ARLINGTON HOUSE ..home of Robert E. Lee
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2022
- Fredericksburg Artwork: Artbydrtaylor@gmail.com
Trip to the Arlington House just outside of Washington DC. Home to Robert E. Lee from 1831-1861. Built by George Washington's step-grandson George Washington Park Custis.
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I have photos of my uncle, Colonel Dwight Eugene Howard, USMC, in 1973 on his caisson to his grave in front of the Custis Lee Mansion. He was a veteran of WW2, Korean War and two tours of duty in Vietnam. He died at 49 years old. My aunt said I waited for him all of those years and he just came home to die. She was a nurse during WW2. She is buried with him at Arlington.
Great Video. I remember back in the mid-80s, they did a restoration of the house, and the Lee Family was invited to come see it. I am a Lee, a descendent of Edmond Jennings Lee, Roberts's Uncle, and got to see it back then. I have seen the house five or six times in my life. It's really fantastic. I love it. I have also visited Stratford Hall in Virginia, the Lee Family's ancestral home. It's also restored and a good place to visit. Now if you really want to trace the Lee family back in England, you will need to go to Nordley Regis, Shropshire, England. That is where The Knight Sir Humphery Lee rests with his wife. I have the records of all the Lees going back to the first two men to have the Lee sir name.
The gardens are beautiful.
Just found your channel. A few years ago, I was on a church trip with some friends and we took a tour of Arlington Cemetery. The house was being renovated at the time. My great great-grandmother, Ann Lee, is a descendant of Robert E. Lee. This is a treat to see inside Arlington House. New viewer from Roanoke, VA.
What a beautiful home. Such a great view of Washington.
Thanks for showing me the Robert E . Lee mansion always wanted to 👀 the inside. Very beautiful.
My wife had missed several videos so last night I went to bed and to my surprise my wife binged watched your videos till 3 am!
Awesome. Tell her thanks for watching!
Spectacular
General Robert E. Lee!
Don't say name that too loud in Virginia. It's Racist. We already took down all the Statues 🙄.
Traitor, you mean.
Perfect. I have to see this next time I'm in Virginia
Thank you for the tour I enjoyed it.
Chris another great video
When I was there they were redoing it, but the man let us in to take a quick look around. It was stripped of everything. Thank you for taking me back to see it redone.
You should have walked out from the back of the house about 100 yards to visit the graves of the original owners, George Washington Parke Custis and his wife. Also nearby are the infamous graves of Montgomery Meigs and his son. Meigs was responsible for burying the first graves around the flower garden, so the Lees could not move back there. The house was not Robert Lee's but his wife's. Meigs blamed his son's death on Lee, but his son did not die in any of Lee's battles. That house was so loved by his wife and her family.
She is my direct relative and she did love that home.
So enjoyed this tour -beautiful view. Thank you!
Thanks! Have been past the house, never got a chance to see inside! Excellent job! Thanks for showing the gardens, as well- a lot of times things like that get overlooked….👍
I was stationed at Fort Myer which has the cemetery as a backyard. In the 70s the Lee Mansion was touted as the Custis house (Martha Washington's family) and was more or less wide open. A lot of landscaping has been done. In those days civilians simply walked up the hill from JFK'S grave; none of that pavement was there, it was grass. Similarly, Mt Vernon was wide open too. No fee or anything.
It was also called The Custis House in the early 1960's when my family used to live in Annandale, Virginia (1960-1966)
Maybe it was called The Lee Mansion in the early to mid 1960's.
Great video. When you spin around with the camera, pleas go more slowly. The quick motion may make some people queasy. .
What a wonderful video. I've never seen Lee's home. I sure appreciate the tour you gave. 👍
Thanks for watching!
The property was made a memorial to Lee by the US government years later. It was never Lee’s house and he did not own any slaves. The Custis family built it, his wife inherited it and the Washington heirlooms.
And the descendents of R. E. Lee and the descendants of the slaves have issued a request to the NPS to have the "memorial" designation removed. Please find that and sign it.
HIS WIFE OWNED SLAVES !!! Guess who ran them !!!
All of Lee’s descendants or just some?
Yes a US person buried his military son in Mrs Lee's rose garden. start of Arlington
The entire "history" of Arlington plantation is a lie. A giant lie, foist upon you primarily by Dutch bankers, merchants and factors. Arlington, Virginia 's free. The Custis family freed every slave in Arlington plantation. The free people then built that Georgian mansion you see in the video. Slaves didn't build it; free men and women built it as a gift to the Custis. Arlington 's a beacon of hope and light as to what might be accomplished if the Dutch banking, war machine would stop being so insane. Lol
I'm glad the museum gives a respectful and balanced history for everyone involved.
Should the MLK memorial in Atlanta give equal time to and discussion about the Confederate soldier that once owned the property King’s house is on? After all that would be a “more balanced” history, right?
@@charliewilson3390 your masters own everything. Who are you talking to?
@@charliewilson3390 it sure would
Balanced my ass. Property was stolen like all the monuments.
@@MeadeSkeltonMusic How?
And in the distance is the patomic river that he forgot to mention and I took a history class about the president's and the plantation s and historic places in the south and also Washington it's very interesting and you should learn about historic places it's all apart of our lives,,thanks for the video tours so much enjoy them
This was an interesting video .I visited Arlington House un the late 1960s but there is now more to see like the slavery exhibit and the Robert E. Lee Museum. The Carter Family had two branches. One branch went to Massachusetts and married into the Adams Family,which my paternal great grandmother was a descendant. The other branch went to Virginia which Robert King Carter was a part of and married into the leading Virginian familys like the Lees. So I'm proud to be a part of this illustrious family and part of our American history.
@user Are your Adams relations those of the president, or of the Adams in western Massachusetts?
Love this video. I was at Arlington Cemetery two summers ago and totally missed this. Thank you. Will have to go back.
Great video! Interesting info shown at a good walking pace. Relaxing to watch and I learned a lot. Thanks!
Very cool, He was a cousin of mine or his wife lol , I am not good with genealogy. She was my cousin. I have not gotten to visit historical homes and ty for this vid.
I understand that he is a 4th? cousin of mine. Maybe we're related. lol
Our family genealogy was done by a great-aunt but I never got to see the finished work. I suspect that by my death, that will be a closed subject. This younger generation is not too interested in genealogy or history for that matter. Growing up, I was always told that Lee was 'fairly directly' related to Queen Elizabeth I. My wife and I quip that we kept checking the mail for our invitation to Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding but it never came. ... must have gotten lost in the mail. lol
@@johnnymoore315 Yes, ha, I am sure we are!
@@johnnymoore315 Yes, smiles. Had it been sometime back, we would have had an invitation. And, possibly, I would have found something to wear. Smiles to ya cousin.
Good tour, thank you. Very detailed.
My family and l visited Arlington National Cemetery in 1964 to see John F. Kennedy's gravesite. We also toured Arlington House. I have a picture of me standing next to the portico at seven years old.
I've toured that house before but it was on a school trip back in the '70s but we were allowed to go upstairs they must be closed it off now
THIS IS AMAZING, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thanks for the tour
Very informative
Oh, I have a dear friend buried there. My military family opted for family burial sites,but this is a beautiful place. I did not realize Lee's home was there.
I just ran across your channel…it’s great…Thanks for posting…
Well done tour.
Note the color Green on the sofa and chair. A natural green that is making a comeback now in 2 design styles.
Great Video Chris, Just one small correction The painting that you labeled Robert King Carter is actually Daniel Parke he is the Great Great Grandfather of George Parke Custis. I have the same Painting in my house being he is my ancestor also :)
Ah ok awesome thanks for letting me know. You come from a pretty good family tree then. lol
I thank you for the tour as I will most likely never visit myself. I realize you said it was getting busier but perhaps you next visit just a little slower if you would 🙂Thank You 😊
“Great spot for artillery” lol better not say that too loud
Tv show fun fact The car appears in every episode but one ("Mary Kaye's Baby"). The car's name is a reference to Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It bears a Confederate battle flag on its roof, and also has a horn which plays the first 12 notes of the song "Dixie".
Reagan Airport is in Crystal City near Alexandria.
Thank you.
Thank you
That is such a long walk! I have seen the cemetery.
Wow very informative - Thank you . I was there in 2016 and it was not open
The cream pitcher appears to be Wedgwood. Grey family lived all together. Lee’s slaves we well treated, for the time.
It was a nice tour of all the posters in the house.l would of liked to seen the inside of the house.
Thank you for the video. There is a lot of history on this house and why Arlington Cemetery is so close. The tomb of history about this house is so interesting especially the stories of the family and how they didn't want slaves but Mr Custis's will stipulated they had to keep them for 5 years. The slaves hid a lot of belongings from the Union for the family. Mary Custis became crippled early from they believe RA. Interesting information how Mary tried to pay the taxes due but the Union would not let her. It "Had to be Robert E Lee", as such the Lees lost the house. So so much more information about this house.
Yes, the Yankee brutes literally ran Mary Custis Lee and her daughters out of their home. And the Lee family was never fairly compensated for the brutal, illegal Yankee seizure of their property.
I also read Mary had to pay in person, but the Yankees knowing she was crippled couldn't do it herself. Mary sent someone to pay the taxes and the feds refused.
@@coyotedust Correct. Do these horrors of the past further explain the terrible situation we are in today ?
Robert E Lees son got the house back. The federal goverment paid 150,000 for it.
All rather petty.
I am a Randolph, so kin to many of these familes,but not all. WOW, big pilasters on that home!
What you said about Robert E Lee and Gerald Ford was news to me. That's a very interesting story I'd like to know more about.
Very Good!... #205 ✝ {11-24-2023}
Another great video Chris. I love this stuff. I've been meaning to but have yet to get to Arlington since its recent renovation and restoration. From your video I can see a lot has changed as far as touring and exhibits. Do they not allow touring the second floor of the Big House like they used to? There is one correction I need to let you know of. When you were touring the building that housed Robert E. Lee's story and exhibits you misinterpreted the huge leather trunk in the glass case with the lock of Lee's hair and Traveler's mane in front of it. You had said it was a trunk belonging to Robert E. Lee's mother. It's actually the trunk of Mary Custis Lee (Showed her initials on the side of the trunk. That's how I spotted it. I had seen that trunk in more recent photos.), Robert E. Lee's oldest daughter. She never married, as none of the Lee daughters did, and spent many years traveling abroad. This was one of the trunks she used. She died in 1918 and is in the Lee family mausoleum at Washington and Lee University's Chapel along with the rest of the Lee family. This trunk was found in the basement of the Banking Institution Mary banked with in Alexandria not but just few years ago. Maybe a dozen years ago or so. I can't remember the name of the Bank but it has been in business since 1850. I do remember that. The Bank, I believe, turned the trunk over to the Park Service. It was full of her old dresses, letters, and many other personal artifacts. A fantastic discovery of recent years. From the article I had read about the discovery no one remembered who the trunk had belonged to and no one remembered how long it had been stored in the basement.
Thanks again for another great video. Keep 'em comin'.
Kim Morgan
The Old Guy in Southern Maryland
Oh wow thanks for all the information. That trunk has been around and has quite a history. Yea couldn't go on the 2nd floor from what I could see. Hopefully they'll have it open in future. Thanks for watching!
@@VATravels You bet. Again, thanks.
Being a combat veteran, I highly respect Arlington cemetery for what it is. But as a southerner, I despise that fact that the Union STOLE Robert E. Lee’s home & property. They stole it out of spite, way before they decided to make a cemetery out of it. Marse Robert was heartbroken the rest of his life over his house being stolen from him.
Great tour. My wife and I walked around the grounds, but tours weren't available at the time. Thanks.
Robert E Lee was a brave, smart traitor.
He was never a traitor. What were the people who took his home? Thieves?
@@franceswhite1407 He was the very definition of a traitor.
No traitor.... The North wanted what the South had. Working blacks in the North were no better off than blacks in the South. Vermont and Kentucky were the last of ALL states to abolish slavery.
As a rule slavery was abhorrent. Lee was not in favor of slavery.
Unfortunately the economy of the nation was built on slavery. It was a hard opiate to break. But the industrial revolution was on its way to doing that.
Lee served and loved this country. As to his being a traitor... You need to look back to the time when the country was a loose union of states. The federal government only served to protect the whole against foreign enemies. If you are paying any attention at all, you know that we are still struggling between 'states' rights and federal rights.
If you believe in the US Constitution, you know ... or ought to know... that rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution were reserved to the individual states.
You might also know that Lincoln offered command of the Union Army to Lee, who had to turn it down for conscience's sake.
He was duty sworn to his 'state' first .
He was one of this country's greatest men, without a doubt.
I just found your channel today. Thanks for the tour. I take it you live in Virginia (?)….
I am from Westmoreland Co, Va and where George was born.
I'm related to Robert E Lee through my Great Grandmother. One of the greatest Generals this country has ever had.
Too bad he was on the wrong side. There is a lot to admire about him, however.
Have you ever read Jim Glanville’s writings on Saltville Virginia? It’s got mainstream historians in an uproar because they can’t disprove his findings.
Seeing is trulky believing. The wealth that some had before civil war is simply unimaginable. Robertt E Lee home and estate so impressive. You can have your house back but its has hundreds of soldiers buried there currently. Lee decided he didnt want it back. i always though it was granite or marble but lumber.....good maintenance down through the years. John Adams home also impressive then and now.
Visited on trip Washington as boy
Yeah, I am in the Northern Neck, we hear that Carter name a lot.
Chris,
I've been following your architectural vocabulary grow over the past two years since I've been following you. Pediment, portico and Greek revival just roll off your tongue now. I love it. Now you need to become familiar with the classical column styles. I'm looking forward to you throwing out entablature in the near future.
As always, I enjoy your videos.
Was there any reference to how and why the Federal Government illegally confiscated the property? Equally as important, was there any reference about Custis Lee sueing the government to get the property back. He won and sold the house back to the government for $150,000 in the late 1800s.
Thanks for loving history and architecture!
Ha yea I read that. As usual it's something I forgot to mention. Thanks for watching!
Always loved visiting history. But now I'm almost history. I can't make that walk because I must use a walker now. Is there a way for handicapped visitors to get to the Mansion?
From 1790 to 1845, Arlington County was included in the District Of Columbia. In that time period, Arlington house was in Washington, D.C. The District Of Columbia made slavery illegal. How did that affect the servants at that time?
Slavery became illegal in DC after the retrocession.
Arlington was ceded back to the state of Virginia before slavery was outlawed in the District
slow down a bit and focus on the signage so we can read. Thanks!! Good stuff
Robert e lee cemetery!!
At the Washington Lee University in Lexington, VA
I am a direct relative of his wife, and kin to him, but his wife buried there is one reason why I am here,,,,,she, who is the first buried there,and that was her home!!!!!!!!!!
That building has very odd scale that makes it simultaneously interesting and strange to look at. The portico is much too large and the pillars are much too massive for proper scale with the rest of the structure. It's like they started to build a much larger building starting with the portico and then realized they didn't have the budget for the original plan so drastically scaled back the main building.
I agree.....very odd, at first site it could be mistaken as the front part of an old church...
It's built as a memorial to the kindness of the Custis family for freeing every slave in Arlington plantation. Those free men and women of Arlington then built Arlington house as a gift to the Custis, and it was the highest honor to voluntarily serve on the staff of Arlington house.
I liked the way the house was when we visited in 1992. The house was not restored until 2018. It had no carpets and very little furniture. The park service had kept it in the condition they found it in after the war. Robert E Lee never returned to the house. It was as the union soldiers left it.
I haven’t ever seen this former home of Robert E. Lee
Try to visit the Civil War battlefields of Saltville Virginia.
Lots of changes since i visited.espiecally the slave cabin.☹️
Where did he keep the Orange Dodge?
This was actually his wife's families home, R.E. Lee did not own the Arlington mansion It was the Custis House built by Lee's Father in law (G.W.P. Custis, son of Martha Washington and her first husband)
Wow! They didn’t add AC to the place.
Good tour but the "historical interpretation" seems rather slanted , almost insulting towards Lee and his family.
It always is.
I have been to several founders home during the summer! Every tour was slanted as you say almost to the point of insulting the person or family! Rewriting history is shameful and pushing a hidden agenda😢
If I recall correctly, the Quartermaster General did some subversive acts to take Arlington House from the Lee family. Buried soldiers, both black and white, close to the house. Did not accept the tax check Mrs Lee, he wanted her present to give the check, not the son.
The Quartermaster General was named during the dining room part Meigs or Miigs.
Which parts seem insulting? The part where he committed treason against his country and violated his oath as a US Army officer, or the part where he enslaved people and kept them as property against their will?
Bro how was that plane so close over White House. Like yea perspective of it may be skewed but that did not look right
GWPC's paintings are some of the weirdest paintings I've ever seen. All the American soldiers look like George Washington and the horses all have tiny heads.
the greatest american to ever live
Who? Lee? Why?
@@zbagz01 Because he was! PERIOD
Yes, he was. He had the courage of his convictions. Had he fought with the North you would have a different opinion.
@@franceswhite1407 And just what were these noble convictions that he so courageously fought for?
He was a traitor against his country.
That's a Greek Temple ya'll
No. It's Roman not Greek
Refrigeration had been implemented in the norths railcars and the familys of the union dead could see the terrible violent deaths there boys were suffering
So Lincoln stoped prisoner swaps
Then telling his commanders to begin burying the northern dead in the front yard of General Robert E. Lee's ancestral home, where his mother was living
becoming Arlington National Cemetery.
Robert E.Lee was born north of the Mason Dixon line
George Washington was born south of it.
Presidential History of the U.S. is amazing, how all involved are members of an esoteric stitched quilt
From everything I’ve ever read this was actually Mary custis house. Inherited from her father. She was the only legitimate daughter. He also has a daughter with one of his Slaves. I would love more information on the woman.
Which woman?
There is no proof that Custis impregnated a slave woman. None. That story is just a rumor.
Lee freed his slaves at the start of the Civil War
Smae here
Unfortunately, that isn’t true. Although he wasn’t all for it, he saw blacks as inferior. I am a huge Lee fan. Wrote my high school paper on him. But, unfortunately, it just isn’t true.
No he didn't.
@@kenownbeySo his perception is just the same as ours
@@markthomas6703 that’s an ignorant idea.
Was the Lee family ever compensated for the U. S. Government stealing their property & land?
Very little and rather late in life. Lee's wife and daughters were virtually run out of their home. 'Disgraceful way to treat an unwell lady and her daughters.
Yes, about $300K.
@@karencarter8292 Mary Custis Lee and children (sons and daughters) left their home to be with R.E. Lee in Richmond. They were NEVER run out of their home.
Oh, yes, they were run out. And the sons were already with their father as Confederate officers.
@@karencarter8292 They were not "run out" - they decided to leave because they knew that Union troops were securing both sides of the Potomac River, and that meant the Union troops would soon be on Arlington property. They would be safer further south.
And if they were "run out", so what?
JUST where would have the Africans been at today, IF the Americans had left the Africans as Property of the Shipping Companies and had NOT PAID for the Africans transportation charges?
What if... Lee had stayed with the Union Army instead of joining the Confederacy?
Then he would have been an honorable man instead of a traitor, and he wouldn’t have been directly responsible for the deaths of more Americans in battle than any other person in history.
I suppose you would want to keep it secret if you were going to free your slaves in your will... those slaves could cause you an accident...especially the ones preparing your food....lol Seriously, how bad could you treat a slave that prepares your food?
Arlington Cemetery is not an attraction.
he was such a kind loving family man who never wanted to be part of the Civil War. Disgrace what they did to his front lawn & property.
Definitely spiteful 🥵
Wonder if he Ever returned here after the war ( lived and died in Lexington VA became president of what is now Washington and Lee University
@@lespangen It was never his home. It belonged to his father-in-law and then passed on to his children. Lee only lived there for four years.
He was NOT a "kind and loving family man". If he didn't want to be part of the Civil War he could have easily just stayed on the Arlington property and run it as a plantation. He was rumored to have whipped his slaves - a rumor he never denied.
@teabagzonmychin
So if you married your wife and her father died and left her the house ( that was built FOR HER and her husband) it wouldn’t be your home? You’re definitely one of these “ we can change history by burning it down or tearing it down idiots aren’t you?
I like how the descendents of the slaves had their picture taken at the Lincoln Memorial.
better that way
@@anapoda3081 Gives the picture way more meaning
Lincoln who also hated the blacks ?
Lot of slavery on both sides
@@vickieharrill7542 The descendents eventually got a lot of money for the house, still doesn't make up for what happened.
The Sons of the Confederacy need to plant their flag on the Tomb of Confederate Soldiers where 2100 dead are buried there.
I am shocked the house still stands in our woke country. I suspect it will be torn down and turned into a George Floyd memorial soon enough.
Visited in 2004 and was a joy. Now they have all this slavery woke crap
Not for disabled people. 😢
Thanks, but I'm tired of political correctness. It is wrong to judge people of a different era by today's standards. We can't know what their lives were like.
Treason was still treason in the 1860s. The standard for US military officers was to protect and defend the United States, not to join an enemy army and try to overthrow the government. The standard has not changed - only our willingness to overlook crimes like treason and sedition has.
The union troops should have burned it down IMO.
@claudrmiller
And from the looks of Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond etc...the Confederacy should’ve torched the hell out of them! Would’ve saved law enforcement today a lot of headaches! Nobody gives a flying turd about your opinion!!!
They should have burned down Lincoln’s home.
@@franceswhite1407 Why?
So glad to see it so I don't have to..such ugly portico..fake marble and pillars too fat..paintings hung at weird angles..some askew..overstuffed red sofas pushed close together..weird and tacky
Duality = hypocrisy :)