The Edmund Jennings Lee House
[428 North Washington Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Franklin F. Korell.]
Many of the citizens of this community bore the greatest names in the
Commonwealth. Henry Cabot Lodge's description of Virginia society in the
eighteenth century might aptly be applied to Alexandria: "We must go
back to Athens to find another instance of a Society so small in numbers
and yet capable of such an outburst of ability and force."
Among the great Virginia names closely associated with Alexandria is
that of Lee. Virginia's (and America's) patriot, Arthur Lee, was born at
Stratford, in Westmoreland County, on December 20, 1740, and died at his
residence, Lansdown, in the old town of Urbanna, Middlesex County, on
December 12, 1792. These fifty-two years he filled with deeds and
action. His primary education was gotten at Eton. From there he went on
to the great University of Edinburgh to study medicine. For a while he
practiced this profession in Williamsburg, but in 1766 we find him
reading law at the Temple in London. By 1770 he had begun his role as a
barrister in London and there he practiced until 1776. For five years of
this time he acted as London agent for Virginia and Massachusetts. Thus
began his diplomatic career. With Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane he
was one of the commissioners to France in 1776, and from this he went on
to other negotiations between America and Europe.
Arthur Lee returned to America in 1780, and from 1782 to 1785 he served
as a member of Congress. During these years he entered somewhat into the
real-estate business in Alexandria. When his will was probated, he left
to his niece, Hannah Washington, wife of Corbin, a half-acre lot on
Washington and Oronoco Streets.
Hannah and Corbin Washington sold a half-acre lot to Charles Lee on
March 19, 1796. It is described as beginning at the intersection of
Washington and Oronoco on the southwest side, running west on Oronoco
123 feet 5 inches and south on Washington 176 feet 7 inches.
Charles Lee and Anne, his wife, sold this property to their brother,
Edmund I. Lee, for five thousand dollars in January 1801. Part of the
lot was rented at that time to Henry Zimmerman, subject to a ground
rent, and part to Howard Beale, and there were houses, ways, advantages,
and so on.
Edmund Jennings (always called Edmund I., following the eighteenth
century usage of I for J) Lee was born just prior to the Revolution in
1772, when great events were stirring. He grew to young manhood in the
post-Revolutionary days, and developed into an able lawyer, one of those
stalwart citizens, giving his time and energy to his family, his church,
and his city. He has been overshadowed by his more famous brothers,
"Light Horse Harry" and Charles Lee, Attorney General in Washington's
cabinet, and his immortal nephew, Robert Edward Lee.
At twenty-four, Edmund Jennings Lee married Sarah Lee, daughter of
Richard Henry Lee of Stratford, his near cousin, and that same year,
1796, settled in Alexandria. Nearly everyone of local prominence dined
at Mount Vernon on some occasion or another--and so did Edmund Lee and
his wife. Washington's diaries record three dates when the former was
present and one when the latter accompanied Attorney General Charles Lee
and his wife. Mrs. Edmund Lee as "Miss Lee" had visited General and Mrs.
Washington innumerable times with her father. As a matter of statistical
interest, the General's diaries enumerate more than one hundred visits
of various Virginia Lees to Mount Vernon.
Edmund I. Lee is remembered in his native city for saving the Glebe
lands for Christ Church. Glebe lands were property belonging to the
Church of England, and used for the support of the rector and the needs
of the parish. After the Revolutionary War the Virginia Assembly
confiscated these lands for the use of the poor. On behalf of the
Alexandria church, now called Christ Church, Edmund I. Lee took this
case to the United States Courts in 1814, protesting the
unconstitutionality of the act. His eloquence, legal knowledge and
labors resulted in the return of the Glebe lands to Christ Church. The
case was won on a technicality, _i.e._, the Virginia Assembly had no
jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, and Alexandria lay in the
District.
In 1810 Lee was president of the common council of the city, a thankless
task which he performed faithfully and cheerfully. The year 1832 saw
"his house and half an acre lot at Washington and Oronoco Streets in
which he now resides for sale or rent." It was not sold, for in his
will, Lee left this dwelling and lot to his two daughters, Sally Lee and
Hannah Stewart, jointly. To his son he left the family Bible and a
cane-bottom settee, formerly owned by William Lee of Green Spring, and a
house and lot at the "bottom of his garden" on Washington Street, and
the "arm-chair" from his drawing room. His son, Cassius Lee, fell heir
to his father's home and there brought up a large family of handsome
children.
Family tradition names Edmund I. Lee as the builder of his home, which
would fix the date of the house at 1801 or later. Everything about the
house is typical of a late eighteenth century federal building. It is
certain that Charles Lee built the mansion around 1796 and that Edmund
I. Lee lived there from the time of his marriage. The price of five
thousand dollars at the time of purchase is also indicative of a
substantial and elegant residence.
This house is a fine federal example and is handsomely fitted out. The
Lee family seems to have had a leaning toward brass hardware, and like
the hinges in the great hall at Stratford, unusual brass latches and
locks are here plentiful. Unquestionably the handsomest brass locks in
Alexandria are in this house. A rare latch in addition to the great
locks is attached to the Washington Street door. This double doorway,
deeply recessed, in a hand-carved Georgian frame, arched and paneled,
challenges the attention of every passer-by. The colonnaded rear gallery
is hung with festoons of wisteria and is the most picturesque and lovely
spot when the great lavender bunches of bloom are scattered and draped
around the vine and against the white columns and railings. The woodwork
throughout the house is in keeping with the dignified exterior. The
rooms are large and inviting; the mantels' trim and stairway are better
than pleasing.
[Illustration: Edmund I. Lee's doorway, an inviting entrance]
Robert E. Lee was first cousin to Cassius Lee. They grew up together,
were of the same age and generation, devoted and sympathetic friends
throughout their lives. For advice and counsel they sought each other.
On April 21, 1861, the Sunday following General Lee's resignation from
the United States Army, he attended Christ Church in Alexandria, and
left his carriage and horses at Cassius Lee's house. Sometime during the
morning, commissioners sent by the Virginia convention arrived at
Arlington House and found General Lee gone to church in Alexandria. They
followed him to the home of Cassius Lee, and there awaited his return
from church. When the two Lee gentlemen, who had walked home from church
together, entered the house, they found the waiting delegation.
Realizing at once that only grave considerations had brought these
gentlemen to his home, Cassius Lee left the room, and dispatched his
family of children to the house of his sister, Mrs. Lloyd. General Lee
had written to General Scott only the day before--on April 20:
Since my interview with you on the 18th inst. I have felt that I
ought no longer to retain my commission in the Army. I therefore
tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend for
acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle
it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have
devoted the best years of my life, and all the ability I
possessed.... Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire
again to draw my Sword.[182]
For this purpose the commissioners from the governor and convention had
come, to ask Robert E. Lee to draw his sword--to accept the office of
commander in chief of the Virginia forces.
General Lee arrived in Richmond on April 22, and the next day accepted
from the Secession Convention the command just offered him:
Trusting to Almighty God, an approving conscience and the aid of my
fellow citizens, I will devote myself to the defense and service of
my native State, in whose behalf alone would I ever have drawn my
sword.[183]
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EPILOGUE
WASHINGTON IN GLORY--AMERICA IN TEARS
The effect of the sudden news of his death upon the inhabitants of
Alexandria can better be conceived than expressed. At first a general
disorder, wildness, and consternation pervaded the town. The tale
appeared as an illusory dream, as the raving of a sickly imagination.
But these impressions soon gave place to sensations of the most poignant
sorrow and extreme regret. On Monday and Wednesday the stores were all
closed and all business suspended, as if each family had lost its
father. From the time of his death to the time of his interment the
bells continued to toll, the shipping in the harbor wore their colors
half mast high, and every public expression of grief was observed. On
Wednesday, the inhabitants of the town, of the county, and the adjacent
parts of Maryland proceeded to Mount Vernon to perform the last offices
to the body of their illustrious neighbor. All the military within a
considerable distance and three Masonic lodges were present. The
concourse of people was immense. Till the time of interment the corpse
was placed on the portico fronting the river, that every citizen might
have an opportunity of taking a last farewell of the departed
benefactor.--_The Alexandria Times and District of Columbia Advertiser_,
December 20, 1799.
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PART THREE
Five Sketches of the Nineteenth Century
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