Mrs. Lee's House (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the home once stood. No visible remains exist.


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Here follows an excerpt from Donald Hakenson's "This Forgotten Land" tour guide:

Colchester, founded in 1753 as the first town established in present day Fairfax County, was located here at a ferry crossing on the Occoquan. The town prospered as a tobacco port and center of trade until 1807 when the Occoquan River crossing was made upstream at Ellicott's Bridge on Telegraph Road, which at that time was the main thoroughfare to the south.

Although the Colchester area was largely bypassed during the events taking place along the Occoquan River in the early part of the Civil War, it was the scene of an occasional skirmish.

"OLD MAN POTTER"" AND HIS FAMILY.
On January 30, 1862, a skirmish took place around Mrs. Lee's house involving James Potter who lived in Colchester. Mr. Potter was arrested by Union troops at Mrs. Lee's house. According to Private Robert Sneden's memoirs "old man Potter" was captured hiding inside Mrs. Lee's house. Captain Heine searched all over the house looking for the elderly Potter. After climbing up a latter into the attic, Captain Heine found the old fellow in bed covered up between two women. He was dragged downstairs yelling and cursing. Private Sneden stated "old man Potter" was seventy years old, but very strong and an ugly customer to handle. He bit, yelled and kicked like a wild animal and four men had all they could do to get him bound and out of the house. Potter had supposedly been using his double barreled shotgun vigorously against the Union soldiers in the fight at Mrs. Lee's house. Captain Heine had him securely bound with a rope and lashed behind one of the cavalryman and brought off as a prisoner.

James Potter was charged with "strong secession sympathies" and aiding the rebels in arms against the Government and was committed to the Old Capitol Prison. He remained in confinement until February 15, 1862, when he was transferred and held by the War Department. He was finally released on March 24, 1862.

In November 1865, James Potter died leaving two or three hundred acres of land to his sons Cornelius and Joseph. Their mother, Barbara Beach, continued to live in Potter's house. In 1866, she took one hundred and thirty barrels of corn, two hundred bushels of oats and ninety bushels of potatoes from the farm. Her sons lost no time in suing her. Cornelius served in Company H, Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry and Mosby's Command during the Civil War. A daughter, Hannah, received sixty-five acres after her mother's death. She was the wife of James Clarke and had seven children. Sued for nonsupport, Clarke threatened to pour coal oil on his wife and set her afire.

The Potter's town lots were forfeited in 1866 for nonpayment of taxes but transferred back to Joseph and Cornelius in 1869. They paid taxes through 1878 as Joseph and Cornelius Beach. (In 1961, a court decreed that these men, known by both last names of Potter and Beach, were the sons of James Potter.)

FORREST AND ELIZABETH OLDEN.
Forrest Olden, born in Alexandria and a resident of Colchester for eighteen years, was arrested by order of Brigadier General Heintzelman. Because no charges were stated in the records it is probable that he was charged with strong secession sympathies and aiding the rebels in arms against the United States Government. A boatman by profession, he was committed to the Old Capitol Prison on January 15, 1862. Mr. Olden remained in custody at Old Capitol Prison until February 15, 1862, when in conformity with the order of the War Department of the preceding day he was transferred to the charge of that Department. Mr. Olden was released on parole on February 22, 1862.

Elizabeth Olden, Forrest's wife, was involved in an incident with one of Mosby's men that was memorable to say the least. Her testimony at an inquest on the 14th of September 1864 is worth relating:

"I was lyin' in bed asleep heard some one walkin on the floor upstairs. he came to the bedside. I heard some one at bed side with his pistol in his hand. he said make no alarm if you do I will kill you. He told me to lie down or I will kill you. He said he was a soldier, one of Mosby's men. He told me what he wanted. I asked him to put it off till next night. He came the next night and made the same proposals. I told him to come in the room before me and as he came in my husband shot him. The first night he came he searched the drawers in the house but I did not miss anything."

Forrest Olden's testimony was just as revealing:

"Testifies that as he came home the 15th of September my wife told me a man was here last night and searched the house and made insulting proposals to her. She put him off by telling him to come the next night. I went to get Dawson to stay with m but he failed to come. I did not feel like risking my life with him so I shot him as he came through the door."

After a careful deliberation of all the facts, the inquest determined that the shooting was "Justifiable Outrage." A review of the Muster Rolls from Mosby's command was conducted to try and identify the assailant with negative results.

THE BLOODY NIGHT AFFAIR AT MRS. LEE'S HOUSE.
On January 28, 1862, a bloody fight occurred at a residence located on the hill where the Lazy Susan used to be located. The house located on that hill near Colchester was Mrs. Lee's house (on the old Wagener homestead). There are various accounts on what happened that late night hour at Mrs. Lee's house and here is what the author has found.

Mr. John Coxe, of Groveland, California and a Confederate veteran, related the story that he was told by the Texas Rangers who were involved in the fight at Mrs. Lee's house:

"On the night of the fight three scouts occupied a front room downstairs, and one slept upstairs; while another one, as usual, was away on scout duty. All were sound asleep when, between eleven and twelve p.m., they were waked by loud knocking on the front door. And to the inside question. "Who's there?" came the outside reply: "Come out of there, you Rebels, and surrender, or we'll burn the house." The scouts threw up windows and, finding the yard packed with the enemy, grabbed their rifles and fired into the crowd. The enemy returned the fire with a volley into that side of the house, [with] one of their balls going through a window and hitting a downstairs scout in the stomach. As the scouts reloaded their rifles, their upstairs comrade shouted and said: "Hold the house, boys; Hampton is coming." This announcement confused the enemy, and after firing another volley, mostly into the roof of the house, they fled precipitately as the scouts fired into them again.

When things became quiet, the scouts went out of the house and were joined by their outside comrade, who reported that only the infantry of the enemy went to the Lee House, their cavalry going on down to the landing on the river, evidently to prevent succor from our side. They said the large man lying in the yard was still alive and in the German language continually called some name. He died about four a.m."

Mr. Coxe went on to add that the Texan wounded in the stomach, developed complications, and on the fourth day after the fight the brave fellow passed away. The only name Mr. Coxe could remember of the gallant Texans who were in the fight was Templeton who was doing the fighting upstairs.

The Washington Evening Star reported on the 29th of January 1862, that there had been a battle between fifty men on the Thirty-seventh New York and a group of Texas Rangers at Mrs. Lee's house (the Wagener homestead) at the head of Belmont Bay. According to the Star, it was "the most desperate and bloody engagement that has so far marked the history of the war." Fighting continued until all but one of the Rangers were dead; the northern loss was one killed and four wounded. "Both parties, too, stood up with equally unflinching courage; but one of the whole rebel detachment failing to sacrifice his life in the affair."

According to the Alexandria Local News, the engagement had taken place at Mr. Potter's house. He was first reported killed, then a prisoner. The paper quoted an account from the New York Herald saying that Colonel Burke of the Thirty-seventh had left his picket post near the village of Accotink and gone to Colchester. "The village," stated the Herald, "consists of about half a dozen dwellings. The two houses in question were on each side of the Colchester Road one hundred and fifty yards from the Occoquan." Colonel Burke said that Mrs. Lee's house was under fire for ninety minutes. Another article steadfastly maintained that Potter's house was the scene of the fighting and that the Confederates were having a dance at the time.

Private Robert Sneden in his memoirs added an extra twist to the story. he stated that they mortally wounded and killed all the Texans and that old man Potter was captured at this engagement after he was found upstairs in bed covered up between two women. He was dragged downstairs, yelling and screaming and cursing. Private Sneden added that Potter was seventy years old but yet very strong and an ugly customer to handle.

The Official Records commended Lieutenant Colonel John Burke, Thirty-seventh New York Volunteer Infantry and the handful of brave men of that regiment and the First New Jersey Cavalry, under his command, for their services in the affair at Lee's House, or Belmont, on Occoquan Bay on the night of the 28th instant. The report further states, "Their coolness under fire, and the discretion and judgement displayed by Lieutenant Colonel Burke have won the confidence of the commanding general, who recognizes in these qualities the results of discipline and attention to duty."

In the book, "Autobiography of Arab," by E. Prioleau Henderson, the author tells the story of an incident that took place, regarding John Burke, the spy with the glass eye and eight or ten other Texas soldiers, from the Fourth and Fifth Texas regiments, that had been sent on a scouting expedition towards Alexandria. John Burke would be the second Confederate identified that was at Mrs. Lee's house on January 28th, 1862. Henderson goes on to say "On their return, a heavy snowstorm started on the Texans before they could cross the Occoquan River. They concluded to stop and spend the night at Colchester, north of the river, in a small but comfortable house, which was owned by Mrs. Lee. While they were all asleep, part of a Federal regiment of infantry, which had been in pursuit of them, surrounded the house, and ordered them to surrender. But they were Texans, and did not understand that word, surrender. They opened fire on the enemy, and after a terrible and bloody fight of several hours, they succeeded in driving the enemy off. The Texans then left the house, bringing off their wounded comrades, and crossed the Occoquan to safety."

So who was the Texas Ranger Templeton? Well, he was known as Private Madison Monroe Templeman, a resident of Liberty County, Texas. Private Templeman enlisted on August 20, 1861 for the war in Company H, Fifth Texas Infantry by Captain John B. Cleveland in Polk County, Texas. On November 20, 1861 he was "detailed as a guerilla" at least until February 1862. Primarily performing duties as a scout until he was wounded at Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862. In April 1862 it was reported that Templeman had a bounty of $4,000 placed on his head. Brigadier General John B. Hood mentioned Private Templeman for, "gallantry and valuable service as a courier" after the Battle of Sharpsburg. Private Templeman was wounded again on December 13, 1862 at Fredericksburg. Finally, while on detached service he was killed in action on May 3, 1863 in Mosby's raid on Warrenton Junction. He was buried somewhere in the State of Virginia.

SERGEANT ROBERT WILEY.
While researching military service records of Confederate veterans from Fairfax County and reviewing the book titled, Confederate Military History, Volume III, published in 1899, the author was able to find information on a Sergeant Robert Wiley, a resident of Lorton, who had served in a Georgia Infantry regiment (not a Virginia unit) during the War Between the States. Let me tell you his story:

Robert Wiley was born in Fairfax County on August 16, 1840. His parents were Joseph and Catherine Wiley. He grew up in Lorton, in the Mount Vernon District and was educated in various institutions in Washington City. He entered Confederate service in September 1861 as a scout until March 8, 1862 when he enlisted as a private in Company K, Nineteenth Georgia Infantry at Occoquan in Prince William County, Virginia. On that date Captain Hooper had Private Wiley enlist for the duration of the war. After enlistment into Company K, Nineteenth Georgia Infantry, Private Wiley would be involved in major engagements at Williamsburg, West Point, Seven Pines, and the Seven Days campaign, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Ox Hill, Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Olustee, Florida and Drewry's Bluff. He also served in the defense of Yorktown, Virginia and the defense of Charleston, South Carolina. His commanders were Generals Wade Hampton, A.J. Archer and Alfred H. Colquitt, very competent leaders indeed.

Immediately after the Seven Days fighting he was promoted to sergeant, before the age of twenty-one, and was afterward tendered the adjutancy, but was compelled to decline on account of his disability from wounds. Sergeant Wiley was wounded three times in the Seven Days struggle, but remained on the field throughout the ordeal. During the fighting at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, Sergeant Wiley was captured, but fortunately for him he was a prisoner of war for only four days. He was described at his capture as twenty-two years of age, five feet, ten inches tall, dark hair, dark complexion with hazel eyes.

In 1864, the Nineteenth Georgia Infantry was transferred to Florida and was involved in the battle at Olustee, Florida. It was there that Sergeant Wiley distinguished himself on the battlefield and was again wounded.

After the war he married Mary Elizabeth Lee in Fairfax County on June 21, 1867. Robert Wiley was an active member of the John Quincy Marr Camp, United Confederate Veterans, and became Vice President of the Lorton Valley Democratic Club in 1888; Commissioner of Revenue for the Fairfax Treasury for twenty-four years, and was also a trustee of the Fairfax Cemetery Association. On September 13, 1907, the Fairfax Herald reported "the office of County Treasurer has been filled for many years by Mr. Robert Wiley, like Andrew Jackson he has so impressed himself upon the hearts and affections of the people that many of his friends will probably continue to vote for him long after his spirit shall have passed beyond the clouds." He was a gallant Confederate soldier, and is a perfect reservoir of interesting war reminiscences. "He dies January 13, 1932 in Fairfax County at the age of ninety-two years old and was buried at Fairfax Cemetery."

In his will, Robert Wiley requested that his Confederate Cross of Honor and Mexican Dollar "handed me by Captain I.A. Roe at our surrender ... near High Point, North Carolina, be kept in the family as long as there is one living." His brother was Private James H. Wiley.

Alfred Mickelson dedicated a poem inspired by the valiant service of Sergeant Wiley, a young non-commissioned officer from Fairfax County, Virginia for his heroic actions on the Florida battleground. Here is that poem that was published in the Confederate Veteran magazine:

The Hero of Olustee
By Alfred Mickelson

(Dedicated to Robert Wiley, of Fairfax, Virginia, who performed the valiant service in the battle of Olustee, Florida, which inspired this poem.)

"Ammunition! Ammunition!," cried the fightin' Rebel chief,
"We must have it, and right quickly, or our stay on earth is brief,
Where's the man who'll run the gauntlet, get the cartridges we need?
God in heaven, help me pick him, help me pick a man with speed."

From the ranks a Virginia laddie, who had fought the whole war through,
Came and stood before his Colonel, looked at him with eyes of blue;
And those eyes they sparkled bravely as, "I'll go," he simply said,
And he left his Colonel smiling, as between the lines he sped.

Thick the bullets of the Yankees whistled through the Southern air,
And the Colonel, as he watched him, offered up to heaven a prayer,
For the enemy was advancing, and their bullets fell like sleet,
But the boy flew faster onward in his race with grim defeat.

In his breast his heart was leaping, in his eye there stood a tear,
And his lips they trembled, quivered, but 'twas not from fright or fear,
For he knew success for Dixie rested on his shoulders slight,
And he must not fail or falter, or the Yanks would win the fight.

At last he found the cartridges, took as many as he could pack,
And between the raging battle lines he started to go back,
And his comrades, when they saw him with his load of shot and shell,
Cheered the brave Virginia laddie and let loose the Rebel yell.

Pitilessly the Yankees fired, loudly did their cannons bark,
But it seemed that Heaven watched him, and the bullets missed their mark.
And at last he staggered safe behind his lines, and there he fell,
But his mission was completed and he had performed it well,

Though he was not crowned with laurel and his deed in history told,
And as hero of Olustee no reward was his in gold,
His reward was when in victory the flag of Dixie waved,
And he knew that those few cartridges -- had the day for Dixie saved.