we suffered from the students breaking
our windows etc. and I will here relate another of their
escapades as it seems to fit into this chapter. The incident
occurred several months previous to the one just related
while the Poindexters still occupied their rooms on the lower
floor.

The front door opening on the piazza
usually stood open until quite late, and one evening
some students passing up the railroad track, bravely
"bearded the lion in his den," by rushing into the
hall stamping and swearing like demons. Evidently
their purpose was simply to frighten us, but knowing

the reputation many of them bore, we could not be
sure that no harm was intended. Miss Gardner hastened
to my room and begged me to lock the door, which I
did at first, but as the noise and racket continued
I could not endure to remain inside, so I went out
telling her to lock herself in if she chose, but I preferred
the freedom of the large halls and many rooms
to dodge about in if there were any real danger, and
I wanted to see just what they were doing: so I
placed myself at the head of the stairs, where I was in
the dark, and could see them jumping and
kicking about in the hall below, the open door
giving light enough for that purpose. "Come on
up stairs! Come on! Lets go up stairs!" I could
hear one of them say but no move was made to do so
Had they started to come up, it was my intention
to speak, and, if possible halt them at once.
Some of the colored people had told them to be
very careful how they disturbed us, as we each had
two revolvers and knew how to use them. This was
a fairy tale, but it might have had its weight, for
of course, had it been true, we should have had
a decided advantage, standing at the head of
the stairs in the dark, while they were exposed from
the light through the open door. However they made
no move to come up, and much to my relief,
they soon went away. I saw as they passed through
the door that there were four of them. I remained
at er the number buried there but it
must have been many hundred for the cemetary was
a large one. The graves were arranged in regular rows
each with its white head board, lettered in black and
very many of the graves bore only this inscription
"Unknown Union Soldier" with Co. and Regt.
This brought home to me in all its force the fact
that there were many families mourning the loss of
dear ones, whose fate was all unknown to them, and
of whose last resting place they had no knowledge.

Of course we made a good many trips to Monticello
(which place I have described in a previous chapter) this being the
most interesting spot in the vicinity to our occasional
visitors, but what I have related covers about all that
we made any attempt to see outside Charlottesville
in the nine and a half years I was there