Historic Shrines of America Part 25

LII

MOUNT VERNON, VIRGINIA

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

George Washington was twenty years old when he became the owner of the Mount Vernon estate on the Potomac, in accordance with the provisions of the will of Laurence Washington, his half-brother. At that time the house contained but eight rooms and an attic, four rooms on each floor. There were twenty-five hundred acres in the farm.

As a boy Washington had tramped over every acre of the estate. When he was sixteen he made a plot of the region around Mt. Vernon. The original of the survey made at that time may be seen in the Library of Congress at Washington.

The young owner looked forward to years of quiet on his estate, but he was frequently called away from home for service in the militia of Virginia. In spite of these absences, however, he managed to make the acres surrounding the mansion give a good account of themselves.

When he responded to the call of the Colonies and became Commander-in-Chief of the army, he turned his back on Mt. Vernon with great reluctance, and for six years hardly saw the place he loved.

But when the independence of the Colonies had been won he returned home, in the hope that he might be permitted to remain there in obscurity, farming his land and entertaining his friends in the house on the Potomac.

That he might have more room for his friends, he enlarged the house.

On July 5, 1784, he wrote to his friend, William Rumney of Alexandria, asking him to inquire into the terms on which "a House Joiner and Bricklayer" might be engaged for two or three years. To the house, which dated from 1744, he made additions until it was three times as large as when he inherited the property. The alterations were completed in 1785. The completed house was ninety-six feet long, and thirty feet deep, with a piazza fifteen feet wide. The building material was wood, cut in imitation of stone.

While these alterations were in progress a visitor to Mt. Vernon was Charles Vardo, an Englishman. When he returned home he wrote an account of his visit, in which said:

"I crossed the river from Maryland into Virginia, near to the renowned General Washington's, where I had the honor to spend some time, and was kindly entertained with that worthy family. As to the General, if we may judge by the countenance, he is what the world says of him, a shrewd, good-natured, plain, humane man, about fifty-five years of age, and seems to wear well, being healthful and active, straight, well made, and about six feet high. He keeps a good table, which is always open to those of a genteel appearance....

"The General's house is rather warm, snug, convenient and useful, than ornamental. The size is what ought to suit a man of about two or three thousand a year in England. The out-offices are good and seem to be not long built; and he was making more offices at each wing to the front of the house, which added more to ornament than to real use. The situation is high, and commands a beautiful prospect of the river which parts Virginia and Maryland, but in other respects the situation seems to be out of the world, being chiefly surrounded by woods, and far from any great road or thoroughfare.... The General's lady is a hearty, comely, discreet, affable woman, some few years older than himself.... The General's house is open to poor travellers as well as rich, he gives diet and lodging to all that come that way, which indeed cannot be many, without they go out of their way on purpose...."

A visitor of January 19, 1785, was Elkanah Watson. In his diary Washington wrote simply that Mr. Watson came in and stayed all night; and that he went away after breakfast next morning. But Mr. Watson had a fuller account to give:

"I found him at table with Mrs. Washington and his private family, and was received in the native dignity and with that urbanity so peculiarly combined in the character of a soldier and eminent private gentleman. He soon put me at ease.... The first evening I spent under the wing of his hospitality, we sat a full hour at table by ourselves, without the least interruption, after the family had retired. I was extremely oppressed by a severe cold and excessive coughing, contracted by the exposure of a harsh winter journey. He pressed me to use some remedies, but I declined doing so. As usual after retiring, my coughing increased. When some time had elapsed, the door of my room was gently opened, and on drawing my bed-curtains, to my utter astonishment, I beheld Washington himself, standing at my bedside, with a bowl of hot tea in his hand."

The following May Rev. Thomas c.o.ke and Bishop Francis Asbury were welcomed to Mt. Vernon. "The General's seat is very elegant," Mr. c.o.ke wrote. "He is quite the plain, country-Gentleman." After dinner the visitors presented to their host a pet.i.tion for the emanc.i.p.ation of the Negroes, "entreating his signature, if the eminence of his station did not render it inexpedient for him to sign any pet.i.tion."

Washington told his guests that he was "of their sentiments, and had signified his thoughts on the subject to most of the great men of the State; that he did not see it proper to sign the pet.i.tion, but if the a.s.sembly took it into consideration, would signify his sentiments to the a.s.sembly by a letter."

An attractive picture of the General was given by Richard Henry Lee after a visit to Mt. Vernon in November, 1785:

"When I was first introduced to him he was neatly dressed in a plain blue coat, white Casimer waistcoat, and black breeches and Boots, as he came from his farm. After having sat with us some time he retired.... Later he came in again, with his hair neatly powdered, a clean shirt on, a new plain drab Coat, white waistcoat and white silk stockings."

John Hunter, who was with Colonel Lee, added his impression:

"The style of his house is very elegant, something like the Prince de Conde's at Chantilly, near Paris, only not quite so large; but it's a pity he did not build a new one at once, as it has cost him nearly as much as repairing his old one....

It's astonishing what a number of small houses the General has upon his Estate for his different Workmen and Negroes to live in. He has everything within himself--Carpenters, Bricklayers, Brewers, Blacksmiths, Bakers, etc., etc., and even has a well a.s.sorted store for the use of his family and servants."

While the repairs were still in progress, the ship _Mary_ arrived at Alexandria, having a consignment for Washington from Samuel Vaughan, a great admirer in London. This was a chimney-piece, wrought in Italy from pure white and sienite marble, for the use of Mr. Vaughan. When the mantel reached England the owner learned of the improvements then in progress at Mt. Vernon. Without unpacking the mantel he sent it on to America. When Washington received word of the arrival of the gift, he wrote, "By the number of cases, however, I greatly fear it is too elegant and costly for my room and republican style of living."

Nevertheless the mantel was installed in the mansion and became a great delight to the household.

Washington's days at Mt. Vernon were interrupted by the renewed call of his country. For much of the time for eight years he was compelled to be absent, and when, at length, the opportunity came to resume the free life on his estate, he had less than three years left. But these years were crowded full of hospitality in the mansion and of joyous work on the estate, and when, on December 14, 1799, he died as a result of a cold caught while riding on the estate, he left it to his "dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington."

For many years Mt. Vernon continued its hospitable career. Then came years of neglect, when the mansion was falling into ruins. But in 1853-56 Miss Ann Pamela Cunningham of South Carolina appealed to the women of the nation, and succeeded in organizing an a.s.sociation that took over the estate, restored it to its original condition, furnished it with Washington relics gathered from far and near, and opened it for the visits of the reverent visitors to the city of Washington, who continue their journey sixteen miles down the Potomac that they may look on the scene that brought joy to the heart of the Father of his Country.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA _Photo by H. P. Cook_ See page 246]

LIII

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

FROM WHICH ROBERT E. LEE WENT TO BATTLE FOR THE SOUTH

After the death of George Washington the Mt. Vernon family was gradually broken up, one after another going elsewhere for a home.

George Washington Parke Custis, Washington's adopted son, and grandson of Martha Washington, decided to build a home on a hill overlooking the Potomac, opposite Washington City. There were eleven hundred acres in the estate of which Arlington, the mansion he built in 1802, was the central feature.

It has been said that the stately house is an adaptation of the Doric temple at Paestum, near Naples. The roof of the great portico rests on eight ma.s.sive columns. The rooms within are of a size in keeping with the magnificent portal.

Perhaps the plan was too ambitious for the Custis fortune. At any rate the rooms on the south side of the hall were not completed. But it was a famous house, nevertheless. Guests were many. They delighted to look from the portico across the Potomac to Washington, where they could see the government buildings slowly taking shape.

One of the favored guests was Robert E. Lee. His frequent visits led to his marriage, in 1831, to Mr. Custis' daughter. At this time Lee was a lieutenant in the United States Army. Mrs. Lee remained at Arlington, waiting for the husband whose military duties enabled him to spend only brief seasons with her and the growing family there.

During the years before the war visitors to the Capital City thronged to Arlington. Some of them were interested in the many Washington relics in the house. Chief among these was the bed on which Washington died. Others came to the picnic grounds at Arlington Spring, which Mr.

Custis had opened for the pleasure of the people, building for the use of all comers a great dining-hall, a dancing pavilion, and a kitchen.

One of these visitors told his impressions of Arlington:

"In front of the mansion, sloping toward the Potomac, is a fine park of two hundred acres, dotted with groves of oak and chestnut and clumps of evergreens; and behind it is a dark old forest, with patriarchal trees bearing many centennial honors, and covering six hundred acres of hill and dale.

Through a portion of this is a sinuous avenue leading up to the mansion."

At the time of the secession of Virginia, Robert E. Lee was a colonel.

Duty seemed clear to him. It was not easy for him to take up arms against the United States Government, but he considered himself first of all a citizen of his native State. To respond to the call of the Confederacy meant ruin. His beautiful home, he feared, would be destroyed. But he did not hesitate. A desire to retain possession of his slaves had nothing to do with his decision. His own slaves had already been freed, and provision had been made in the will of Mrs.

Lee's father that all his slaves should be freed in 1862.

When, in 1865, General Lee was urged to prolong the conflict by guerilla warfare, he said: "No, that would not do. It must be remembered that we are Christian people. We have fought the fight as long and as well as we know how. We have been defeated. For us as a Christian people there is but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation. These men must go home and plant a crop, and we must proceed to build up our country on a new basis."

But he could not return to Arlington. The government had taken possession of the estate for a National Cemetery. For a time he lived in obscurity on a little farm. Then he became President of Washington College, later Washington and Lee University. With his family he lived on the campus at Lexington, Virginia, and there he died, October 12, 1870.

In the meantime the National Cemetery at Arlington was becoming a pilgrimage point for patriotic Americans. The slopes of the beautiful lawn were covered with graves. The stately white mansion, with its eight great pillars and its walls of stucco seemed a fitting background for the ranks of little white tombstones.

For years the t.i.tle to the property was in dispute. In 1864 the United States bought it for $26,800, when it was sold at auction for delinquent taxes. In 1882 the Supreme Court decided that G. W. C. Lee, son of General Lee, was ent.i.tled to the property, and the following year the government paid him $150,000 for eleven hundred acres, including the mansion.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VA.

Photo by H. P. Cook See page 249]

LIV

CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

WHERE WASHINGTON HAD A PEW "AT THE UPPER PART OF THE CHURCH"

George Washington was chosen one of the vestrymen of Fairfax parish in 1764, when this was formed by the division of Truro parish, although he was already a vestryman in Pohick Church at Truro.

The records of the new parish show that in 1766 it was decided to build Christ Church at Alexandria, and a second church at the Falls of the Potomac instead of the old church there. The members of the parish were asked to pay thirty-one thousand pounds of tobacco for the purpose of construction.

James Wren, the architect of Christ Church, is said to have been a descendant of Sir Christopher Wren. While the building was well designed, no one ever thought of it as a masterpiece. But it has answered the purposes of the worshipper for more than a century and a half, and it promises to last at least a hundred and fifty years more.