Show ARLINGTON AND ITS ad tors tora the fhe fie washington has the f following d description lueion and alid narrative A visit to the arlington mansion and surrounding estate a few days since filled us with oppressive and melancholy reflections four years ago robert 13 E lee then a lieutenant colonel of cavalry in the union army and band now commander in chief of the tho rebel army was with his family in the happy possession of that mu magnificent munificent inheritance more than one half haff of the estate consisting of a thousand acres was wag covered with a splendid forest of oak and other timber and the rich and productive fields adorned with the hand liana of culture today to day what a chancel the venerable ancestral mansion erected bythe honored son by adoption of the father of his country and for half a century his cultivated and delightful home homei is now in the centre of a vast cemetery of those who have fallen in the service of their country two hundred and fifty acres of this estate surrounding the mansion have been permanently appropriated for burial purposes by the government by a substantial and handsome fence nearly five thousand soldiers have already been there thero buried and the number is daily growing larger in 1853 mrs custis the mother mo t her of mrs general lee ilee died in the arlington mansion and was wag buri burl buried burled edina in a sequestered and delightful grove near the mansion and in 1857 mr air custis died and his remains were deposited by her side a vast con concourse course bourse of persons of every rank testifying their reverence for the departed by their presence at the obsequies the sequestered grove thus selected by its owner as the last resting place for himself and his has been in the tempest of the times invaded tile the forest has been transformed into a field of the dead and the two marble columns marking the remains of george washington parke custis and mary lee fitzhugh his wife now rise in the midst of more than four thousand patriot soldiers graves nearly the whole of the timber and wood has been swept from the entire estate and used for forwar war purposes the Freed mens village is established upon one portion of the land thus cleared and it is hs all being put under cultivation by contraband negro labor J i mr custis inherited this estate from his father who was the son of mrs general washington by a former husband soon after his mother died in 1802 he then about twenty tw enty nive five years of age came here from mount vernon and with his young and accomplished wife took up their residence in the arlington mansion which chehad he had then just erected and which evermore was their beautiful and cultivated home the fruits of this union were four daughters all of whom died in infancy except mary custis the wife of general robert E lee mr curtiss Cu father john barke custis was an aid de camp to washington and died of a camp fever in 1781 contracted at the siege sieg e of yorktown at the age of awen ty seven years he had married at of age eleanor calvert of mount airy ud ada a descendent of the second lord baltimore when but fifteen years of age and at twenty three she was thus ma made a widow with four children general washington hastened to eltham md where the husband was sick only to see him in his dying diffin moments this was theofil y f surviving child of mrs urd washington the daughter having died some years before he was deeply affected and weeping said to the mother 1 I adopt tile tiie two young er children as my own 11 these were t eleanor custis then two and a half I 1 years of age who died at seventeen of consumption and george washington parke custis then six months old general robert edmund lee is the j son of Oxe general henry lee of revola memory and known as I 1 light horse harry whose mother was the i beautiful mis miss s grimes general ino ing tons first love and whom he cele arted as the lowland rowland beauty gen j eral harry lee was twice married by the first marriage arriage to he had two children i 1 henry henly ali an all officer in flie the war of 1812 and lucy by the second wife a miss carter of shirley he had five children two daughters anne and I 1 mildred mil mii dred and three sons son s 1 the tho i he sons were charles car ter robert edmund tiiu tho general and i I cydney smith the last named yan ian an officer in in our navy and ilpo in the rebel I 1 navy general robert bobert E lee was born in lmos and is consequently fifty seven years of age he graduated second iii in j his bis class judge charles marie mason jaason t jf vf this eltty and forme formerly ris commission tv cr of patents standing ors first HI that ass bass and was assi assigned neato to the engineer aps irps as to second lieutenant in jsu As tant astronomer fixing the boun try uy bie boe between tween ohio and michigan in 1 A promoted first captain i ism 1838 chief eng engineer r ulder ulden scott beott in alco exico land and greatly reat lne ine y I 1 i heti heil be promoted ively by merit ai kor vor 0 teia 61 c onel and ant colonel r h his hin gallantry I 1 in 11 ll 1 j t r N aea i 1 ay in 3 1 15 trans red as 1 I itera It ite lre eha hait halt it lonel ionel oi iel lel of tl tilo tile c new ament of of 1 ca eay cat 1 alarca marel I 1 colonel L leonej tile tiie firel ca airy airs alryc 3 ignec april 1 11 blowing wing nid nid relue leluc itly antly em eca i tri 1 reb reu on 1 rhe the ile lle the m of ii a lee leow gearl geol ustia ustis e about yeal of a ae e I 1 M n ja v estis ze e about 30 tny m henry 1 it fitzhugh hugh ej about 27 ann an i r e lee dieci daei I 1 a ut t berki k i y 8 spring in 16 I 1 and wonlu have 4 ern eili no 23 agnes lee about bout I 1 E altel nhe nbc about 20 mildred Tildred NL lie tie e about 18 sole sone none of them th em have except Wm henry fitzhugh v nose hosig wife miss charlotte d ld at richmond in 1663 the eldest sli sll sm george iho fhe of li lis kis elass class at abb westpoint we in irland 1854 and gas vas v as a a tin inthe the co corps aps c of rf en lne ine i erSi ajlen lie he hallowed fallowed fall owed his father irto efto the southern service herice william Willid ni henry was farming alpon the white house estate which belonge belonged 4 to tile the C lestis inheritance w when hen th the war var sar open ed c d he was I 1 commissioned second lieu sixth infantry ili in 1857 but tout resigned in 1859 robert was at a military school in virginia the sons it is well known are all officers in the rebellion the three surviving daughters are with their mother who it is bell beil believed eved has latterly been at lynchburg mr custis at the time timo orlias of his death owned some slaves ves who by his will were to be free at the termination of nive five years from his liis death which period expired october 10 1862 tile the most of these slaves were ware kept on the white house estate and all the valuable portion were carried south some 20 or more old bid men toen and women and young youn children were ware left at arlington mr custis mother owned the white whit e house estate and resided there when she he became the wife of general wash ington Z |