The mansion stands in a park, which in autumn is an explosion of color. An
old wall, covered with Virginia creeper, adds a touch of glamour to the
Colonial house, and a willow tree commanding a conspicuous corner of the
grounds lends a melancholy aspect which makes up the interesting
atmosphere of Kenmore, part of the estate of Colonel Fielding Lewis, who
brought to this home his bride, "Betty," a sister of George Washington,
and where they lived as befitted people of wealth and learning, his wife
giving an added meaning to the social life of the old town, and Colonel
Lewis himself taking an active and prominent part in the civic affairs, as
most people of wealth and culture deemed it their duty to do in the days
gone by.
Colonel Lewis was an officer in the Patriot Army and commanded a division
at the siege of Yorktown. He was an ardent patriot and when the Revolution
started his activities ran to the manufacture of firearms, which were made
at "The Gunnery" from iron wrought at the foundry, traces of which may
still be seen on the Rappahannock river, just above the village of
Falmouth.
Colonel Lewis was a magistrate in the town after the war, a member of the
City Council and represented the county in the Legislature.
His son, Captain Robert Lewis, was one of President Washington's private
secretaries and mayor of Fredericksburg from 1821 to the day of his death.
When LaFayette visited the town in 1824, Colonel Lewis was selected to
deliver the address of welcome.
However, we are apt to forget the elegancies and excellencies of the
courtly man whose life was dedicated to useful service in a note that is
struck by the home in which he lived. Kenmore, in the light of its past,
sounds an overtone of romance. We cannot escape it, and it persistently
reverberates above the people it sheltered.
[Sidenote: _The Greatest Officeholder_]