Tuxedo-moon: Stratford Hall and the Lees of Old Virginia

Stratford, VA, April 8, 2012: On our return trip we toured Stratford Hall (which is only three miles downriver from George Washington's birthplace). Stratford was the birthplace of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and, for much of the 20th century, his memory dominated Stratford, almost eclipsing its illustrious occupants. The 21st century presentation is much more balanced.

From the visitors' center, on crosses this footbridge on the hike to the mansion.

Stratford Hall was built in the late 1730s by Col. Thomas Lee. His grandfather Col. Richard Lee as a young man arrived in Jamestown in 1639, became prominent in colonial affairs until the beheading of Charles I, and upon his death in 1664 was the largest landowner and one of the wealthiest men in Virginia. His father Col. Richard Lee II was educated at Oxford, active in colonial affairs and was appointed Naval Officer and Collector of Virginia Duties for the River Potomac. Like his father and grandfather, Thomas was also involved in colonial affairs, he also became the resident manager for Lady Caroline Fairfax for the Northern Neck Proprietary and was one of the founders of the Ohio Company of Virginia which sought to expand Virginia into the Ohio River Valley.

The mansion and its out buildings are separated from the landscape by a haw-haw, invisible when looking out.

Thomas Lee's sons Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee were signers of the Declaration of Independence, his son Thomas Ludwell Lee was an editor of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and his sons William Lee and Dr. Arthur Lee served as American diplomats during the Revolutionary War. All grew up at Stratford; Francis, William and Arthur were born here.

Stratford Hall is an H-shaped Georgian house by an unknown architect. Georgian architecture uses classical orders in extremely symmetrical design. At Stratford Hall, the south front (above right) is identical to the north front; the east side identical to the west side; and this symmetry continues to a great extent inside. Photography is prohibited inside the mansion, which is sparsely furnished. The exterior stairs lead to a great hall which separates the two wings of the H.

From the river entrance, a swath of green stretches almost to the Potomac.

This is the binocular view of the Potomac and the Maryland shore.

Upon Thomas Lee's death, his eldest son Philip Ludwell Lee inherited Stratford Hall. After Philip's death, his widow continued to reside at Stratford Hall with their two daughters, her second husband and the eldest daughter Matilda's husband Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. Henry and Matilda were second-cousins; Henry descended through Thomas Lee's brother Henry Lee I. Following Matilda's death, Light Horse Harry continued to live at Stratford, remarried, and had six more children, the fifth being Robert E. Lee. Light Horse Harry in eulogizing at George Washington's funeral said Washington was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." In 1811, Harry and Matilda's son Henry "Black Horse" Lee IV attained ownership of Stratford Hall but was forced to sell it out of the family a few years later.