The Clinedinst-Crim House

The Clinedinst-Crim House. "I will never forget his sweet boyish face.". , The original house on this property was constructed c. 1800 and was home to the Clinedinst family at the time of the Civil War. It was in that wartime house that 17-year-old VMI Cadet Thomas Garland Jefferson, a great grandnephew of founding father Thomas Jefferson, died from wounds he received during the Battle of New Market., At the time of the battle, 26-year-old Lydie Clinedinst lived here with her parents. During the early stages of the battle, she witnessed artillery exchanges and hand-to-hand fighting from her window. When the fighting moved north of town, she ran out with others to care for the fallen., Among the wounded was Jefferson, who had been struck in the chest by a bullet. His friend, fellow cadet Moses Ezekiel, found Jefferson in an outbuilding on the Lightfoot Farm and brought him here to this site. The gravely wounded 17-year-old was placed in Lydie's mother's bed. "I will never forget him and his sweet, boyish face..." Lydie recalled. Two days later, on the evening of May 17, Jefferson passed away with Lydie, her mother, her sister Anna, Moses Ezekiel, and VMI Cadet Sgt. Oliver Evans at his side. The site where Jefferson died is marked by the stone monument in the yard in front of you., In 1881, Lydie's brother, John - a Confederate veteran - built this house on the site of their childhood home, and later sold it to Lydie's son. As she got older and needed more care, Lydie moved in with her son. Lydie and the house became a rallying point for VMI Cadets and other veterans and their families who returned to the battlefield in the post-war years, and Lydie herself became known as the "mother of the VMI Cadets" - Mother Crim. Lydie passed away in this house in 1931 at the age of 93., (Captions):, The Clinedinst home, as it looked at the time of the battle. , Painted by Jacob Clinedinst in 1890. (Crim Collection), Lydie Clinedinst. , Image courtesy VMI Archives., Thomas Garland Jefferson. , Image courtesy VMI Archives, Image taken on the front porch of the Clinedinst-Crim home on May 15, 1914, the 50th Anniversary of the battle. The two ladies are believed to have been tourists. Seated second from the right is John W. Clinedinst, Lydie's older brother and the builder of the house. On the left is Lt. Col. Charles T. O'Ferrall, who fought with the 23rd Virginia Calvalry at New Market. , John D. Crim Collection, Mother Crim in her later years., This marker was made possible through the generosity of John and Cynthia Crim