| Home |
Today, Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 400,000 of our bravest men and women, but the history of this hallowed ground is not quite as honorable as those who will spend their eternal rest there. This website explores just how the land that once served as the ancestral home of Robert E. Lee became the grand and well manicured resting place that it is today. You may start with the timeline below, and take a stroll through the history of Arlington.
Throughout the decades, several scholars have written on the subject of the Civil War. They have covered all topics and all sides of the war. The two journals referenced below have particular significance in relation to the history of Arlington National Cemetery and the Lee family.
The first is an article, which was analyzed in the visualization above, is entitled "Some Legal Aspects of the Confiscation Acts of the Civil War" written by James G. Randall. The article was published in the American Historical Review in October of 1912. The visualization that was generated using the complete texts of Some Legal Aspects of the Confiscation Acts of the Civil War provides an interesting look at the way in which commonly occurring words link in throughout the article. The journal talks of all of the legal and historical aspects of the passage of laws of confiscation. The most crucial set of linking words to the main premise of this journal article is that of Constitutional and Legal. This set of linking words defines the underlying issue at the heart of all of the others, that issue being the legal question of whether the United States government could confiscate property from known rebels within the limits of the war powers granted to them by the Constitution. Answering this question required not only an assessment of the constitutionality of confiscation but also the definition of the term rebel. The Union eventually came to a solution through a compromise of terms. That being said, the enforcement of Union Confiscation Acts proved to be difficult and less than effective.
The second is an article, which is analyzed in the word cloud above, is entitled "The Arlington Case. George Washington Custis Lee against the United States of America" written by Enoch Aquila Chase and published in the Virginia Law Review in January of 1929. The word cloud that was generated using the complete texts of The Arlington Case, George Washington Custis Lee Against the United States of America provides a perfect depiction of the main points of the article. While raging a violent Civil War to determine the fate of the United States largely overshadows these events, the fact remains that the seizure of the Arlington Estate remained close to the heart of the Lee family. Although General Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee would die before their rightful ownership of the 1,100 acres of Arlington Heights was restored, their son went on to battle the United States government all the way to the Supreme Court in their good name. The word cloud captures George Washington Custis Lee's battle with the judiciary, as described in the article in great detail from his plea to Congress until the United States government was forced to compensate the Lee family for the land that today makes up Arlington National Cemetery.
Further analysis of these events, as well as the ethical and moral reasoning behing the actions of the Union Government are the purpose of this webite. For further
thoughts on the subject, please read on.
The Unjust Confiscation of the Arlington Estate
On May 24th 1861 Union troops took possession of 1,100 acres of land in Arlington Heights including a house sat high on a hill overlooking Washington, DC. That house was the ancestral home of Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Anna Randolph Custis, as well as their seven children. The home had been built by George Washington Parke Custis, Robert E. Lee's father in law in the early 1800s. Shortly after the Union seized this land, it became clear that the officials responsible had no intention of returning the property to the Lees at the end of the Civil War regardless of the outcome. The land was confiscated without trial or discussion thereby violating not only the Lee family's right to due process of the law, but also the retainer clause of the United States Constitution.
152 years later it remains obvious, even to the most casual observer, why the Union would covet the expansive Arlington Heights property. While the landscape may have changed a little, the house still holds dominion over the bustling capital city of Washington, DC. General Winfeild Scott would have seen the land as a perfect location to implement an active defense strategy for the protection of the seat of the Union government. He ordered that the land be seized and fortified, for the protection of the Capital. Any logical war strategist would have agreed with the decision, seeing the potential damage that the enemy Confederate army would likely cause if they were to seize the land overlooking their adversaries. One well placed cannon ball from high on that hill could have changed the entire course of the war. To the general this was simply an act of wartime authority, and there was no question of legality. The land belonged to not only a known rebel, but also a general of the Confederate Army. The Lee family, most likely anticipating such an act by the Union, had already abandoned their family home and joined General Lee behind the Confederate lines. That being said, the Lee family anticipated returning to their family home upon the end of the war.
Any hopes that the Lee family had of returning to their ancestral home would be dashed by the actions of the Union government. While the United States had already passed a law regarding the confiscation of property belonging to known rebels, the act was only enforceable in Northern territory.The government sought to confiscate property within the boundaries of the Confederate States of America, including the incredibly valuable land in the Arlington Heights. In order to pursue that goal, the Congress of the United States passed a law entitled, An Act for the Collection of Direct Taxes in the Insurrectionary Districts within the United States by which the government levied and then collected taxes on real estate with the power to sell such real estate in the event of unpaid taxes. While on the surface the act seems like a simple tax law that was completely just, upon further inspection of its enforcement the laws true ulterior motive. The tax commissioners who were charged with the responsibility of collecting taxes from rebel land owners made the process as difficult as possible by refusing to accept payment from anyone other than the title holders of each piece of property, knowing full well that the majority of said title holders were the men of the family and subsequently off fighting for the Confederate army.
It was through these practices that the Union government obtained official ownership of the Arlington Estate. While Mary Lee fought the tax collectors as for as long as she could, she would eventually lose possession of the family home that meant so much to her. With Robert E. Lee and all three of their sons away at war, Mary Lee had no way to pay for her tax debts which amounted to a total of $92.57. In a last desperate attempt to retain ownership of the property, Mrs. Lee brought in a wealthy Uncle to pay her debts. The Union commissioned tax collector refused to accept payment from anyone other than General Robert E. Lee, who had no intention of abandoning his duties to the Confederate cause to pay money to the Union. To Mrs. Lee, this loss was worth far more than bricks and mortar; it was the loss of her childhood memories and the legacy of her father.
The confiscation of the Arlington Estate was point blank unjust, not only legally but also ethically and morally. First, there is the question of legality. The original Union legislation regarding confiscation of rebel property only barely passed into law on the 17th of July 1862. The law had undergone considerable redrafting from its original presentation to Congress on the 2nd of December 1861. Before its final passage, even President Lincoln considered the law to be Unconstitutional, due to the fact that it mercilessly stripped all rights from those deemed to be rebels or traitors without even the due process of the law. In his opinion is directly contradicted the retainer clause of the United States Constitution. When it was passed, the law still lacked a firm definition of the term rebel which made its enforcement speculative and up to the mercy of local governments. Its enforcement was also limited to the lands within the Union. When the Tax Collection Act was passed later, its enforcement was designed to exploit the war widows and families of Confederate soldiers for the benefit of the Union. Then there is the question of ethics, The Arlington Estate had been the home of Mary Lee and her family for generations. It was built through the hard work of her father and stood as a monument to her great great grandfather, George Washington. She had married Robert E. Lee there and they had raised 7 children in the home. The estate was the property of the Lee family, but it held far greater sentimental value to Mary Lee than ever could have been paid for. Despite this, the Union government went to great lengths to deprive her of her family home, even denying her the right to claim it as her final resting place although it has served as a burial site for 400,000 soldiers since.
Today the Arlington Estate has been preserved as a National Cemetery to honor the brave men and women who have fought for the freedoms of the United States of America. The original home built by George Washington Parke Custis has also been preserved and now serves as a museum to the honor of General Robert E. Lee. The Cemetery and the museum are open to the public 7 days a week. Below is a map that provides an easy walking route to two sites of particular interest to those who are interested in the history of the National Cemerety; The Arlington House: The Robert E. Lee Museum, and the Memorial for Civil War Unknowns.
Below is a collection of photographs that I took over the course of several recent visits to Arlington National Cemetery