Washington's will was not removed from the courthouse to
Richmond, but remained there during the time Union troops occupied the
building as a patrol point. As might be expected, cabinets were broken
open and papers scattered. One day, late in 1862, a troop of soldiers
from New England was in the building and engaged in shoveling out the
debris from the floor. A Union lieutenant named Thompson grew curious
about these papers and interrupted the work long enough to examine
some of them. He picked up the will of Martha Washington and,
recognizing it, took it with him. Following the war, the will next was
heard of in 1903 in England where a descendant of Lt. Thompson sold
it to J. P. Morgan. The sale was reported to the Commonwealth Attorney
of Fairfax County who wrote Mr. Morgan seeking the return of the will,
but no answer was ever received. After Mr. Morgan's death, the County
sought to obtain the will from his son. Negotiations were unsuccessful
until court action was begun by the County. Finally, one day before
the matter was to be argued before the United States Supreme Court,
the will was returned.[100]

NOTES FOR CHAPTER IV

[83] Thomas Chapman, Jr., "The Secession Election in Fairfax County,
May 23, 1861", _Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County_,
IV (1955) 50.

[84] Robert Anderson, "The Administration of Justice in the Counties
of Fairfax, Alexandria (Arlington) and the City of Alexandria (Part
II)", _The Arlington Historical Magazine_, II (October 1962) 10-11.

[85] Ordinance 67, passed by the Virginia Convention, 26 June, 1861,
cited by Anderson, "Administration of Justice", p. 10.

[86] Governor William Smith, "The Skirmish at Fairfax Court House",
_The Fairfax County Centennial Commission_, (Vienna, Virginia: 1961)
p. 4. Because of the confusion in the Confederate ranks, no officer
took charge, and so Governor Smith ordered the Confederate troops to
return the fire of the Federal soldiers.

[87] The Fairfax Court House meeting, which took place in Gen.
Beauregard's headquarters near the courthouse, has been the subject of
controversy in the memoirs of those involved. See, for example,
Jefferson Davis, _The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government_,
(New York: Yoseloff, 1958), I, 368, 448-452, 464; Alfred Roman,
_Military Operations of Gen. Beauregard_, (New York: Harper & Bros.,
1884), I, 137-139.

[88] _Washington Post_, April 10, 1921.

[89] _Alexandria Gazette_ and _Fairfax Ne