Trophy of War

As Union forces threatened to occupy northern Virginia in 1861, the Lee family evacuated Arlington House. From its position looking across the river, the site offered a vantage point to protect the capital city. The hilltop filled with tents, cannons, wagons, and horses, and Union officers moved into the house and transformed it into a headquarters. Soldiers stole cherished Lee family heirlooms from the shelves as souvenirs. On May 8, 1861, Robert E. Lee wrote to his wife, Mary, "I grieve at the necessity that drives you from your home." A Union soldier also penciled words into a wood beam in the Arlington House attic.

Arlington, Virginia · United States