Stratford Hall Plantation
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Stratford Hall Plantation was the home of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence, and was the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, Confederate General-in-chief during the American Civil War. Set on high bluffs overlooking the Potomac River, Stratford Hall is located in Westmoreland County in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
[edit] History
Col. Thomas Lee, Hon. (1690-1750), a Virginian who served as acting Governor of the colony and advocated strongly for westward expansion, purchased the land for Stratford Hall in 1717, recognizing the potential for the waterfront site both agriculturally and commercially. Construction of the Georgian Great House however did not begin until the late 1730s. Designed by an unknown architect, the brick Great House is a two story H-shaped structure, surrounded on its four corners by attending outbuildings, all of which still stand today. Following construction of the Great House, Thomas Lee expanded the site into a bustling hive of activity, and soon the working plantation became "a towne in itself" as one visitor to Stratford marveled. A wharf on the Potomac River welcomed countless trading ships, a gristmill ground wheat and corn, and slaves and indentured servants farmed tobacco and other crops on the thousands of acres encompassing the plantation. Blacksmiths, coopers, carpenters, tailors, gardeners and weavers all plied their trade at Thomas Lee's Stratford.
In the middle of this busy world, Thomas Lee and his wife Hannah Harrison Ludwell (1701-1749) raised eight extraordinary children: six sons and two daughters who would play an important role in shaping the early history of the nation. The eldest son, Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr., Esq. (1727-1775) became the inheritor of Stratford. Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797), both delegates from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress, were signers of the Declaration of Independence. Richard Henry was later instrumental in guiding the fledgling nation, serving as President of Congress from 1784-5. Thomas Ludwell Lee, active in local politics, served as a Virginian legislator and helped compose the Virginia Declaration of Rights. William Lee (1739-1795) and Dr. Arthur Lee (1740-1792) were both diplomats to England during the turbulent struggle for American independence. Hannah Lee was an early proponent of women's rights, and Alice Lee married prominent physician Dr. Dr. William Shippen (1736-1808) of Philadelphia.
Hon. Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr. (1727-1775), a member of the House of Burgesses and King's Council, continued to expand the plantation following his inheritance of Stratford until it eventually encompassed almost 6,600 acres. A lover of horses and music, Philip and his wife Elizabeth Steptoe (1743-1789) had two daughters, the oldest of which was known as the "divine Matilda". Philip died in 1775, and Elizabeth continued to reside there. In 1780, the widow married Philip Richard Fendall I, Esq. (1734-1805). The new couple resided at “Stratford” along with her two daughters and son-in-law, Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III (1756-1818), who had married the daughter Matilda. An arrangement was reached in 1784-85, that the Fendall’s would turn over their rights to “Stratford Hall”, and at the same time, Henry would sell a ½ acre lot, situated on Oronoco Street in Alexandria, Virginia for 300 pounds. It was here that Philip R. Fendall built the "Lee-Fendall House". As a result, Matilda inherited Stratford, and resided there with her second cousin and husband, the Revolutionary War hero "Light Horse Harry" Lee. Their time together was cut short however, when Matilda died after eight years of marriage.
Several years passed before "Light Horse Harry" married a second time, this time taking Ann Hill Carter (1773-1827) of Shirley Plantation as his bride. Their fourth child, Gen. Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870), was born at Stratford Hall in 1807. Robert E. Lee, future Confederate General-in-chief, spent only four years at Stratford, yet remembered it fondly throughout the remainder of his life. In the midst of the American Civil War he wrote to his wife that "In the absence of a home I wish I could purchase Stratford. That is the only place I could go to, now accessible to us, that would inspire me with feelings of pleasure and local love. You and the girls could remain there in quiet. It is a poor place, but we could make enough cornbread and bacon for our support and the girls could weave us clothes. I wonder if it is for sale and at how much."
With debts mounting, "Light Horse Harry" and his wife and children departed Stratford during the winter of 1810-11 and moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Stratford Hall passed into the hands of Harry and Matilda's surviving son Maj. Henry Lee IV "Black Horse" (1787-1837), but financial trouble forced the sale of the plantation several years later. Stratford remained in private hands for more than a century, but in 1929 a group of women dedicated to preserving the memory of Robert E. Lee and his family joined together to form the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association and purchase Stratford Hall. These women worked tirelessly to fund the purchase and restoration of the property. Today, the site is still maintained by the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, and is open to the public. Encompassing over 1900 acres, visitors today can tour the Great House, numerous outbuildings, the restored working gristmill and can explore the gardens, walking trails and Miocene era cliffs found on the site.
[edit] References
Nagel, Paul C. The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Stratford Hall Plantation and the Lees of Virginia. Stratford, Va: Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, 1998.
