Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

Today marks our 96th birthday! On May 29, 1930, Congress established the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The parkway runs along the Potomac River, through two states (Virginia and Maryland), and Washington, D.C.

More than a parkway! The parkway preserves several important historic sites and monuments like Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial and Clara Barton National Historic Site. It is also home to hundreds of animal species including birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Do you have a favorite park or memorial along the parkway? Share below!

On May 23, 1861, Virginia voted by a 3-1 margin to leave the United States and join the fledgling Confederate States of America, one of ultimately 11 states to join the Confederacy. United States government officials, including President Abraham Lincoln, decided to take the strategic initiative and launch an invasion of Virginia.

Early the next morning, May 24, roughly 13,000 Union soldiers crossed the Potomac River in two main columns to invest the city of Alexandria and take the high ground of Arlington, including Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee, a former U.S. Army Colonel. Only the month earlier, Lee had resigned from a 32-year career to accept command of Virginia state forces. Lee had known that the strategic location that Arlington House occupied would mean its capture.

For the next four years, Union forces would occupy Arlington House and the surrounding 1,100 acres and would transform the property forever. Military forts dotted the landscape, almost all trees would be cut down, and in 1864, a new cemetery would be dedicated, destined to hold a special place to people around the world which would see its first burials after the devastating battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, Arlington National Cemetery.

To learn more about the military occupation of Arlington House, come visit us at Arlington House. The house is open from 9:30 am-4:00 pm, seven days a week.


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The gardens at Arlington House are in full bloom! Many of the plants that you can see here are the same types that would have grown before the creation of Arlington National Cemetery, when it was the Lee and Custis family home. Mildred Lee, the youngest child of Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis Lee, recalled the purple lilacs, dark red roses, and enormous snowball bushes, behind which she played hide-and-seek. This beautiful landscape could not have existed without the work of people like the enslaved gardener, Ephraim Derricks. Today, you can connect with the experiences of the people who once lived on these grounds by walking through these restored historic spaces.

To learn more about Mildred Lee, visit: https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/mildred-lee.htm
To learn more about Ephraim Derricks, visit: https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/ephraim-derricks.htm

On May 5, 1864, Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia ran into Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army of the Potomac in the tangled thickets and clearings of the Wilderness in Virginia.

After two days of ferocious fighting that caused more than 30,000 total casualties, the two armies made their way south and fought at places such as Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg over the next month, creating almost 60,000 more casualties.

Many of the Union wounded were put on steamboats and sent north to Washington, D.C. area hospitals, while the deceased were sent to the two military cemeteries at Alexandria and the Old Soldiers Home. The sheer volume of fatalities, however, created a difficult situation; both cemeteries filled and a decision needed to be made on where to locate a new military cemetery.

Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs had an idea: what about the grounds of Arlington House? The plantation was just across the Potomac River and also had the distinction of being where Robert E. Lee had lived for several decades before the outbreak of the Civil War. The government agreed and 200 acres of the property were set aside for the first burials. Many of these first burials came directly from the fallen on the fields of the Wilderness, fought 162 years ago today.

To learn more about the first burials at Arlington National Cemetery, Montgomery Meigs, and Robert E. Lee come visit Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial. The house is open from 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., seven days a week or visit https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/cemetery.htm

Choices. We make them everyday. Most choices are transient and don’t matter in the long run. But some choices change not only our own lives but the lives of others as well.

Arlington House saw many choices made by its occupants, but one choice, made 165 years ago today, affected not only the person who made the choice but impacted the lives of millions of Americans; a choice that still reverberates to this day.

In April 1861, after years of compromise, tensions between the North and South reached critical mass. The 34-hour siege of Fort Sumter, S.C. on April 12-13, 1861, brought about a Civil War that forced many to make difficult choices. Robert E. Lee, then living at Arlington House, was one of those forced to choose.

By this time, Lee was a colonel in the United States Army, a rank he had only held since March. Even though Lee was outranked by several men, he was nonetheless so highly respected that his mentor, General Winfield Scott convinced President Abraham Lincoln that Lee should be offered command of the U.S. forces to put down the southern rebellion.

This was what Lee had wanted during his career, high command, and a chance to prove himself. Yet, to achieve this, Lee would have to fight against his region, the South, including his own beloved state of Virginia, which seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861.

Lee, a Virginian, wrote a letter (pictured here and on display at the museum) to his mentor, Winfield Scott, and resigned from the U.S. Army saying that he could not “raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home” and that “save in defence of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword.” Two days later, Lee was offered command of Virginia forces.

Lee’s choice not only affected him. His family was forced to leave Arlington and the approximately 60 enslaved people on the plantation were left in a place of limbo as many remained at the property that was soon occupied by Union forces.

Lee’s decision to resign from the United States Army proved to not only affect those at Arlington, but would change the history of the war as he led Confederate forces for the next four years.
Learn more about Lee’s decision: https://www.nps.gov/arho/learn/historyculture/lee-s-resignation.htm

🌱WEED WARRIORS TO THE RESCUE!🌱

🌿Help Protect GWMP's Natural Beauty - Become a Certified W**d Warrior Volunteer!

🌿Non-native invasive plants pose a serious threat to the health of our park’s natural spaces, but you can make a difference.

🌿Join the team of dedicated volunteers working to preserve and protect the park’s biodiversity. Certified W**d Warrior volunteers are authorized to manage invasive plants at GWMP park sites without direct supervision.

🌿The required two-part training - featuring an online session and in-person training at GWMP - will be held May 13 and May 16, respectively.
Part 1: May 13 from 6:00-9:00pm - Virtual training on Zoom
Part 2: May 16 - participants will receive a link to reserve their in-person training spot and get more information after completion of Part 1 (2 hrs)

🌿Register now to get started: https://secure.everyaction.com/dMHc41zcN0aFtI32Tl6iYw2

🌿Once you sign up, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to reserve your in-person training slot.

🌿Let’s work together to steward the natural spaces of George Washington Memorial Parkway for this and future generations.

**dWarrior

Check out the beautiful pictures from our Tulip Festival (last weekend)!

The tulips are still blooming so plan a visit soon! They are at the Netherlands Carillon which is very close to Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial and the US Marine Corps War Memorial

E pluribus unum (Out of many one)....

Ever feel like a red tulip in a field/world of yellow tulips?

Join the NPS and friends this weekend for a fun-filled Tulip Festival to ring in the 250th on the George Washington Memorial Parkway!

All activities are free and all ages are welcome! Music will be played on the bells from 5pm-9pm on Saturday and from 10am-2pm on Sunday. More information: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/event-details.htm...

Date: April 11-12
Time:
April 11- 4:00-9:00 pm
April 12- 10:00 am-2:00
Location: Netherlands Carillon Tulip Garden

National Park Service George Washington Memorial Parkway
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Looking for a colorful drive?

The tulips are at peak bloom at the Navy and Marine Memorial along George Washington Memorial Parkway.

This monument honors members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Services who lost their lives at sea. It is not solely a war memorial but also a tribute to those who died in storms, shipwrecks, and other maritime disasters while serving their country.

George Washington Memorial Parkway links this and other monuments and memorials all the way to Mount Vernon, the home of the First President.

Take some time to drive the scenic parkway and see it at the height of spring!

Photo (NPS): Red flowers in front of a gray monument of waves and birds. The Washington Monument is in the background.

National Park Service George Washington Memorial Parkway

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Join us to "Ring in Freedom 250 at the Netherlands Carillon Tulip Festival!”

Date: April 11-12
Time:
April 11- 4:00-9:00 pm
April 12- 10:00 am-2:00
Location: Netherlands Carillon Tulip Garden

Join the Carillonneurs, Park Rangers and others to welcome spring and Freedom
250 with the annual Tulip Festival. This event offers children activities, ranger programs, and music, all amid the hundreds of blooming tulips. Stay around past sunset to take part in a special night sky program (8:15 pm on April 11) as we see the stars over our nation’s capital!

Fun Facts:
• The Netherlands Carillon is a present from the Netherlands to the United States. Dedicated on May 5, 1960, it stands as a token of gratitude from the Dutch people for America’s liberation of the Netherlands from N**i Germany.
• The 53 bells in the tower mark the structure as a “grand carillon
• A carillon is like an organ but with ringing bells that provide the melody to the music being played.
• Planting tulips at the base of the carillon is a longstanding tradition, and often a first sign of spring together with the Cherry Blossoms on the National Mall.

Photos (NPS): Colorful tulip flowers in front of a large metal tower (Carillon). These photos were taken this past week!

National Park Service George Washington Memorial Parkway
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