USA > Virginia > Arlington County > Arlington County > Historic Arlington. A history of the National cemetery from its establishment to the present time > Part 5
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Here young Lee lived until 1811, when his father removed to Alexandria to give his children the benefit of the educational ad- vantages offered by that town, then a thriving and prosperous municipality. The family lived on Cameron street, near the old Christ church, then on Orinoco street, and afterwards in the house known as the parsonage. The young lad's character was moulded by his mother, under whose sole influence he came during his boy- hood. His father was absent for long periods on duty as major- general in the American army, and in the later years of his life engaged in a despairing search after the spirit of health that had forsaken him. Robert in these years became a familiar figure in the streets of the old Virginia town, where he formed many life- long friendships. He was devoted to his invalid mother, and be- stowed upon her the most faithful care and attention and made her welfare the chief object of his thoughts. He was a thoughtful, earnest youth and spent his hours out of school at his mother's side.
When he entered school at Alexandria he had as his first teacher an Irish gentleman, William B. Leary, who, even before his famous pupil had become in any way distinguished, held him up to the boys that came after him as a model student. His early education was obtained from Mr. Leary, under whose tuition he remained until it was decided that he should go to West Point.
He then took a preparatory course under Mr. Benjamin Hal- lowell, a famous teacher of mathematics in Alexandria. In 1825, when he was eighteen years of age, he entered the Military Academy at West Point, where he remained four years, graduating in 1829 at the head of his class. At the time of Lee's marriage to Miss Cus-
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tis he had been an officer of the United States Army for two years. The high honors he had secured as a student at the Military Acad- emy caused his assignment to the engineer corps, then, as now, the highest branch of the service, and his first military duty was in connection with that corps. He was first ordered to Cockspur Island, near Savannah, but after his marriage was sent to Old Point, where he remained until 1835. In that year he was ap- pointed assistant astronomer to mark out the boundary line be- tween Ohio and Michigan, and as a result of this service he was promoted to the rank of captain. Capt. Lee was stationed for the next two years in Washington, as assistant to Chief Engineer Gra- tiot. During this time he lived at Arlington and might have been seen morning and evening of each pleasant day riding along Penn- sylvania avenue, on his way between his Virginia home and the War Department. While in Washington he numbered among his asso- ciates Lieuts. J. E. Johnston and M. C. Meigs, one of whom was in later years his most trusted confidant, the other his most im- placable enemy. At that time, however, they were all good friends, and in 1837, when Capt. Lee was ordered to take charge of the engineering operations in the Mississippi, Lieut. Meigs went along as his assistant. The work which was entrusted to Capt. Lee at this time was of a very important character and its completion was not only regarded as an important engineering achievement, but rendered possible the present city of St. Louis. St. Louis was at the time threatened with a serious disaster from the deflec- tion of the main current of the Mississippi to the Illinois side and the danger of its cutting a new channel through the bottom lands. Sand bars were forming along the city's entire river front and threatened to interfere with, if not to ruin altogether, its harbor.
In addition to remedying this, Capt. Lee was instructed to make surveys and plans for improving the river where the Des Moines river enters it from the west, and about the mouth of the Rock river, which enters from the east. At both these points the river flowed over ledges of rock, with a narrow and tortuous channel, and during the season of low water all steamboats were obliged to discharge at least a part of their cargoes in order to get through. After working with his party for several months Capt. Lee made up his report and it was submitted to Congress by the Secretary of War. He recommended the improvement of the two rapids by
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the straightening and widening of the channels and by blasting and moving the rocks that obstructed navigation. In regard to St. Louis, he recommended the proper course of the dykes to de- flect the currents and to close at low water the eastern or Illinois channel by connecting Bloody Island with the eastern shore. Upon these recommendations Congress continued for a number of years to make the necessary appropriations for the execution of the work, and a portion of it was accomplished under Capt. Lee's supervision. A good description of Gen. Lee, as he im- pressed others at this time, was written by Gen. Meigs. Gen. Meigs wrote of him :
"He was a man then in the vigor of youthful strength, with a noble and commanding presence, and an admirable, graceful, and athletic figure. He was one with whom nobody ever wished or ventured to take a liberty, though kind and generous to his subor- dinates, admired by all women and respected by all men. He was the model of a soldier and the beau ideal of a Christian man."
Capt. Lee continued to render valuable services to his govern- ment as an engineer, a portion of the time at Fort Hamilton, in New York harbor, and at other points, until the breaking out of hostilities between the United States and Mexico. During these years, so well employed, he was for a time one of the board of visitors to the Military Academy at West Point, and did much to improve the course of training at that institution.
With every branch of work to which he had been assigned, with every difficult operation he had undertaken, Capt. Lee proved himself an officer of remarkable ability, unswerving in his devotion to duty, and he was rapidly pressing forward to the very foremost rank of distinction and honor in military circles.
The commencement of the Mexican war opened a wider field for the exercise of his abilities as a military engineer and offered his first opportunity for that practical education in the art of war which was afterward to bear such abundant fruit. No officer who participated in the campaign in Mexico achieved more distinc- tion or rendered more valuable service than did Capt. Lee. He was assigned to Gen. Wool's command at the opening of the war and remained with it until after the battle of Buena Vista, in
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which Gen. Taylor with a force of 5,000 men put to rout Santa Anna's force of 20,000 men, when, at the request of Gen. Scott, Lee joined his army in the neighborhood of Tampico.
On the 9th of March, 1847, Gen. Scott landed his army of 12,000 men a short distance south of Vera Cruz, and laid siege to the city. It was strongly fortified by walls, and defended by a powerful fortress, the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, garrisoned by 5,000 men and containing 400 heavy guns. The establish- ment of batteries and the arrangement of all the other engineering details of the siege were directed by Capt. Lee, and so well was his work performed that on the 22d it had been completed, and on the 29th the city surrendered. Having gained by the capture of Vera Cruz a secure base of operations, Gen. Scott advanced on the city of Mexico. Santa Anna with a strong force took up a position on the National Road at Cerro Gordo, where he so strongly entrenched himself that further advance was impossible, while battle in so disadvantageous a position would have been sure to result disastrously for the American forces. Capt. Lee was therefore sent out to make reconnoissances, and at the end of the third day a passage for light batteries was accomplished around Santa Anna's entire army without alarming it. This ren- dered possible the turning of the extreme left of the enemy's line of defence, and capturing his entire army. A large force was sent along the route, thus made passable by Capt. Lee, and it had gained a position from which it was able to storm the heights of Cerro Gordo, and rout the entire Mexican army before it was discovered. For his services on this occasion and also at Vera. Cruz, Capt. Lee was highly praised in the reports of the com- mander-in-chief. In the engagement at San Augustin, and Con- treras which followed, Capt. Lee again distinguished himself by his courage and sagacity.
The Mexicans occupied a very strong position, while the Amer- icans were obliged to advance over a region of country so broken that horses could hardly keep a foothold. Pillow's and Twiggs" divisions were sent forward and with them went Capt. Lee. They started from San Augustin, where Gen. Scott had his head- quarters, and by night they had fought their way over the broken ground to Contreras. There a council of war was held, which was counselled by Capt. Lee, and the plan of future operations
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decided upon at his suggestion. When the council closed, Capt. Lee announced his intention of returning to San Augustin to re- port the conclusions of the meeting to Gen. Scott. A more hazard- ous undertaking than this could hardly have been conceived of. It was night and the darkness was intensified by a severe rain-storm, which was pouring its torrents upon the heroic band of American soldiers. The country lying between Contreras and San Angus- tin was almost impassable in the daytime, while, to add to the danger, the American forces were almost completely hemmed in by Mexican troops. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, Capt. Lee persisted in his determination, and without a com- panion or a light made the journey so fraught with danger, and arrived in safety at Gen. Scott's camp. His achievement called forth from Gen. Scott the highest commendation, and the whole American army applauded the gallant conduct of the daring officer.
As a result of Capt. Lee's prompt report, Gen. Scott ad- vanced his entire army under Capt. Lee's guidance, and at day- light an attack upon the enemy's strongholds was made. In the battle Lee again distinguished himself, and so well planned was the attack he had rendered possible, that in just seventeen minutes the Mexicans were driven from their works and were in full re- treat.
In all the subsequent events of the war Lee played a promi- nent part, gradually rising in the esteem of his commanders, of his brother officers, and in his rank in the service. One promo- tion followed another in rapid succession, and after the brilliant charge at Chapultepec, in which he was severely wounded, he re- ceived the rank of brevet colonel. He was Gen. Scott's favor- ite officer, and so well had he earned the favor shown him, that his fellow-soldiers applauded their commander for his recognition of Lee's brilliant services.
When peace between the United States and Mexico had been established by the conclusion of the treaty negotiations, Col. Lee returned home with the victorious army and was again as- signed to duty in the corps of engineers. He was engaged in the construction of fortifications at Sallers Point, near Baltimore, at Hampton Roads, and in New York harbor until 1852, when he was appointed superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy at
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West Point. He occupied this position until 1855, when he was promoted to a command in the cavalry branch of the service, and, as colonel of the Second cavalry, was placed in charge of the de- partment of Texas. At this time Texas and the country adjoin- ing was overrun by bands of hostile Indians, who let no oppor- tunity escape to massacre and rob the settlers whenever the latter ventured beyond the protecting arm of the military. To keep these maurauders in subjection and to protect the settlers, was the duty which now devolved upon Gen. Lee and his small command. Bloody engagements were frequent between the troops and the savages, and as hard a campaign of frontier warfare as any in the history of the country was carried on.
In these campaigns he was engaged until within a short time of the breaking out of the Civil war. It is a matter worthy of note that while in his earlier career Col. Lee had been intimately asso- ciated with such officers as Meigs, Beauregard, McClellan, and others, who afterwards achieved great distinction, in his Indian wars he had as officers of his command Johnson, Hardee, Thomas, Van Dorn, Hood, Fitz Lee, Stoneman, Kirby Smith, and Fields, all of whom became general officers in either the Con- federate or Federal service during the Civil war. While at Camp Cooper, Texas, in 1857, Col. Lee received notice by telegraph of the death of his wife's father, G. W. P. Custis, and at once has- tened to Arlington. He returned to Texas, however, and re- mained there until the state of excitement prevailing throughout the country rendered, in the opinion of the War Department, his presence at the National Capital necessary.
Although Col. Lee had been very actively engaged in the serv- ice of his country, while the discordant elements throughout the North and South were fomenting the difficulties surrounding the slave question until the land was overcast with the shadows of threatening clouds of civil war, he had, notwithstanding, found time to watch with ever-increasing anxiety the formation of the breach between the sections.
Though opposed to the institution of slavery, which he regarded as a moral and political evil, he was of the unalterable opinion that the matter was one that under the Constitution the States had the right to regulate for themselves, and he denied absolutely the right of the non-holding slave States to interfere. He be-
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lieved the emancipation of the negroes would sooner result from the mild and melting influences of Christianity than from the storm and tempest of fiery controversy. He was too much of a patriot to believe that the country could possibly be disrupted over the question, but he saw with feelings of the gravest appre- hension that it was, as he expressed it, rushing rapidly towards the verge of anarchy or civil war.
Having been recalled to Washington, Lee took up his residence at Arlington, and was there when the John Brown raid on Harper's Ferry occurred. He was at once summoned to Washington by the Secretary of War and directed to take command of a battalion of marines and proceed to the scene of the outbreak.
When he arrived at Harper's Ferry he found Brown and his followers located in the Government building closely besieged by the militia troops that had assembled there. Col. Lee stationed his troops around the building and sent Lieut. J. E. B. Stuart with a flag of truce to demand the surrender of the insurgents.
On their refusal to capitulate Col. Lee charged the building with his men, broke open the door, and released the citizens who had been imprisoned as hostages by Brown, before any of them could be injured. In the fight all the insurgents but Brown and three others were killed, while Lee's small command also suffered a considerable loss. But for the protection afforded Brown by Col. Lee, he would in all probability have been lynched by the in- dignant citizens of Harper's Ferry. Lee, however, held him as a prisoner, and as such turned him over to the civil authorities.
After this service Col. Lee returned to Texas, where for the next year he watched with growing uneasiness the discord be- tween the North and South.
Events now crowded upon each other with such rapidity that there could no longer be any doubt that civil war was to be the final result and that the conflict was irrepressible and inevitable. The election of Mr. Lincoln in 1860 spread consternation through- out the South, and a similar degree of excitement prevailed in the North when the delegates from the Southern States withdrew in a body from the Congress of the United States.
Then followed the secession of South Carolina, and in Febru- ary of 1861 the seven cotton States united themselves into an in- dependent republic, and demanded the surrender of Fort! Sum-
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ter, at Montgomery, Alabama. Following this, and thrilling the country with the intelligence that civil war, cruel and relentless, was on at last, came the news of Sumter's bombardment and surrender. The fortress fell beneath the fearful fire of shot and shell from the Confederate batteries on April 13, and on April 15 President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers. Just two days later the convention of Virginia passed the ordinance of secession, and the entire country was involved in the greatest civil strife the world has ever seen. In all this preparation for war, Col. Lee was recalled from Texas, and on March 1, 1861, he arrived in Washington in response to an order issued by the War Department.
It had been Col. Lee's intention at this time, in case Virginia were not involved in the struggle for State's rights, to retire to his home at Arlington, and there sheathe his sword forever, rather than take part in so unnatural a war as that between the States of so great a union. The secession of Virginia cast the die for him, however, and without hesitation he joined his fortunes with those of the Southern Confederacy.
His final decision was not reached withont severe mental trouble nor without efforts on the part of the Government to pre- serve his highly valued services to the Federal army. He was offered positions of the highest importance and honor, and was indirectly promised the position of Commander-in-chief of the Union forces. This offer was made him by Francis Preston Blair, the father of Montgomery Blair, then Postmaster-General. Mr. Blair, during their interview, informed Col. Lee that he had been sent by President Lincoln and he inquired whether any induce- ment would prevail upon Lee to take command of the Union army. Lee replied that to lift his hand against his native State would be impossible.
Immediately after this interview Col. Lee went to the office ( f Gen. Scott, to whom he related what had transpired. Then he re- turned to Arlington, and after two days spent in a severe mental struggle to determine on which side his duty lay, he concluded to resign his commission in the army. His letter of resignation was written at Arlington, on Saturday, April 20, and is as follows :
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ARLINGTON, VA., April 20, 1861.
GENERAL : Since my interview with you on the 18th inst. I have felt that I ought not longer to retain my commission in the army. I therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted all the best years of my life and all the ability I possessed. During the whole of that time-more than a quarter of a century-I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. To no one, General, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration, and it has always been my ardent desire to merit your approbation. I shall carry to the grave the most. grateful recollections of your consideration, and your name and fame will be al- ways dear to me. Save in the defence of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword. Be pleased to accept my most earnest wishes for the continu- ance of your happiness and prosperity, and believe me most truly yours,
R. E. LEE.
This letter, though written on the 20th, was not sent to Gen. Scott until Monday, the 22d. On the same day Col. Lee, with Mrs. Lee and their children, left Arlington for Richmond, never to return. On the day following, Tuesday, the 23d of April, Lee accepted the position of Commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia.
CHAPTER V.
SEIZURE AND OCCUPATION OF ARLINGTON BY FEDERAL FORCES-THE FIRST INTERMENT.
Three days after the Lee family left Arlington the first battal- . ions of the great army of the North swept into the District of Columbia, and the first camp-fires were lighted among the oaks of Arlington.
The place was found just as it had been left. John McQuin, a faithful overseer of the family, remained in charge of the house and grounds, and every morning the great doors of the mansion were flung open in hospitable welcome, and at night closed and barred with the same scrupulous care that had attended this for- mal ceremony when the occupants of the house had retired to their rooms, in the uneventful days before the clarion trump of war had sounded the death of tranquillity and domesticity in Virginia.
When the armed troops swarmed up the Arlington hillsides they found the house open to them, the walks cleaned, the gardens cleared and trimmed, as though the master of the house were yet within to give them welcome. When they tramped into the echo- ing rooms they found none to receive them, and as they rum- maged from cellar to garret the loved treasures of Washington were taken out and divided among the recruits, who knew not but that they were the possessions of Lee himself and so felt no com- punctions upon carrying them off as trophies of war.
The mansion itself became the headquarters of the commanders of the troops quartered on the grounds, and soon long lines of tents forming company streets had sprung up all over the hillsides and out over the level plateau to the south. Drills by battalions and regiments were held daily and soon the place had seemingly lost its identity in the great transformation that had been wrought.
The ancient stately manse that had formerly known no harsher sounds than the strains of sweet music or the prattle of children in innocent frolic, now resounded with the clank of sabre and accoutrements and the heavy tread of cavalry-booted officers.
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The quiet, gentle life the place had formerly known gave way to the abrupt roughness of a military camp. Mud-bespattered orderlies dashed through the quiet, shaded avenues, and the smooth, level lawns were trampled into clayey plains by bands of wandering recruits. All the boundaries, garden plats, and smooth reaches of green turf that in times of peace were preserved in- violate by a natural respect for order and beauty were swept away, and even the gradually descending terraces were broken down and became but ragged embankments.
The place was never again to bear the loved title and beautiful name of "home." From this time until the war was ended Arlington remained in the possession of the military and was destined to ultimately receive to its kindly bosom, in the lethean caress of death, many of the brave lads that had so cheerfully and with such high hopes and ambitions first spread their tents amid its forests.
Early in the war Washington became the hospital base for all the section of the country surrounding, and thousands of wounded soldiers from the neighboring battle-fields were carried there by train and boat, as well as the many unused to the hardships and privations of warfare, who sickened in camp and on the field. In 1864 there were fifty-six hospitals in Washington, from St. Eliz- abeth's Asylum just across the Eastern Branch of the Potomac to the tents at Arlington. Private dwellings, warehouses, churches, and schools were converted into hospitals, and throughout Wash- ington the groans of thousands of wounded heroes floated on the misery-laden air. The intertwined serpents and the green stripes and chevrons were the insignia most familiar to Washingtonians, for the surgeon and his staff everywhere had precedence.
On the hills of Arlington the long canvas shelters hemmed in the mansion on every side. The house itself was early in the war occupied by the officers of Fort Whipple, a garrison located on the hills west of Arlington, and was later shared with officers of Fort McPherson, an earthwork thrown up by Mcclellan a short distance south of the mansion. The surgeon's staff of the hospital corps also established headquarters here.
The great oaks immediately surrounding the house were pre- served from destruction, and, under their grateful shade, stretched away long lines of white tents, sheltering the suffering victims of
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the rebellion's battles. Soft, whispering breezes crept through the long cathedral-like aisles of oak and elm, touching with pitying caress alike the brow of the childish recruit and the aged veteran. Death dwelt amid these tents and daily reaped a greater harvest than is yielded in a great city in many months. To many he came as a white-winged messenger of love and pity, bringing blessed surcease from pain and torture almost unbearable. Army ambulances, converted into hearses by the simple expedient of painting them a sombre black, passed about the city at all hours of the day and night garnering the harvest of death. From the hospitals in the city and from those without the bodies of the dead were taken to the Soldiers' Home Cemetery, then the only military cemetery in Washington.
Early in the spring of 1864 the interments made here had ex- hausted every available inch of space. Over 8,000 soldiers who had died in the hospitals in and about Washington had been buried in the cemetery, and in May those in charge reported that but a few more bodies could be interred, and the cemetery would then of necessity have to be closed and the further issue of burial permits denied.
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