Custis-Lee Mansion: The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Virginia

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Stewart L. Udall, Secretary
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Conrad L. Wirth, Director
HISTORICAL HANDBOOK NUMBER SIX
This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the historical and archeological areas in the National Park System administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents.
by Murray H. Nelligan
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES No. 6 WASHINGTON, D.C., 1950 ( REVISED 1962 )
The National Park System, of which Custis-Lee Mansion is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people.
General Robert E. Lee in 1865. From the original photograph by Mathew Brady in the National Archives.
Ever since it was built more than a century ago, the Custis-Lee Mansion has dominated the scene across the river from the National Capital. An outstanding example of a Greek Revival building of the early nineteenth century, its dignity and strength, simplicity and steady grace, now make it a most appropriate national memorial to one of America’s greatest men, Robert E. Lee.
Built by his father-in-law, George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of General Washington, the mansion was for many years a principal repository of many objects associated with George Washington. As such, it greatly influenced Robert E. Lee when the building was his home. Like him, it experienced the vicissitudes of war and came to be associated with his fame. Now it is maintained by the Nation in his honor, and in the years to come will serve as a constant reminder of his nobility and greatness.
Many years have passed since General Lee lived in the home at Arlington. But so real are the memories evoked by its historic atmosphere, it seems little more than yesterday that he left it for the last time. A visit to the Custis-Lee Mansion gives a deeper, more personal understanding of the life and worth of the man to whose memory it is now dedicated.