Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, April 15, 1866

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 15, 1866.

DEAR UNCLE:— I was at Mount Vernon yesterday for the first time. Washington was a capital judge of fine sites for towns and mansions. His own seat was fitly chosen. The views of the Potomac are beautiful. His farming was on a royal scale. The sentiment merely from "the genius of the place," the tomb, and the like, did not strike me. The truth is, if it were not sacrilege, I should say Lincoln is overshadowing Washington. Washington is formal, statue-like, a figure for exhibition; but both were necessary to complete our history. Neither could have done the other's work.

I bought you a cane which may get to you sometime — a common hickory stick, genuine.

I think some of coming home on a ten days' leave, one of these days. If so will call at Fremont and talk things up with you. I have no plans.

The country will go through all safe. Some dangers ahead, serious dangers, just enough to give interest to what would otherwise be a very dull life.

Sincerely,

R. B. HAYES.

S. BIRCHARD.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 3, p. 23

Congressman Rutherford B. Hayes to Lucy Webb Hayes, April 15, 1866

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 15, 1866.

MY DARLING:—I went to Mount Vernon yesterday. It is a beautiful spot. The extensive views of the Potomac are the great feature. The mere "genius of the place," I hardly thought of. The spot was happily chosen for our great man's home. It was the anniversary of Lincoln's death. It seems to me Lincoln is rather eclipsing Washington. I feel more than ever that, taking him all in all, he was the highest character. But it is like sacrilege to make these comparisons. It is probably

true that neither could have done the other's work, and without the work of both we should have had a different history. Love to all.

Affectionately ever,

R.

MRS. HAYES.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 3, p. 23-4

Last Will and Testament of Martha Washington, March 4, 1802

In the name of GOD, Amen.

I MARTHA WASHINGTON, of Mount Vernon, in the county of Fairfax, being of sound mind and capable of disposing of my worldly estate, do make, ordain, and declare this to be my last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all other Wills and Testaments by me heretofore made.

Imprimis.—It is my desire that all my just debts may be punctually paid, and that as speedily as the same can be done.

Item.—I give and devise to my nephew, Bartholomew Dandridge, and his heirs, my lot in the town of Alexandria, situate on Pitt and Cameron streets devised to me by my late husband, George Washington, deceased.

Item.—I give and bequeath to my four nieces, Martha W. Dandridge, Mary Dandridge, Frances Lucy Dandridge, and Frances Henley, the debt of two thousand pounds due from Lawrence Lewis and secured by his bond, to be equally divided between them or such of them as shall be alive at my death, and to be paid to them respectively on the days of their respective marriage or arrival at the age of twenty-one years, whichsoever shall first happen, together with all the interest on said debt remaining unpaid at the time of my death; and in case the whole, or any part of said principal sum of two thousand pounds shall be paid to me during my life, then it is my will that so much money be raised out of my estate as shall be equal to what I shall have received of the said principal debt, and distributed among my four nieces aforesaid as herein has been bequeathed; and it is my meaning that the interest accruing after my death, on the said sum of two thousand pounds shall belong to my said nieces, and be equally divided between them, or such of them as shall be alive at the time of my death, and be paid annually for their respective uses, until they receive their shares of the principal.

Item.—I give and bequeath to my grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, all the silver plate of every kind of which I shall die possessed, together with the two large plated coolers, the four small plated coolers, with bottle castors, and a pipe of wine, if there be one in the house at the time of my death also the sett of Cincinnati tea and table China, the bowl that has a ——— in it, the fine old China jars which usually stand on the chimney-piece in the new room; also, all the family pictures of every sort and the pictures painted by his sister, and two small screens, worked one by his sister, and the other a present from Kitty Brown; also his choice of prints; also, the two girandoles and lustres that stand on them; also, the new bedstead which I caused to be made in Philadelphia, together with the bed, mattresses, bolsters, and pillows, and the white dimity curtains belonging thereto; also, two other beds with bolsters and pillows, and the white dimity window curtains in the new room; also, the iron chest and the desk in my closet which belonged to my first husband; also, all my books of every kind except the large Bible and Prayer-book; also, the set of tea china that was given me by Mr. Van Braam, every piece having M. W. on it.

Item.—I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter, Martha Peter, my writing table and the seat to it standing in my chamber; also, the print of General Washington hanging in the passage.

Item.—I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter, Elizabeth Parke Law, the dressing table and glass that stands in the chamber called the yellow room, and General Washington's picture painted by Trumbull.

Item.— I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter, Eleanor Parke Lewis, the large looking-glass in the front parlor, and any other looking glass which she may choose; also, one of the new side-board tables in the new room; also twelve chairs with green bottoms, to be selected by herself; also, the marble table in the garret; also, the two prints of the Dead Soldier, a print of the Washington Family in a box in the garret, and the great chair standing in my chamber; also, all the plated ware not heretofore otherwise bequeathed; also, all the sheets, table linen, napkins, towels, pillow-cases remaining in the house at my death; also, three beds and bedsteads, curtains, bolsters, and pillows for each bed, such as she shall choose, and not herein particularly otherwise bequeathed, together with counterpanes and a pair of blankets for each bed; also, all the wine-glasses and decanters of every kind; and all the blue and white china in common use.

Item.—It is my will and desire that all the wine in bottles in the vaults be equally divided between my grand-daughters and grand-son, to each of whom I bequeath ten guineas to buy a ring for each.

Item.—It is my will and desire that Anna Maria Washington, the daughter of my niece, be put into handsome mourning at my death, at the expense of my estate; and I bequeath to her ten guineas to buy a ring.

Item.—I give and bequeath to my neighbor, Mrs. Elizabeth Washington, five guineas to get something in remembrance of me.

Item.—I give and bequeath to Mrs. David Stuart, five guineas to buy her a ring.

Item.—I give and bequeath to Benjamin Lincoln Lear, one hundred pound specie, to be vested in funded stock of the United States, immediately after my decease, and to stand in his name as his property, which investment my executors are to cause to be made.

Item.—When the vestry of Truro Parish shall buy a glebe, I devise, will and bequeath that my executors shall pay one hundred pounds to them in aid of the purchase, provided the said purchase be made in my life-time, or within three years after my decease.

Item.—It is my will and desire that all the rest and residue of my estate, of whatever kind and description, not herein specifically devised or bequeathed, shall be sold by the executors of this, my last will, for ready money, as soon after my decease as the same can be done, and that the proceeds thereof together with all the money in the house and the debts due to me (the debts due from me and the legacies herein bequeathed being first satisfied,) shall be invested by my executors in eight per cent stock of the funds of the United States, and shall stand on the Book in the name of my executors in their character of executors of my will; and it is my desire that the interest thereof shall be applied to the education of Bartholomew Henley and Samuel Henley, the two youngest sons of my sister Henley, and also to the education of John Dandridge son of my deceased nephew, John Dandridge, so that they may be severally fitted and accomplished in some useful trade; and to each of them, who shall have lived to finish his education, or to reach the age of twenty-one years, I give and bequeath one hundred pounds, to set him up in his trade.

Item.—My debts and legacies being paid, and the education of Bartholomew Henley, Samuel Henley and John Dandridge, aforesaid, being completed, or they being all dead before the completion thereof, it is my will and desire that all my estates and interest in whatever form existing, whether in money, funded stock, or any other species of property, shall be equally divided among all the persons hereinafter named, who shall be living at the time that the interest of the funded stock shall cease to be applicable, in pursuance of my will hereinbefore expressed, to the education of my nephews, Bartholomew Henley, Samuel Henley and John Dandridge, namely: among Anna Maria Washington, daughter of my niece, and John Dandridge, son of my nephew, and all my great grandchildren living at the time that the interest of the said funded stock shall cease to be applicable to the education of the said B. Henley, S. Henley, and John Dandridge, and the interest shall cease to be so applied when all of them shall die before arriving at the age of twenty-one years, or those living shall have finished their education or have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and so long as any one of the three lives who has not finished his education or arrived to the age of twenty-one years, the division of the said residue is to be deferred, and no longer.

Lastly.—I nominate and appoint my grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, my nephews, Julius B. Dandridge and Bartholomew Dandridge, and my son-in-law, Thomas Peter, executors of this, my last will and testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-second day of September, in the year eighteen hundred.

MARTHA WASHINGTON.

[SEAL.]                

Sealed, signed, acknowledged and delivered as her last will and testament, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, who have been requested to subscribe the same, as such, in her presence.

ROGER FARRELL,

WILLIAM SPENCER,

LAWRENCE LEWIS,

MARTHA PETER.

MARCH 4, 1802.

I give to my grand-son, George Washington Parke Custis, my mulatto man Elish, that I bought of Mr. Butler Washington, to him and his heirs forever.

SOURCE: Benson John Lossing, The Home of Washington; Or, Mount Vernon and Its Associations, Historical, Biographical, and Pictorial, p. 420-5.

Major Charles Wright Wills: May 19, 1865

Near Alexandria, Va., May 19, 1865.

Rained all night. Reveille at 2 p. m., and started off before daylight. Men waded two or three creeks to their middles. March miserably conducted. Passed the church that Washington attended, built in 1783. It has nearly all, except roof and walls, been carried away by relic maniacs. Our division marched through Mt. Vernon by the vault and residence.

Thus closes this diary of one of the most memorable year's campaigns in the history of modern times.

We remained in camp between Alexandria and Arlington until the 23d, when we crossed the Potomac river, of which we had heard so much, and the next day (the 24th), participated in the Grand Review of the Grandest Army that ever was created.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 382-3

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Sunday, August 7, 1864

Moved up the Potomac. Had a good view of Mt. Vernon. A beautiful location. Passed Fort Washington. Reached Giesboro about noon. Moved up to the woods between Camp Stoneman and Washington. Got forage and settled down.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 127

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: September 20, 1861

Col. J. A. Washington has been killed in a skirmish. He inherited Mount Vernon. This reminds me that Edward Everett is urging on the war against us. The universal education, so much boasted of in New England, like their religion, is merely a humbug, or worse than a humbug, the fruitful source of crime. I shall doubt hereafter whether superior intelligence is promotive of superior virtue. The serpent is wiser than the dove, but never so harmless. Ignorance is bliss in comparison with Yankee wisdom.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 80

Diary of William Howard Russell: Monday, April 2, 1861

The following day I started early, and performed my pilgrimage to “the shrine of St. Washington,” at Mount Vernon, as a foreigner on board called the place. Mr. Bancroft has in his possession a letter of the General's mother, in which she expresses her gratification at his leaving the British army in a manner which implies that he had been either extravagant in his expenses or wild in his manner of living. But if he had any human frailties in after life, they neither offended the morality of his age, nor shocked the susceptibility of his countrymen; and from the time that the much maligned and unfortunate Braddock gave scope to his ability, down to his retirement into private life, after a career of singular trials and extraordinary successes, his character acquired each day greater altitude, strength, and lustre. Had his work failed, had the Republic broken up into small anarchical states, we should hear now little of Washington. But the principles of liberty founded in the original Constitution of the colonies themselves, and in no degree derived from or dependent on the Revolution, combined with the sufferings of the Old and the bounty of nature in the New World to carry to an unprecedented degree the material prosperity, which Americans have mistaken for good government, and the physical comforts which have made some States in the Union the nearest approach to Utopia. The Federal Government hitherto “let the people alone” and they went on their way singing and praising their Washington as the author of so much greatness and happiness. To doubt his superiority to any man of woman born, is to insult the American people. They are not content with his being great — or even greater than the great: he must be greatest of all; — “first in peace, and first in war.” The rest of the world cannot find fault with the assertion, that he is “first in the hearts of his countrymen.” But he was not possessed of the highest military qualities, if we are to judge from most of the regular actions, in which the British had the best of it; and the final blow, when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, was struck by the arm of France, by Rochambeau and the French fleet, rather than by Washington and his Americans. He had all the qualities for the work for which he was designed, and is fairly entitled to the position his countrymen have given him as the immortal czar of the United States. His pictures are visible everywhere — in the humblest inn, in the Minister's bureau, in the millionnaire's gallery. There are far more engravings of Washington in America than there are of Napoleon in France, and that is saying a good deal.

What have we here? The steamer which has been paddling down the gentle current of the Potomac, here a mile and more in breadth, banked in by forest, through which can be seen homesteads and white farm-houses, in the midst of large clearings and corn-fields — has moved in towards a high bluff, covered with trees, on the summit of which is visible the trace of some sort of building — a ruined summer-house, rustic temple — whatever it may be; and the bell on deck begins to toll solemnly, and some of the pilgrims uncover their heads for a moment. The boat stops at a rotten, tumbledown little pier, which leads to a waste of mud, and a path rudely cut through the wilderness of briers on the hill-side. The pilgrims, of whom there are some thirty or forty, of both sexes, mostly belonging to the lower classes of citizens, and comprising a few foreigners like myself, proceed to climb this steep, which seemed in a state of nature covered with primeval forest, and tangled weeds and briers, till the plateau, on which stands the house of Washington and the domestic offices around it, is reached. It is an oblong wooden house, of two stories in height, with a colonnade towards the river face, and a small balcony on the top and on the level of the roof, over which rises a little paltry gazebo. There are two windows, a glass door at one end of the oblong, and a wooden alcove extending towards the slave quarters, which are very small sentry-box huts, that have been recently painted, and stand at right angles to the end of the house, with dog-houses and poultry-hutches attached to them. There is no attempt at neatness or order about the place; though the exterior of the house is undergoing repair, the grass is unkempt, the shrubs untrimmed, — neglect, squalor, and chicken feathers have marked the lawn for their own. The house is in keeping, and threatens to fall to ruin. I entered the door, and found myself in a small hall, stained with tobacco juice. An iron railing ran across the entrance to the stairs. Here stood a man at a gate, who presented a book to the visitors, and pointed out the notice therein, that “no person is permitted to inscribe his name in this book who does not contribute to the Washington Fund, and that any name put down without money would be erased.” Notwithstanding the warning, some patriots succeeded in recording their names without any pecuniary mulct, and others did so at a most reasonable rate. When I had contributed in a manner which must have represented an immense amount of Washingtoniolatry, estimated by the standard of the day, I was informed I could not go up-stairs as the rooms above were closed to the public, and thus the most interesting portion of the house was shut from the strangers. The lower rooms presented nothing worthy of notice —some lumbering, dusty, decayed furniture; a broken harpsichord, dust, cobwebs — no remnant of the man himself. But over the door of one room hung the key of the Bastille.*  The gardens, too, were tabooed; but through the gate I could see a wilderness of neglected trees and shrubs, not unmingled with a suspicion of a present kitchen-ground. Let us pass to the Tomb, which is some distance from the house, beneath the shade of some fine trees. It is a plain brick mausoleum, with a pointed arch, barred by an iron grating, through which the light penetrates a chamber or small room containing two sarcophagi of stone. Over the arch, on a slab let into the brick, are the words: “Within this enclosure rest the remains of Gen. George Washington.” The fallen leaves which had drifted into the chamber rested thickly on the floor, and were piled up on the sarcophagi, and it was difficult to determine which was the hero's grave without the aid of an expert, but there was neither guide nor guardian on the spot. Some four or five gravestones, of various members of the family, stand in the ground outside the little mausoleum. The place was most depressing. One felt angry with a people whose lip service was accompanied by so little of actual respect. The owner of this property, inherited from the “Pater Patriӕ,” has been abused in good set terms because he asked its value from the country which has been so very mindful of the services of his ancestor, and which is now erecting by slow stages the overgrown Cleopatra's needle that is to be a Washington Monument when it is finished. Mr. Everett has been lecturing, the Ladies' Mount Vernon Association has been working, and every one has been adjuring everybody else to give liberally; but the result so lately achieved is by no means worthy of the object. Perhaps the Americans think it is enough to say — “Si monumentum quӕris, circumspice" But, at all events, there is a St. Paul's round those words.

On the return of the steamer I visited Fort Washington, which is situated on the left bank of the Potomac. I found everything in a state of neglect — gun-carriages rotten, shot piles rusty, furnaces tumbling to pieces. The place might be made strong enough on the river front, but the rear is weak, though there is low marshy land at the back. A company of regulars were on duty. The sentries took no precautions against surprise. Twenty determined men, armed with revolvers, could have taken the whole work; and, for all the authorities knew, we might have had that number of Virginians and the famous Ben McCullough himself on board. Afterwards, when I ventured to make a remark to General Scott as to the carelessness of the garrison, he said: “A few weeks ago it might have been taken by a bottle of whiskey. The whole garrison consisted of an old Irish pensioner.” Now at this very moment Washington is full of rumors of desperate descents on the capital, and an attack on the President and his Cabinet. The long bridge across the Potomac into Virginia is guarded, and the militia and volunteers of the District of Columbia are to be called out to resist McCullough and his Richmond desperadoes.

_______________

* Since borrowed, it is supposed, by Mr. Seward, and handed over by him to Mr. Stanton. Lafayette gave it to Washington; he also gave his name to the Fort which has played so conspicuous a part in the war for liberty — “La liberté des deux mondes,” might well sigh if he could see his work, and what it has led to.

SOURCE: William Howard Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 55-9

Diary of Mary Boykin Chesnut: June 12, 1861

Have been looking at Mrs. O'Dowd as she burnished the “Meejor's arms” before Waterloo. And I have been busy, too. My husband has gone to join Beauregard, somewhere beyond Richmond. I feel blue-black with melancholy. But I hope to be in Richmond before long myself. That is some comfort.

The war is making us all tenderly sentimental. No casualties yet, no real mourning, nobody hurt. So it is all parade, fife, and fine feathers. Posing we are en grande tenue. There is no imagination here to forestall woe, and only the excitement and wild awakening from every-day stagnant life are felt. That is, when one gets away from the two or three sensible men who are still left in the world.

When Beauregard's report of the capture of Fort Sumter was printed, Willie Ancrum said: “How is this? Tom Ancrum and Ham Boykin's names are not here. We thought from what they told us that they did most of the fighting.”

Colonel Magruder¹ has done something splendid on the peninsula. Bethel is the name of the battle. Three hundred of the enemy killed, they say.

Our people, Southerners, I mean, continue to drop in from the outside world. And what a contempt those who seceded a few days sooner feel for those who have just come out! A Camden notable, called Jim Velipigue, said in the street to-day: “At heart Robert E. Lee is against us; that I know.” What will not people say in war times! Also, he said that Colonel Kershaw wanted General Beauregard to change the name of the stream near Manassas Station. Bull's Run is so unrefined. Beauregard answered: '”Let us try and make it as great a name as your South Carolina Cowpens.”²

Mrs. Chesnut, born in Philadelphia, can not see what right we have to take Mt. Vernon from our Northern sisters. She thinks that ought to be common to both parties. We think they will get their share of this world's goods, do what we may, and we will keep Mt. Vernon if we can. No comfort in Mr. Chesnut's letter from Richmond. Unutterable confusion prevails, and discord already.

In Charleston a butcher has been clandestinely supplying the Yankee fleet outside the bar with beef. They say he gave the information which led to the capture of the Savannah. They will hang him.

Mr. Petigru alone in South Carolina has not seceded. When they pray for our President, he gets up from his knees. He might risk a prayer for Mr. Davis. I doubt if it would seriously do Mr. Davis any good. Mr. Petigru is too clever to think himself one of the righteous whose prayers avail so overly much. Mr. Petigru's disciple, Mr. Bryan, followed his example. Mr. Petigru has such a keen sense of the ridiculous he must be laughing in his sleeve at the hubbub this untimely trait of independence has raised.

Looking out for a battle at Manassas Station. I am always ill. The name of my disease is a longing to get away from here and to go to Richmond.

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¹ John Bankhead Magruder was a graduate of West Point, who had served in the Mexican War, and afterward while stationed at Newport, R. I., had become famous for his entertainments. When Virginia seceded, he resigned his commission in the United States Army. After the war he settled in Houston, Texas. The battle of Big Bethel was fought on June 10, 1861. The Federals lost in killed and wounded about 100, among them Theodore Winthrop, of New York, author of Cecil Dreeme. The Confederate losses were very slight.

² The battle of the Cowpens in South Carolina was fought on January 17, 1781; the British, under Colonel Tarleton, being defeated by General Morgan, with a loss to the British of 300 killed and wounded and 500 prisoners.

SOURCE: Mary Boykin Chesnut, Edited by Isabella D. Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary, A Diary From Dixie, p. 62

General Robert E. Lee to Mary Custis Lee, December 25, 1861

COOSAWHATCHIE, S. C, December 25, 1861.

I cannot let this day of grateful rejoicing pass without some communion with you. I am thankful for the many among the past that I have passed with you, and the remembrance of them fills me with pleasure. As to our old home, if not destroyed it will be difficult ever to be recognized. Even if the enemy had wished to preserve it, it would almost have been impossible. With the number of troops encamped around it, the change of officers, the want of fuel, shelter, etc., and all the dire necessities of war, it is vain to think of its being in a habitable condition. I fear, too, the books, furniture, and relics of Mount Vernon will be gone. It is better to make up our minds to a general loss. They cannot take away the remembrances of the spot, and the memories of those that to us rendered it sacred. That will remain to us as long as life will last and that we can preserve. In the absence of a home I wish I could purchase Stratford. It is the only other place I could go to now acceptable to us, that would inspire me with pleasure and local love. You and the girls could remain there in quiet. It is a poor place, but we could make enough corn-bread and bacon for our support, and the girls could weave us clothes. You must not build your hopes on peace on account of the United States going to war with England. The rulers are not entirely mad, and if they find England is in earnest, and that war or a restitution of the captives* must be the consequence, they will adopt the latter. We must make up our minds to fight our battles and win our independence alone. No one will help us.

__________

* Mason and Slidell.

SOURCES: John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 153; Fitzhugh Lee, General Lee, p. 129