USA > Virginia > Fairfax County > Fairfax County > Industrial and historical sketch of Fairfax County, Virginia > Part 5
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As colonel, he led his regiment in the famous raid around Mcclellan's army, and was an active participant in all those brilliant achievements which made notable the proficiency of the Confederate cavalry. Being severely wounded in the great cavalry fight at Brandy Station in 1863, and while re- covering from his wounds at the home of General Wickham, in Hanover County, General Lee was taken prisoner, and for a part of the time while thus held, was under sentence of death, as hostage for a Federal officer held under like sentence in Libby Prison.
Being exchanged in 1864, he returned to his home; and while he found his young wife and children dead, his beautiful home burned to the ground, and his whole estate laid waste by the ruthless hand of war, yet his first act was to visit Libby Prison to shake the hand and congratulate the Federal officer for whom he had been held as hostage. Im mediately joining his com- mand, General Lee led his division in every engagement from the Rapidan to Appomattox where, with his father, the greatest soldier of modern times, he surrendered to the inevitable.
A few years after the Civil War he removed to Fairfax County. He served in the State Senate and was thrice elected to the Congress of the United States. General Lee, almost in the prime of life, died October 15, 1891, and was buried at his beautiful home, "Ravensworth," where the stately oaks-
"Still a ceaseless vigil holy Keep above his dust."
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General W. W. Mackall.
General W. W. Mackall, the distinguished soldier and citizen, was a resi- dent of Fairfax County for a number of years. He was a graduate of West Point, and with a commission as Captain, served with distinction in the regu- lar army from 1837 to the outbreak of the Civil War, when he resigned his commission and cast his fortunes with the Confederate cause. In quick suc- cession, by brave and meritorious conduct, he rose through all the grades to that of Brigadier-General. General Mackall was held in high esteem by all the leading military men of the Southern Confederacy. Few men made greater sacrifices or served the Lost Cause more valiantly and faithfully than General Mackall. Returning to his beautiful home near Langley to reside after the Civil War, he soon won for himself the love and esteem of a large circle of friends and admirers. He died August 12, 1891, and was buried at Lewinsville.
General Fitzhugh Lee.
It seems appropriate to pause here to make some reference to General Fitzhugh Lee. one of the later distinguished men of Fairfax. He was born at "Claermont," in Fairfax County. November 9. 1835. He was the son, as stated in a previous sketch. of Commodore Sidney Smith Lee, and grandson of "Light Horse" Harry Lee, of Revolutionary fame. He entered the West Point Military Academy at the age of sixteen, and graduated in July, 1856. His career from that time until his death was a distinguished and active one. His first military service was as Second Lieutenant in the famous old Second Cavalry, which furnished so many officers who became distinguished in the Civil War. He had many thrilling experiences on the plains in our country's wars with the Indians. Resigning his commission in the United States Army at the outbreak of the Civil War. he joined his fortunes with those of his State and the South, serving until after the first battle of Manassas on General Ewell's staff : then as Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Virginia Cav- alry; and then in turn as Colonel, Brigadier-General, and Major-General. After General Wade Hampton was sent to join General Joseph E. Johnston's army in the South, Fitz Lee commanded all the cavalry of the Army of North- ern Virginia until the surrender at Appomattox. His career was a particularly brilliant one, and he became one of the recognized heroes of the Civil War.
In 188r. while living in Fairfax County, General Lee was elected Governor of Virginia. and after a brilliant administration of four years (the Consti- tutional limit), he again retired to private life. Some years later he was appointed by President Cleveland Collector of Customs at Lynchburg. Va., and in the spring of 1896 was made Consul General at Havana, Cuba. He so aischarged the duties of that trying position in those perilous times as to win the admiration and approval of the whole country, irrespective of party.
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When President Mckinley succeeded Mr. Cleveland, he refused to accept General Lee's resignation, and, after the outbreak of the war with Spain, ap- pointed him Major-General of Volunteers, and gave him command of the Seventh Army Corps. He was honorably discharged April 12, 1899, and bre- veted Brigadier-General of the regular army, and in February, 1900, he was appointed in the permanent establishment, commanding the Department of the Missouri. On March 2. 1901, he was placed on the retired list. He died April 28, 1905, and was buried in beautiful "Hollywood," at Richmond, Va.
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Old Homestrads
"Are they not hallowed to us, By mother's songs of long gone years. And baby's joys and childish fears, And youthful hopes and joyful tears?"
It is to be sincerely regretted that some one had not a century ago col- lected and recorded all the facts connected with the Colonial homesteads of Fairfax County. There were many persons then living in the respective neighborhoods, who could have given quite accurate and full accounts of the employments, social diversions and enjoyments which filled up the measure of the lives of those who first built and occupied these homes. Everything now is but the "Scattered remnant of a vague tradition."
The prominent homesteads associated with the Colonial history of Fair- fax County were nearly all built in the decade between 1730 and 1740. These were Mount Vernon, Gunston Hall. Woodlawn, Belvoir, Lexington, Newing- ton, Hollin Hall, Towlston Hall, Mount Eagle, Cedar Grove, Vaucluse, Cler- mont, Abbingdon. and Clifton. For the most part these buildings were constructed of brick and stone, with thick walls and great outside chimneys. The style of architecture in all of them was much the same. The roomis were large and rambling, the ceilings high, and wainscoted walls of oak or walnut finish, were common. The roofs were steep, and the roomy attics which they enclosed, were lighted by dormer windows. A spacious veranda was a promi- nent feature of each. Belvoir, Hollin Hall, Towlston Hall, Vaucluse, Cler- mont, Lexington. Newington, the old parsonage of Truro parish. and others, are no more. Mount Vernon, Gunston Hall and Woodlawn are the promi- nent old homesteads left to serve as links in the chain that binds the past to the present. These are well preserved, and are objects of great interest to the intelligent and thoughtful visitor.
Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is the most noted homestead on the Western Continent. Thousands of visitors annually come here to view the home and tomb of the first President of the United States. No home in the wide world has a more beautiful situation. The peaceful and quiet landscape surrounding it fills the mind of the visitor with inexpressible delight,
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:Mt. Vernon.
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In 1856 the Legislature of Virginia granted a charter of incorporation to the "Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union." and in the same year this Association purchased from John Augustine Washington; for $200,000, the Mount Vernon mansion and 200 acres of land adjoining. The object of the purchase being the complete restoration of the "mansion and grounds," this work was immediately begun, and has since been prosecuted with great vigor and success. Every part of the grounds and the whole interior of the Mansion have received such careful and intelligent attention that the pa- triotic as well as the curious visitor, is filled with delight at what he sees. The numerous rooms of the Mansion, known as the River Room, the West Parlor, the Music Room, the Banquet Hall, Mrs. Washington's Room, Nellie Custis: Room, Washington's Room, and Lafayette's Room, are each taste- fully furnished in antique style and fashion. After the death of Washington . his articles of furniture became widely scattered, but by purchase and dona- tion, from time to time, they have been restored to their original places in the Mansion. All the furniture of the Library at the present time is the original.
Let every American, especially every young American, visit this sacred spot. It will make an impression for good which will go with him through life. It will teach him the story and lesson of the past, as no printed page can. It will enlarge his patriotism, elevate his notions of public service, and will call out some sense of veneration and loyalty towards the institutions of his country, and the memory of her mighty dead; so that young America may bring back to our land those civic elements that dignified the first eight years of our constitutional life.
Gunston Hall.
Next to Mount Vernon, "Gunston Hall" is probably the most celebrated Colonial residence in Fairfax County. It was the home of George Mason, author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Fairfax County Resolutions, and several amendments to the Federal Constitution. Gunston Hall is in a fine state of preservation. Not only its exterior of quaint roofs, gables, dormer windows and tall chimneys, but its interior of spacious apartments with their high ceilings, wainscotings and elaborate stairways, have all been well cared for. The most notable feature of this old mansion is its beautiful and elabo- rate interior finish. This was all hand-carved by special workmen brought over from England by Mr. Mason. The interior finish of the White Parlor is a wonder. The doors, windows, and recesses on either side of the square open fireplace, are all incased in broad, fluted, square pilasters with frontals after the chase Doric designs. The heavy panelled doors of this room are all finished with classic scrolls. So beautiful is this work that it is often repro- duced in costly modern mansions. A Northern architect, visiting Gunston
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"Gunston Hall," Home of George Mason.
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recently, offered $3.000 for the wood work of this room. He wished to trans- fer it to a Colonial mansion he was erecting near Boston.
As one passes through this stately mansion, thought irresistibly travels back to the noted guests of former times. Washington. Lafayette, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Henry, and others, were all guests, at one time or another. of the distinguished owner. They sought and enjoyed, not only the large and cordial hospitality here dispensed, but the valued opin- ion and wise council of the great thinker, on the momentous questions then perplexing the minds of those entrusted with public affairs. No home in the thirteen original Colonies did more to foster and promote those principles of human freedom that finally triumphed in Colonial independence. Built in 1758, for thirty-four years while its owner lived, it was the source of inspira- tion and support to the great leaders who prominently figured in the Revo- lutionary period. May it withstand the ravages of time until the life-work of its builder shall be better understood and appreciated !
Woodlawn.
Woodlawn, the stately home of the beautiful Nellie Custis, the adopted daughter of General Washington, is three miles west of Mount Vernon. Of all the old homesteads of Fairfax, this is the most pretentious. It was built on a tract of land, two thousand acres in extent. willed by Washington to his adopted daughter. after her marriage to his favorite nephew, Major Law- rence Lewis, of Culpeper County. It was named for Major Lewis' childhood home, and is a substantial brick structure, sixty by forty feet, with wide halls, . spacious apartments, and ample wings. united by corridors. Here in the early part of the last century, for nearly forty years, a generous hospitality was dispensed. The beautiful lady of the house was no stranger to the dis- · tinguished people of this and other lands. At Mount Vernon and in the Capital of the Nation, she had met and formed the acquaintance of scores of these. General Lafayette, on his second visit, in 1824, to the land he loved and had helped so valiantly to make independent. came here to renew his fondly cherished acquaintance with the stately housewife whom. nearly fifty years before. he had met as a child in the home of his old commander. At all times and with all conditions of life. she was the same courteous, in- telligent and agreeable lady, winning and retaining the love and esteem of all who knew her. Major Lawrence Lewis died November 20. IS39, and on a bright summer day in July. 1852, Nelly Custis, his wife, full of years and honors, followed him to the burial vault at Mount Vernon. In the beautiful parlor of the Mount Vernon mansion where, more than fifty years before, crowned with bridal wreathes "The fairest lady of the land," she had been given in marriage by Fer distinguished foster-father, and had received the congratulations of distinguished guests from every quarter. she lay in state to receive the last tributes of respect from sorrowing friends in the nearby
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"Woodlawn," Home of Nellie Custis.
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"Solona," resi- dence of Mrs. W. S. Smoot. which shelter- ed "Dollie" Madison when the British cap- tured Wash- .ington.
cities, and the surrounding neighborhood. Down in the family burial place. close by the waters of the river she loved so well, and on whose pleasant banks she had spent so many happy days in childhood and youth, near the last resting place of her kind and loving guardians, the widely loved mistress of the Woodlawn of years ago, sleeps her last sleep. A marble monument marks her last resting place, and on it we read: "Sacred to the memory of Eleanor Park Custis, granddaughter of Mrs. Washington, and adopted daugh- ter of General Washington. Reared under the roof of the Father of His Country, this lady was not more remarkable for the beauty of her person than for the superiority of her mind. She lived to be admired. and died to be regretted. July 15. 1852, in the seventy-fourth year of her age."
Solona.
Six miles from Washington, near the village of Langley, stands the old "Parson Maffit" homestead. built in 18or. It was this old mansion which, in 1814. sheltered Dolly Madison, wife of President Madison, in her flight from Washington. On the approach of the British to the Capital. Mrs. Madison, cutting Stuart's famous portrait of Washington in such haste from the frame as to leave the signature of the artist to the remnant, and taking the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, and other important state papers with her, in company with a servant. fled across the Potomac into Fairfax County. After being refused lodging at a number of places, finally the doors
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of Solona were thrown open to her, and she was made a welcome guest. Here later she was joined by the President and a number of his Cabinet, where, late in the evening on August 24. 1814, they witnessed. from a nearby hill, the burning of Washington by the British. This is now the home of the Smoot family.
Other Old Homes.
There are many notable private residences in the immediate vicinity of the Seminary, all of them connected with the tragic history of the Civil War. "Malvern." the old home of Bishop Johns, and now the property of Mr. Ed- ward C. Dangerfield. was General Phil Kearny's headquarters during that time. "Menokin." the home of the Cassius Lees, and still in the possession of that family, was the headquarters of General McDowell, whose horses were stabled in its spacious parlors. "Meeckross," the home of Col. Arthur Herbert, was rebuilt after the war. its cellars being a Federal magazine which Col. Herbert found fourteen feet deep and cement-lined, on his return after the war. The noble view of the broad Potomac and the intervening hills, seen through the trees which Mrs. Herbert planted after the war with her own fair hands in place of those cut down by the Federal troops, lend a unique loveliness to the place, and rabbit and robbin are now in possession of the yawning trenches and forts made by a hostile soldiery, and honey- suckle and wild rose riot over the crumbling breastworks. Adjoining Col. Herbert's property is "Vauxcluse," one of the old Fairfax estates, now occu- pied by the noteworthy artist, Prof. E. F. Andrews, and his family. The old hospitable mansion of the Fairfaxes was torn down by the Federal troops, and not one stone was left upon another. Until four years ago, when Prof. Andrews bought the land and built, the property had been abandoned since the Civil War. It is a wild and picturesque -pot, and the famous old spring. around which cluster so many romantic stories, is at the foot of a beautiful rustic stairway, a creation of the artistic mind of the present gifted Mistress of the Manor.
Near Annandale is "Ravenworth," the stately home of Mrs. "Rooney" Lee. This old mansion, surrounded by primitive forest, is one of the most attractive in Fairfax. To this beautiful home which became his by inherit- ance, after the close of the Civil War, in which he had borne a conspicuous part, came General W. HI. F. ( "Rooney") Lee, the second son of the great Confederate chieftain. Here "Rooney" Lee. with the love and esteem of all who knew him, lived and died, and in the family burying ground nearby, under the trees he loved so well, sleeps his last sleep. In addition to the stately owner and her distinguished son, spending the evening of his life in a well-earned rest, here resides General Custis Lee, another son of the great General Robert E. Lee. He, too, is loved and honored by all who know him, and' may his days be many in the beautiful home in which he now sojourns.
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The writer of these sketches would be delighted to take up in detail and teil something about all the old homesteads of Fairfax County, whether they have escaped the ravages of time or not, but a lack of space forbids. Old Belvoir, the home of George William Fairfax; Mount Eagle, the home of Bryan Fairfax; Abingdon, where the beautiful Nellie Custis was born; Wellington, the home of Washington's private secretary, and many others, have clustering around them stories of thrilling interest. The noble men and women who. in the years agone, daily crossed their thresholds, were the pioneers in our civilization. They laid broad and deep the foundations of our political and social fabric, and delightful task it is to record the labors and diversions that occupied their time and made up the measure of their lives.
"O'er lapse of time and change of scene, And weary waste, which lies between.
- In loving way our hearts we lean, And keep their memories ever green."
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Pohick Church, Where Gen. Washington Worshipped.
Old Churches, Etr.
Pohick Church.
The Parish church of Mount Vernon was the first built in 1732, one mile south of Pohick Run, from which it derives its, name. This building was of wood and lasted about forty years, when a new site was selected one mile north of Pohick Run. The present building is of brick, which were burned in the nearby open. It had among its first vestrymen and building committee such men as George Washington, George Mason, George William Fairfax, Alexander Henderson. Daniel McCarty, William Triplett, Martin Cockburn, William Payne, and Thomas Withers Coffer. This church has passed through three wars. The Revolution did it no damage, the war of 1812 brought a
Interior of Pohick Church.
Samiour
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visit of British. troops who took away an ornament in the shape of a gilded door which covered the top of the sounding board over the pulpit. The Civil War did it much damage, as it was used as a stable. In 1872 $1,250 was raised, and the church was put in condition to be used. Within a few years past the ladies of Mount Vernon and the national societies, especially the Mount Vernon Chapter of the D. A. R., have raised money enough to re- store Pohick Church to its former beauty, and in a few years the restoration will be complete, when the church will be an exact copy of the church in which many of the Revolutionary Fathers worshipped. It is a hallowed spot, and a precious link binding the present generation to the past.
Falls Church.
Falls Church, so-called after the nearest falls of the Potomac, was built in 1734, enlarged in 1750, and rebuilt, as now, in 1767. With its yard, con- taining magnificent old trees and ancient graves, consecrated by burial rites and tears and the tread of worshipping feet for over a century and a half, it stands as a venerable and inspiring memorial of the far-back Colonial days. Like Pohick, it has carried on its vestry rolls the names of distinguished Fairfax people : Augustine Washington, George Washington, George Mason, George William Fairfax, and others, we find there recorded. In its yard a
Falls Church.
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portion of Braddock's army encamped, and since, within its portals, have sat the soldiers of five wars. Recently large sums have been expended in the restoration of this church, and it is hoped that ere long it will be fully restored to its former condition.
Old Highways.
Long before the prow of the frail bark that bore Captain John Smith and his companions to the Great Falls of the Potomac had ever touched the Fair- fax shore, an Indian trail two hundred and thirty miles long, extending from the tidewaters of the Chesapeake to the valleys beyond the mountains, was plainly visible. Starting in the vicinity of Williamsburg, and passing through the counties of New Kent,. King William, Caroline, Spottsylvania, Stafford, and Prince William, it crossed the Occoquan at Colchester into Fairfax. From Colchester it passed by the way of Accotink, Washington's Old Mill, over the fords of Little and Great Hunting Creeks into Alexandria. From Alexandria by two ways, varying from one to twelve miles apart, it passed on its course to the mountains. One of these ways passed through Fairfax County by Falls Church and Dranesville, and through Loudoun County by
The Old Star Tavern, Falls Church
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Leesburg and Clark's Gap in the Cotocton Mountains, and by Hillsboro to Key's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was over this branch that General Sir Peter Halket's historic Forty-fourth Regiment of British regu- lars, a part of General Braddock's army, marched, in April, 1755, on the disastrous expedition against the French and Indians. The other way, fol- lowing for the most part the present Little River turnpike, passed from Alexandria through Fairfax, one mile southwest of Fairfax Courthouse, and on through Loudoun by Aldie, near the Bull Run Mountains, to Snicker's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A considerable extent of this branch is also known as Braddock's road, from the fact that a part of Braddock's wagon train passed over it. It was over this road that Washington and George William Fairfax journeyed to the Shenandoah Valley to survey the lands of Lord Fairfax. In 1753, at the age of twenty-one, as a messenger from Governor Dinwiddie to the French commander, with a Colonel's com- mission, Washington again traversed it, and passed over it again in 1754 on his way to the battle of the Great Meadows. These ways, and the main high- way from Colchester to Alexandria, together with the present Guinea road, Ox road and many others. in the olden time were all known as "Rolling Roads." This designation arose from the practice of transporting the to- bacco to the various shipping points in the hogsheads in which it was packed. A wooden pin was driven into each head. to which were adjusted a pair of rude shafts, and thus in the way of a garden roller, it was drawn to its desti- nation. The Guinea road was known as the "Rolling Road to Colchester Warehouses." Even the great thoroughfare from Alexandria to Williams- burg was known as a "Rolling Road." This was the most famous of all the roads of the thirteen original Colonies. When the first settlers set out to enlarge their domain, it was over this they came. They cleared and widened it, made its rough places smooth and its crooked places straight. The streams, then of far greater volume than now, were either bridged or ferried, and as the tide of immigration swelled, the ancient Indian trail became not . only "a way," but a "Highway" for the nations. Leading from the "Upper Potomac Regions" to the Vice-Regal Court at Williamsburg, it became early known as the "King's Highway." Nowhere is a road so intimately con- nected with the stirring and intere-ting events that served as fitting preludes to the birth of a great nation. Over it, as a small boy of four or five years, in company with father and mother, brother and sister, Washington was brought from the old home in Westmoreland to the new home on the Epse- wasson. Over it, as a man of twenty-eight. twenty-four years later, in his coach-and-four, seated by the side of his newly-made bride, Washington rode from her home on the. Pamunkey to his home on the Potomac. Over a part of it rode Governor Spottswood and his "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" in their search for the "Pass" to the valleys beyond the mountains. Over it
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