Stratford Hall
N 38° 09.042 W 076° 50.393
18S E 338787 N 4224134
The Stratford Plantation on the Potomac River in the Northern Neck of Virginia was the birthplace of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Waymark Code: WMG9ZF
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 02/03/2013
Views: 7
Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father was Henry 'Light Horse Harry' Lee, a hero of the American Revolution.When Robert was 4, the family moved to Alexandria, VA.
After graduating from West Point, Robert Lee served in the United States Army. When his home state of Virginia voted to secede from the nation in 1861, Robert Lee, who was committed to defending his home, turned down an offer from President Abraham Lincoln to command the Union army and resigned his commission. In 1862, he assumed command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. At the beginning of 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis named Lee general-in-chief of the entire Confederate army. Lee surrendered his Army of NVA to Union Gen. U. S. Grant in April 1865 at Appomattox Court House, VA after Grant's dogged pursuit known as the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg.
After the War, Lee became president of Washington College in Lexington, VA where he died 5 years later.
Lee always had fond memories of Stratford Hall and wanted to buy it and move back, but with the advent of the Civil War, he never did. In fact. Lee never owned a house. His daughters visited Stratford Hall in 1861, but Lee never returned.
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(Photo taken from the CWT marker) Great House, 1850s, by Mattie Ward - Courtesy Stratford Hall | Great House, 2013 |
Robert's older brother, Sidney Smith, was also born there. In 1861, Sidney resigned his U.S. Navy commission and served in the Confederate Navy.
During the War years, Stratford Hall escaped damage, but in 1864 Union soldiers took supplies and the slaves of then-owner Elizabeth Storke.
A CWT marker stands along the path that leads to the Great House at Stratford Hall.
Go here for more information on hours of operation and admission.
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