Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

https://www.nps.gov/appa/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_House,_The_Robert_E._Lee_Memorial Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, formerly named the Custis-Lee Mansion, is a Greek revival style mansion located in Arlington, Virginia, United States that was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It overlooks the Potomac River and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. During the American Civil War, the grounds of the mansion were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery, in part to ensure that Lee would never again be able to return to his home. Arlington House is the nation’s memorial to Robert E. Lee. It honors him for specific reasons, including his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War. In a larger sense it exists as a place of study and contemplation of the meaning of some of the most difficult aspects of American history: military service; sacrifice; citizenship; duty; loyalty; slavery and freedom. Public Transportation: The Memorial is accessible by the Blue Line of the Metro subway system. The Arlington Cemetery subway station is near the Visitor Center for the cemetery. Car: Arlington House is located inside Arlington National Cemetery. If you plan to come in a vehicle, the nearest parking is in the Arlington National Cemetery parking garage. From the entrance and Welcome Center at Arlington National Cemetery, one can walk up the hill to Arlington House (approximately 15 minutes-steep) Arlington House Temporary Visitor Center While Arlington House undergoes a $12.35 million rehabilitation, be sure to visit the ranger staff and see our temporary visitor center and museum exhibits located inside the Women in Military Service for America Memorial near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Columns of Arlington House Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Arlington House - Aerial photo Aerial view of Arlington House surrounded by fall foliage. This image was captured from a manned helicopter flight. Arlington House - Interior Plates and a kettle on a table. Explore inside Arlington House and its buildings. Arlington House Interior Portraits hang on the walls of the parlor room with red velvet furniture and a small dining table. The parlor room in Arlington House View from Arlington House A park ranger talks to people overlooking Washington, DC Get great views of Washington, DC, from Arlington House! Faux-painting and the Columns of Arlington House The columns on the front of Arlington House, painted to look like natural stone, are a large example of a bygone decorative technique called faux-painting. Arlington House columns during re-painting Women Amidst War The extreme demands of wartime industry and the loss of traditional family breadwinners to military service caused hardship, but also presented opportunities to women for employment, volunteerism, and activism that previously had been unavailable to them. While many of these gains would be temporary, the Civil War nonetheless represents an important step forward in American society's view of the role of women. Women were increasingly seen (and saw themselves) as the foundat Photo of women at a house on the Cedar Mountain battlefield Reconstruction During Reconstruction, the Federal government pursued a program of political, social, and economic restructuring across the South-including an attempt to accord legal equality and political power to former slaves. Reconstruction became a struggle over the meaning of freedom, with former slaves, former slaveholders and Northerners adopting divergent definitions. Faced with increasing opposition by white Southerners and some Northerners, however, the government abandoned effor Picture depictsing former slaves and free blacks voting following the passage of the 15th amendment War to the Hilt The Civil War ushered in a new era of warfare in which the effects of war were felt beyond the battlefield, including confiscation of civilians' personal property, holding prisoners for strategic purposes, and scorched earth military policy. Photo of Union troops at Arlington House Arlington House Project Robert E. Lee returns to Harpers Ferry after 160 years! These proofs represent but one component of a collaboration between historic furnishing, conservation, waysides, AV media, and some custom in-house work. The Civilian Experience in the Civil War After being mere spectators at the war's early battles, civilians both near and far from the battlefields became unwilling participants and victims of the war as its toll of blood and treasure grew year after year. In response to the hardships imposed upon their fellow citizens by the war, civilians on both sides mobilized to provide comfort, encouragement, and material, and began to expect that their government should do the same. Painting of civilians under fire during the Siege of Vicksburg Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Cultural Landscape Arlington House: The Robert E. Lee Memorial is located within Arlington National Cemetery and is managed by the National Park Service. Three main periods of significance can be traced to the site. In 1802-1861, the Custis and Lee families used the estate as a residence. In 1861-1865, the property was used as the headquarters for the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. In 1865-1880, the site was transformed into a national cemetery. High angle view of maintained lawn in front of Arlington House, fronted by tall columns. The Civil War in American Memory America's cultural memories of the Civil War are inseparably intertwined with that most "peculiar institution" of American history - racial slavery. But in the struggle over Civil War memory which began as soon as the war was over and continues to this day, rival cultural memories of reconciliation and white supremacy have often prevailed. Therein lies the challenge as the National Park Service - a public agency - seeks to "provide understanding" of the Civil War era's lasting impact upon the development of our nation. Elderly Union and Confederate veterans shake hands at the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg First Official National Decoration Day James A. Garfield gave the first Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868. Read the speech here. picture of President James A. Garfield Brood X Periodical Cicadas FAQ Learn about the Brood X periodical cicadas that emerged in 2021 throughout the Mid-Atlantic U.S. A perched periodical cicada with red eyes and orange wings September 11, 2001, NPS Oral History Project This oral history project recorded the memories and perspectives of NPS staff who experienced the events of 9/11 and their aftermath. Transcripts and a 2004 report about the NPS response are available online. A petinad hand holds a flame aloft in the air. Sea Level Rise in the DC Area Learn about current and projected rates of sea level rise in the greater DC area, based on local water level data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) A tall white cylinder attached to a wooden pier with Hains Point in the background. Audrey Calhoun The first Black woman in the United States to graduate with a degree in forestry, Audrey Calhoun committed to a career in national parks. Audrey Calhoun poses in her Park Service uniform. Challenging The Ranger Image In spite of programs to encourage hiring of individuals with disabilities, it was often others’ misconceptions or discomfort that prevented women with disabilities from getting National Park Service (NPS) jobs. Those hired in the 1970s and early 1980s brought diverse skillsets and new perspectives to the workforce. Like the earliest women rangers in the 1910s and 1920s, they often only had short-term positions. They all challenged ideas of what it takes to be a park ranger. Ranger Vicky White in a wheelchair with a visitor and man in military dress. Regina P. Jones Underwood Brake Regina Jones-Brake's career with the National Park Service (NPS) began in 1976 with the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. Over the next 33 years, her love of American history compelled her to share untold stories as she advanced from park ranger to management assistant. Regina Jones-Underwood pictured outdoors in her NPS uniform. Black History is American History DC A panel discussion with Cheryl LaRoche, Sabrina Romain, Edie Wallace, and Kimberly Robinson about the influence of African Americans on park lands and landscapes in the greater DC region and our nation. Includes discussions of NPS research on the long history of civil rights, the Reconstruction Era, and rural African American communities, and the stories of black history that are an integral part of American history. A black woman with glasses sits in front of a crowded bookshelf Ranger Roll Call, 1940-1949 Only a small number of women held temporary ranger positions in national parks during World War II. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, national monuments in the Southwest, and historical sites in the East continued to employ more women. Although a few women veterans benefitted from post-war veteran hiring programs, most veterans were men and permanent positions became even more difficult for women to get. Catherine Byrnes and Barbara Dickinson stand outside modeling the NPS uniform. Civil Rights and the Civil War in the National Capital Area The Civil War showed the cracks in the loosely held peace between the North and South. As the end of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation established a reason for African Americans to join the fight, the stage was set for African American men to fight for their own freedom and rights as citizens of America. An unidentified African American soldier sits with a leg crossed over the other for his portrait. Reconstruction in the National Capital Area The legacy of Reconstruction is filled with triumph and trials, gains and losses. Though the era resulted in the dawn of the Jim Crow era, it did see a rise in Black political and social representation and power. Read more about the Reconstruction era in this timeline following the history of civil rights in America. Group portrait of African American legislators during Reconstruction. Guide to the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection This finding aid describes the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. 50 Nifty Finds #38: A Germ of an Idea A lot of articles have been written about the history of the National Park Service (NPS) arrowhead emblem. Many recycle the same content and outdated information that has largely come from the NPS itself. Challenging the traditional story has revealed new sources of information—and two previously overlooked arrowhead designs—that rewrite the arrowhead origin story. Wooden arrowhead plaque on stand Series: A Timeline of Resistance: The Perseverance of African Americans from the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights Era The story of African American’s fight for equality did not begin or end with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In the National Capital Area, dedicated activism and self-determination has been documented since the Revolutionary War through the present day. This series consists of six articles that outline distinct timelines of resistance and activism in the fight for freedom. A young African American girl gazes at the camera holding a banner for the March on Washington Guide to the Harry T. Thompson Collection This finding aid describes the Harry T. Thompson Collection, part of the National Capital Regional Office Museum Collection. Harry T. Thompson

Arlington House Arlington House The Robert E. Lee Memorial Virginia National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior The Robert E. Lee Memorial c_>W>r two centuries this stately mansion overlooking Washington, DC, has borne symbolic meanings that reflect the history and changing culture of the United States. Robert E. Lee, who called Arlington House home for three decades, wrote of the place where "my affections and attachments are more strongly placed than at any other place in the world." Today it is a memorial to Lee and to his efforts to heal a nation torn apart by civil war. ' Rob Lee runs to meet his father, returning in 1848 from the war with Mexico. Waiting are Lee's wife Mary, holding their daughter Mildred; her parents Mary and George Washington Parke Custis; and head housekeeper Selina Gray and her daughter Sarah. A Shrine Worthy of Washington George Washington Parke Custis (left) was raised by the nation's first president. In 1802 the first memorial to George Washington began to take shape within sight of the Nation's Capital rising across the Potomac River. Built as the seat of a prominent Virginia family, Arlington House was also a public space, the realization of a dream by George Washington Parke Custis. Custis, grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis, was raised from infancy by Martha and her second husband George Washington. He grew to revere Washington as a father and military hero. On his grandmother's death in 1802 Custis inherited her estates and enslaved workers, including 1,100 acres on the Potomac. Custis christened the estate Mount Washington later renaming it Arlington after an early Custis family plantation. He modeled his house on a Greek temple and turned much of the mansion into a museum for his "Washington Treasures"military paraphernalia and other Washington mementos. In 1804 he married Mary Lee Fitzhugh, a devout Episcopalian whose faith governed her treatment of enslaved workers. She gave them a basic education and lessons in her strong Christian beliefs. With her husband she anticipated their liberation from slavery. In 1831 their only surviving child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Lt. Robert E. Lee, a childhood playmate and distant cousin. Mary and Robert Lee had seven children and divided their time between Arlington House and Lee's duty posts. Despite increasingly severe rheumatoid arthritis, Mrs. Lee managed the household^ and its slaves after her mother died in 1853. She shared her mother's religious piety and looked after the welfare of the enslaved workers. . . . and the Moment of Decision A Home Overrun by War . . . When Custis died in 1857, Arlington had fallen into some disrepair. Lee took leave from the army to manage the estate, bringing to the task his customary sense of duty. "May God grant," he wrote to his wife, " . . . that we earn the title of faithful servants." Custis had provided for the emancipation of his slaves no later than five years after his death, if Arlington was solvent. Lee worked diligently to restore the estate, but progress was slow. In December 1862 he was obligated to carry out his father-in-law's wishes. With the coming of civil war, Arlington House ceased to be a home to the Custis and Lee families. Lee left for Richmond in April 1861 and accepted command of Virginia's forces. Mrs. Lee left in May as Union troops prepared to occupy Arlington Heights in defense of the capital. She entrusted her house keys to Selina Gray, who kept watch over the Lees' possessions. When items began disappearing Gray confronted the commanding officer, who moved many of the furnishings to Washington. Born in 1807 into an old Virginia family, Robert E. Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee. Lee attended the US Military Academy at West Point, spending most of his career in the Engineer Corps before distinguishing himself in the Mexican War. After serving as superintendent of West Point, Lee transferred to the cavalry in 1855. He learned of his father-in-law's death in 1857 and returned home. On the morning of April 20, 1861, Robert E. Lee wrote a letter resigning his commission in the US Army. Within t w o days he left Arlington House forever. In 1863 the US government dealt with the growing number of freed and runaway slaves by creating a Freedman's Village on the grounds. The following year the government took possession of the estate when Mrs. Lee couldn't appear in person to pay property taxes. For reasons both practical and symbolic, the army then established a military cemetery on the grounds and began interring the rapidly mounting war dead. Though never a large slaveholder himself, Lee managed over 60 enslaved workers as executor of Arlington. He was ambivalent about slavery, calling it a "moral and political evil," but he also believed that only "Merciful Providence" should determine the institution's fate. When Lee learned of Virginia's Lee's lap desk A Memorial to Lee The establishment of

Selina Gray’s quarters Summer Kitchen/ George Clark’s quarters Black History Exhibit North Wing Entrance Store Room Hunting Hall Conservatory Morning Room Office and Studio White Parlor Center Hall Dining Room Family Parlor Entrance PORTICO Bath and Water Closet Outer Hall Pantry Inner Hall Guest Chamber Mr. and Mrs. Custis’ Chamber School and Sewing Room 

Mrs. Lee’s Dressing Room Girls’ Dressing Room Upper Hall Col. and Mrs. Lee’s Chamber Girls’ Chamber Boys’ Chamber Miss Mary’s Chamber Small Chamber