Tal Day, Editor Spring 2019 THE MURRAY-DICK-FAWCETT HOUSE: A FUTURE ALEXANDRIA MUSEUM

Sue Kovach Shuman*

Imagine Alexandria in the early 1770s: The the expanding town.2 Two years later, in 1774, town has expanded, the Potomac River trans- he bought the lot upon which it stood from a ports ships bringing goods such as rum from descendant of John Alexander, who had been the Caribbean and one of the trustees linen from Ireland, for formation of and an air of possi- the Town in bility permeates life. 1749.3 Before the But acquiring these Revolutionary goods carries a War and the sign- price, and colonists ing of our nation’s are growing increas- Declaration of In- ingly vexed by the dependence, the high taxes imposed original beams on them by the Brit- with hand-cut ish. nails, wide-plank Patrick Murray, a floors, and walls merchant in 1770 Figure 1. Murray-Dick-Fawcett House, 517 Prince Street. of that two-room then resident in Credit: Google Street View plus attic and cel- Perthshire, Scot- lar house were land,1 saw opportunity in Alexandria and im- standing and thereafter stood witness as Alex- migrated. In 1772, he began building a timber- andria was buffeted by wars, depressions, and frame house on Prince Street, at the edge of occasional periods of prosperity and hope.

* Sue Kovach Shuman is the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House project historian in the Office of Historic Alexandria. She holds a B.A. degree in Journalism from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland. In 2018, she earned a Public History and Historic Preservation certificate from Northern Virginia Community College and is currently pursuing a Virginia Association of Museums management certificate. Earlier in her career, she worked for several newspapers, including, for 20 years, The Washington Post.

Today, with subsequent early additions, The Builder and Early Owners Murray’s home is the most authentic, perhaps In 1784 Murray expanded the 1772 struc- least altered, 18th-Century building in North- ture by adding two large rooms at the back.8 In ern Virginia—a gem of vernacular architec- 1785 he opened a livery stable there “to take 4 ture. Unlike Mount Vernon, the Carlyle in gentlemen’s horses”9 The stable was located House, the Lee-Fendall House, or some other at the back of the property, possibly with ac- historic houses still in private hands, it is not cess from St. Asaph Street. Today part of the fancy or imposing. But unlike the house muse- Alexandria courthouse sits on that land. Mur- ums mentioned, the house built by Murray on ray’s businesses appear to have operated at Prince Street was a residence occupied by de- least partially with slave labor. In 1784, Mur- scendants of one subsequent owner, John ray placed a notice for a runaway slave named 5 Douglass Brown, for nearly 200 years. Jack who was a wagon driver.10 If Murray ran Someday, the house a stable, he would have will become a City of employed help, or owned Alexandria museum slaves. There were as with a focus on 18th many free blacks as en- and 19th Century do- slaved blacks in Alexan- 6 mestic life. Most of the dria at the time.11 home’s residents were Between 1783 and not famous, but they 1791, Murray served as a contributed to the rich juror or grand juror 16 fabric of growing Alex- times in Fairfax County andria. The house will court proceedings.12 He tell the story of its resi- also speculated in western dents, mostly middle- Figure 2. Front Parlor Woodwork with Coal Stove. lands, including 806 acres class people who were Credit: Historic American Building Survey /Library of in Montgomery County, educated locally, cre- Congress {“HABS 1936”) Pennsylvania,13 and 640 ated local businesses, sometimes worked for acres on the Cacapon River in what is now the government, coped with momentous West Virginia. That land, which was partially events, and generally led respectable lives, but cultivated and about 20 miles west of Win- outside the limelight of fame. chester, may have produced farm products that From 1816 until 2000, the house stayed in Murray marketed in Alexandria.14 Murray also the family of John Douglass Brown and his accumulated debts.15 descendants, almost 200 years, passing down Murray’s debts did not preclude his enjoy- through generations largely untouched. The ing a respectable standing in Alexandria. In house was not all that passed down. Memora- 1786, Patrick Murray’s daughter, Mary, mar- bilia, letters, financial records, and clothing ried Baron De La March (also spelled de la worn by family members from the 18th to the Marche and Delamarche). The groom’s family 20th Centuries as contents of the house sur- had ties to English royalty – King Henry III, vived as well. Pending development of the who lived from 1207 to 1272 and ruled for al- house as a City museum, these objects are be- most 50 years. There were family ties as well ing catalogued and incorporated into antici- to the French House of Talleyrand and even a 7 pated exhibitions at the Alexandria Lyceum. family castle in County Mayo, Ireland.16 Sadly, Murray’s daughter died three years later. The cause of death is not known, but

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newspaper death notices in the John Douglass Brown and His Descend- at this time cited many deaths from measles, ants: A Family Home for Two Centuries 17 epidemic typhus or influenza. John Douglass Brown. John Douglass By 1792, Murray had again expanded his Brown arrived in Alexandria in 1801 to begin house, to six rooms plus a kitchen annex and, an import-export business. From very early 18 under financial pressure, tried to sell it The on, Brown appears to have integrated well into architectural features dating from that period Alexandria society. At some time between suggest that Murray or a later resident was op- 1805 and 1811, he commissioned a portrait of erating a tavern. himself by Cephas Among other things, Thompson, an itinerant the kitchen fireplace, painter from New Eng- 14.6 by 17 by 15 feet, land who painted many was sufficiently large to other people prominent in hold massive pots; there the early Republican pe- was a commercial-scale riod, including Chief Jus- smokehouse; and three tice John Marshall and separate brick closets Commodore Stephen De- with privies were built catur.23 19 to “seat” eight. In 1811, when Brown Murray did not was 29, he married a sec- avoid a mortgage de- ond cousin, Mary Gould- fault. Following an auc- ing Gretter, who had tion sale, the Alexan- Brown and Douglass dria physician Elisha roots in Pennsylvania Cullen Dick and his reaching back to the late wife Hannah purchased 17th Century. Her grandfa- the property in April ther Samuel Brown, an 20 1794 as speculators. immigrant from Belfast, Dick sold the property Figure 3. John Douglass Brown, Portrait by Cephas owned land near Valley in November 1794 to Thompson (c. 1801-11). Credit: family collection Forge.24 two merchants, John Brown’s business involved both selling and 21 Thomas Ricketts and William Newton. storing goods. Until 1823, he was in business There are no records suggesting that Dick did with Thomas Janney & Co.25 During the War anything to alter the house. of 1812, their business continued to operate, In 1796, Newton was living in the house but not without suffering losses when Alexan- with his family and four enslaved people as dria’s waterfront was pillaged in 1814 during well. As the total number counted in a 1796 the British attack on Washington, D.C. The census was 13, it appears Newton also took in business may have suffered other losses from renters. In 1806, Newton sold the property for British looting; however, the family records $4,000 to William Smith of Dumfries, who that survive concern thousands of pounds of 22 also rented it. tobacco seized by the British for which Brown and Janney later sought compensation.26 Although Alexandria by then was recover- ing from the damages to its waterfront during the attack on Washington in 1814, Brown may

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nevertheless have gotten a bargain when he By 1825, Brown had leased a fireproof bought the property in 1816 for $3,000—a 25 warehouse on Janney’s Wharf, where he percent loss on Smith’s $4,000 investment. stored and sold flour, grain, and other goods.31 Was it because Smith knew the front door on He also continued to warehouse flour, grain, Prince Street needed to be moved when Prince and other goods for other merchants. 32 In Street was widened?27 Did the house need 1826, his own business expanded to include other repairs? The house was large, about 40 “Manchester coal, suitable for either grates, years old, in a desirable location, and had a smiths, furnaces or sugar refiners.”33 stable at the back — everything a young man John and his wife Mary had five children, like Brown could want to grow his business four of whom were painted with their parents and raise a family.28 by John Esten Cooke around 1824, when Jen- From fire insurance records we know that nett Brown was still a baby. In 1830, John the front door was relocated from the sidewalk Brown died, leaving Mary with four children on Prince Street to under the age of 15. the right side of the Mary and her chil- house sometime be- dren stayed in the tween late 1815 and house, and so, for March 1823, after successive genera- John Douglass tions, did items of Brown bought it. the household: Since no record has early 19th Century been located for Spode china from moving the door, we England, a spool- do not know turned bedstead, a whether Smith mahogany side- moved it, or board, sets of crys- whether he procras- tal and silver, and tinated until he sold Figure 4. The John Douglass Brown Family (Jennett on her mother's family portraits. lap), portrait by John Esten Cooke (c. 1824), Credit: family collection the property. It is After Mary died more likely that Brown moved the entry be- in 1853, the descendants of John Douglass cause the interior was reconfigured to replace Brown passed down the house and an abun- a winder staircase with a straight staircase that dance of its contents mostly through daugh- enabled more direct access to the second floor ters, some inheriting it by written will and oth- in the original section and also created more ers informally inheriting it by dint of their res- usable space in the parlor.29 idency. Mary’s will left the property to her un- As of 1820, Brown was sufficiently promi- married daughter, Ellen, who remained in the nent in Alexandria’s merchant community to house.34 Ellen’s younger sister, Jennett, the be enlisted as one of the partners in The Co- youngest of the children, also stayed in the lumbian Factory Company, a business venture house. In 1853, Jennett married James Wal- formed that year that included as partners lace Hooff who later moved in.35 other leading businessmen of the day.30 Alt- The Hooffs. James Wallace Hooff, called hough the venture proved to be only a small Wallace, was the son of Lewis Hooff and part of Brown’s business, the papers relating Eliza Maria Rapley. His great grandfather, Lo- to the venture were kept by Brown and have renz (Anglicized to Lawrence) who was from remained in the family since. a family of German coach builders, migrated

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to Lancaster County in 1730, under a seven- envelope for $3,000 to finance university edu- year indenture. Between 1755 and 1760, he cation for Laurence, the youngest of their nine moved to Alexandria with his second wife, children surviving to adulthood; but they kept Margaret (Anna Margaretha Muschler). As the letter, which is still in the family. The early as 1783, their son, Lawrence Hooff, Sr., stamp on its envelope has since sold several the father of Lewis Hooff, born in 1791, was a times, most recently in 1981 to a German col- merchant in Alexandria.36 Their home was at lector who bought it in Zurich, Switzerland, 1016 Prince Street. for more than $1 million.39 James Wallace Hooff was born in 1825 in Jennett and Wallace Hooff had three chil- Alexandria. He attended Benjamin Hallow- dren: Mary Goulding, Douglass, and Ellen ell’s school.37 Douglass. Wal- Ordinarily, it lace’s uncle, Philip would not have Henry Hooff, em- been unusual for ployed Wallace in Wallace to marry business before he his second began a career cousin, Jennett with the federal Brown; but a sur- government in viving letter indi- 1861. By 1858, cates that within they lived in the the family there home on Prince was controversy Street. for some reason Figure 5. "Blue Boy" stamp on letter addressed to Jennett Brown c/o Wallace ap- Washington Gretter, Richmond, Va. and a corre- pears to have been sponding need for discretion.38 deeply affected by the Panic of 1837, which The burden this imposed on their courtship occurred when he was a pre-teen. 40 By 1849, was ultimately a boon for the family. Their when he was 24, he was saving—a lot. He courtship entailed writing letters concluding continued saving, but in 1857, four years after with “burn after reading.” One letter, post- he married Jennett in 1853, his fortunes were marked November 24, 1847, happily survived buffeted by the Panic of 1857. 41 Wallace’s that fate. In 1911, Wallace and Jennett’s bank certificates totaling 5,800 shares at $100 daughter Mary Goulding, then married to Ed- each became worthless.42 ward Stabler Fawcett and living in the house, Alexandria was occupied by the Union discovered the letter in a sewing box in a room Army in May 1861, and quickly developed above the kitchen. While the letter touched into a major logistics center for Union military charmingly on her parents’ need for discretion operations in Virginia. During the occupation during their courtship, what made the discov- of Alexandria by Union troops, Wallace ery remarkable was the stamp on the enve- worked for the U.S. Army in the Commissary lope: the “Blue Boy,” which is one of the rar- at 201 Prince St., after the Army seized the est stamps in the world. It is one of seven sur- premises of The Bank of the Old Dominion, viving provisional stamps issued in 1847 by which closed in 1862.43 Alexandria Postmaster Daniel Bryan and is the only one of the seven printed on blue paper. Even in 1911, the stamp was special. Mary and Edward Fawcett sold the stamp on its

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From family stories of life in Alexandria died before turning two. With as many as nine during the Union occupation, one may infer children in the house at once, bedroom space that for Wallace to take a job with the Federal was at a premium. Wallace, the oldest, was al- Government was a survival measure rather ready in his 20s when the youngest, Laurence, than a political affirmation on his part unal- was born. To ease the constraints, one or pos- loyed with apprehensions about the occupying sibly two of the older boys still at home, Ed- Union force. As protection against looting by ward and John, were sent to board with rela- Union soldiers, Wallace hid the family silver tives or friends nearby who had more space.50 in the cellar’s brick cis- Mary was widowed in tern.44 The Hooff family 1901 and reportedly wore also protected the Wilmer black for the rest of her life, Chalice, still treasured by until she died in 1925. 51 St. Paul’s Episcopal World War I brought fur- Church, 228 South Pitt ther sadness and stress. Her Street, by burying it in the son, Richard, died in 1918 home’s back yard while the during an aircraft training church was closed and used exercise before going to the as a Union hospital.45 Once front lines.52 St. Paul’s reopened in May Mary’s oldest son, Wal- 1865, the Wilmer Chalice lace Hooff Fawcett, served resurfaced. in the U.S. Army during The family fortunes sur- World World I. After his vived as well. In 1870, discharge, he worked dur- Wallace Hooff was in the ing the rest of war as a me- top 20 percent of Alexan- chanical and electrical engi- dria taxpayers, and in 1880 neer at a munitions plant in in the top 10 percent.46 Ontario, Canada. His work Wallace enjoyed the secu- was clearly vital to the war rity of a government job Figure 6. Brick Cistern in Basement. effort, for he was obliged to and the assured income that Credit: HABS 1936 obtain a permit to leave it offered in Alexandria’s suffering post-war Canada for three months to go to economy. He continued working for the gov- on business. The permit was granted on Sep- ernment until he died at 90 in 1915, while still tember 14, 1918, less than two months before working. 47 Throughout, surviving records the Armistice. At that point, he had lived in show that Wallace carefully monitored house- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, for “nearly one hold expenses.48 year.”53 The Fawcetts. Mary Goulding Hooff mar- Another of Richard’s older brothers, Lewis ried Edward Stabler Fawcett in 1875. Edward Hooff Fawcett, served in the war and starting was born in 1846 in Alexandria. Edward’s in 1918 worked as a civilian metallurgist at the family also had roots in both Virginia and Naval Ordnance/Gun Factory in Washington. Pennsylvania.49 D.C., while living in the home.54 Lewis’s Mary and Edward had 11 children: Wal- older sister, Ellen, and perhaps his sister Susan lace, Janet, Susan, Edward, John D., Ellen, as well, sold Liberty Bonds55 in support of the Lewis, Malcolm, Richard, Mary and Lau- war effort. 56 The youngest, Laurence, was in- rence. Malcolm died as a baby, and John D. ducted into the Army in 1918, but did not see

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action. Their brother, Edward, served in the clippings about Alexandria house tours, in- Navy.57 cluding a 1938 article that mentioned theirs: The Fawcett family did not live lavishly. “The house owned by Misses Susie and Ellen As descendant John Cheeseman observed, the Fawcett, who are the fifth generation of the family embraced its Scots sensibility: family who have lived in there, is quaint in its “That stereotype of Scots being sort of tight architecture and contains much of the original in wallet, never throwing anything away, us- furnishing.”60 ing something until it Ellen attended the wears out. That was one Corcoran School of Art thing that always fasci- briefly, but did not pur- nated I think my brothers sue a career because she and sisters and myself felt financially con- at 517. Going to the strained.61 She instead house, it was like a time became an executive capsule. You know, they secretary with the Dic- could point to this and tionary of American Bi- that and talk about it, this ography, where she belonged to the Browns, worked with the histo- and the Fawcetts, this was rian Dumas Malone.62 the Hooffs, the Stablers, Ellen later spent 13 and all this. And it was in- years at The National teresting how it was. It Archives in Washing- was like how did all this ton.63 In retirement, she stuff stay here and sur- organized many of the vive, that they kept it to- papers that today tell gether over the years? We the story of the family. took it for granted.”58 Susan worked as a pub- When work was done lic school teacher. on the house, the Fawcett The Cheesemans. Ja- family often did it them- Figure 7. Wood Shingles (c. 1770-72) beneath later ad- net Brown Fawcett, Ed- selves. Cheeseman said dition: Note knob and tube electrical wiring. ward and Mary’s oldest he remembered that his Credit: HABS 1936 daughter, married Great-Uncle Laurence, the youngest and Lewis Cheeseman of Philadelphia in 1906 at smallest of the Fawcett children, talked about St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria, how he squeezed inside the house walls to where other family members had married wire it for electricity around 1910. since the time of the Browns. She lived in Port Susan Stabler Fawcett’s will, drafted in Henry, New York, and Orlando, Florida, with 1936,59 left the house to her brother Lewis and her husband and sons, Richard and David. sister Ellen Douglass Fawcett, both of whom Lewis Cheeseman died in 1934, leaving two were living in the house at the time. Ellen sons, Richard, then in his teens, and his lived there with her sister, Susan, until Susan younger brother, David. Because of Janet’s died in 1955. Ellen died in 1965, when Lewis family connections in Alexandria, she moved was 76. The house reflected the tastes of the back to Alexandria with Richard and David sisters—or at least the layers of changing and moved into the house with her siblings, wallpaper did. The sisters kept newspaper

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Ellen, Susan, and Lewis, where she lived until The last descendant of John Douglass she died in 1952. Brown to live in the house was Richard’s son, In the depths of the Great Depression, all David Cheeseman, who lived in the home were expected to pitch in, and all were ex- from 1981 until it was purchased by Joe pected to contribute financially. Until an oil Reeder in 2000.69 As a young couple, David furnace was installed in 1940, Richard’s job and his wife Janice were grateful for a place to was to stoke the coal. Frugality and close at- live, but it came with a caveat: Take care of tention to expenses were habitual. Bills on in- the house. Janice remembers climbing ladders dex-card size paper from 1947 to the 1960s to paint the white clapboard frame.70 that were saved by Ellen show that real estate Preserving a Landmark and Uncovering Its and property taxes were always paid on time.64 Story In fact, everything was saved. Even in times of scarcity, “The family never sold anything.”65 The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House is a dis- th In 1936, Richard Cheeseman joined the tinctive surviving example of 18 Century Navy Reserve. During World War II, he vernacular urban architecture. It is also a home served in the Pacific. He was reactivated in the that was cherished by one family for almost Korean War and retired from the Navy Re- 200 years. Both the building and the people serve in 1953 when who lived there the Korean conflict have stories to tell “That stereotype of Scots being sort of tight in was winding down. about its evolution Richard also be- wallet, never throwing anything away, using as both a commer- gan a distinguished something until it wears out. That was one thing cial building and a business career. In that always fascinated I think my brothers and sis- home. 1939, Richard be- ters and myself at 517. Going to the house, it was But like other historic buildings of came a co-founder like a time capsule.” John Cheeseman of the Robinson its era, even with Terminal Ware- maintenance over house Corp., a newsprint storage and handling time, the building is facility in Alexandria. Richard was president showing its age. In 2018, part of a ceiling fell, from 1966 to 1980, and chairman until he re- exposing some horsehair-mud fill between tired in 1985. His obituary states that “[d]uring laths, dating that portion of the structure to 71 his career, he had a major role in courting 1800-1805. Early in 2019, plaster cracks and shipping clients worldwide.”66 Richard served bulges in hallways appeared. on the Board of Directors of the Burke & Scalloped wood roof shingles from the last Herbert Bank and Trust Company from 1970 century that are layered over the original 1772 to 2005 and was active in many local trade roof have holes, possibly made by squirrels. th and commerce groups.67 Richard started a And the tin roof on the 18 Century addition newsletter for his Robinson Terminal employ- leaks and is noisy whenever it rains. The red- ees expressing pride in their work.68 lead treatment that preserved the wood shin- Richard married Jeane Plebuch in gles of the “new roof” for some 100 years is 72 1945.They built a house in the Marlan Forest highly toxic and is now illegal. section of Alexandria in 1948 where they When John Cheeseman was told about the moved to raise their family. After his uncle red lead shingle sealant, he chuckled. He re- Lewis Fawcett died in 1971, Richard inherited membered seeing something written about it, the house on Prince Street. perhaps on a well-worn scrap of paper from

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the 1960s, tucked inside an envelope or a Bi- the “good India china” in the 1816 Spode pat- ble. “I’m pretty sure there’s still a family tern that was owned by the Browns. They are recipe for it.”73 also sharing family photos and contributing Today’s living descendants, some of whom objects that in time will help interpret the lived in the house, have been recalling for the building and the folkways of a family that en- Office of Historic Alexandria their memories dured wars and depressions and survived to about the house — the way wallpaper covered enjoy occasional periods of prosperity and every inch of most rooms, the scorching heat hope. on summer days in the attic room above the The mysteries of the house and the stories original kitchen, the Saturday dinners using of its occupants are still being revealed.

1 The 1769-1770 census from Perthshire, Scot- details. The HABS documentation lists Lewis Faw- land, lists Patrick Murray as having "Merchants cett as owner. houses and shops one Shilling and six pence" for 6 The City of Alexandria purchased 517 Prince St. which he seems to have been taxed 16 pounds. He in April 2017 using funds from the Virginia Land was not taxed on land, as were others listed. Perth- Conservation and the Virginia Outdoors shire, Scotland, Census, Stent and Valuation Rolls, Foundation. Charles Joseph Reeder made an equity 1750-1899; 1769-1770 p. 8. donation toward the purchase price as well. Under 2 The address of the home was then 129 Prince terms of the purchase agreement, Reeder has a life Street. The open space alongside at the corner of tenancy; the house is open a few times a year; and the St. Asaph and Prince Streets was then numbered garden is open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 131 Prince Street. The City renumbered Alexandria’s 7 Notable objects surviving include a fine silk pet- streets in 1888. The property is now numbered ticoat, a widow’s mourning dress, and a small- 517 Prince Street. waisted cotton velvet hunting jacket circa 1850 worn 3 Fairfax County Deed Book M1:121-124, Dec. by James Wallace Hooff, who married a Brown 20, 1774. daughter. Also surviving and in the Lyceum collec- 4 Alexandria building permits, zoning and archi- tion are Hooff’s beaver cap and two bags of heavy- tectural review board minutes. Interviews and oral weight linen for carrying supplies and small prey. histories since 2017 with Charles Joseph Reeder. The More recent items include a 20th Century maid’s uni- home in its current condition reflects renovations un- form (black dress with starched white apron) worn by dertaken by Reeder, its most recent owner. Before Miss Minnie, who cleaned and cooked for the family purchasing 517 Prince Street, he purchased and reno- in the 1950s. vated several other Alexandria houses, usually reno- 8 The Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser vating them for resale. He bought 517 in 2000 for Feb. 5, 1784 to Jan. 27, 1785. Architectural historian $850,000 and then made renovations that both up- C. Richard Bierce, AIA, in 2001 told the Alexandria dated and restored the house to its earlier condition. Board of Architectural Review that the brick addition He updated heating and cooling systems, removing could be earlier. In a 2017 interview, he noted the re- radiators; removed layers of wallpaper, saving scraps used structural materials in the addition. as documentation, and added a kitchen using re- 9 In March 1787, Patrick Murray owned three claimed materials, including wood beams from a horses, mares and mules, according to personal prop- Pennsylvania and dry-sink cabinets. The new erty tax records. Listed as a “white tithables above 21 fireplace is similar to the 1790 one. In November years” is “Thomas Something [cq] servant.” In 1788, 2005, the house was featured on the cover of Clem Murray owned two animals and a wagon. The build- Labine’s Period Homes. ings associated with that operation survived into the 5 In 1936, the Works Progress Administration sur- 19th Century. Insurance records indicate that a stable veyed the house for the Historic American Buildings was attached to a warehouse on the site in 1839; Mu- Survey (“HABS 1936”) (HABS VA-104), tual Assurance Company Policy No. 11040 dated https://www.loc.gov/photos/?q=murray+dick+faw- June 24, 1839. The warehouse was there until 1846 cett. A 1936 field notebook on the Fawcett House is but gone by 1853, according to Mutual Policy on file at the Library of Congress. The house is also No.14301 dated Aug. 17, 1846 and Policy No. 17673 included in six other notebooks that contains sketches dated July 8, 1853. The Sanborn Map for 1885 shows from Gadsby’s Tavern, the Jockey Club, and Ramsay a grocer located where the warehouse had been. House; sketchers looked for similar architectural

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Miller, Prince Street Profiles, Part II, Gentry Row, 10 Alexandria Gazette and Alexandria Advertiser, The Alexandria Chronicle (Fall 1997) p. 12; Wil- June 30, 1784. helmus Bogart Bryan, A History of the National Cap- 11 The first U.S. Census in 1790 does not exist be- ital from Its Foundation Through the Period of the cause the British burned the records during the War Adoption on the Organic Act (Macmillan 1914) p. of 1812. Census numbers were compiled using state 424; Index to Politicians: Dick. The Political Grave- enumerations and tax lists. Alexandria’s population yard, by Lawrence Kestenbaum, www.politicalgrave- in 1790 was 2,748; nearly 22 percent were African yard.com, retrieved Apr. 26, 2019. Mary V. Thomp- Americans. https://www2.census.gov/library/publica- son, Death Defied, 's Mount tions/decennial/1790/heads_of_families/vir- Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Essay 3. ginia/1790m-03.pdf# and http://www.census- 21 Alexandria Hustings Court Deed G:39, April online.com/links/VA/Alexandria/&title=Cen- 15, 1794. sus+Online+-+Alexandria+Co.,+Virginia+Cen- 22 Alexandria Hustings Court G:39 Nov. 14, 1794. sus+Records. R&N Alexandria Hustings Court Deed G:284, March 12 Fairfax County Circuit Court Historic Records 28, 1796; Alexandria Deed Book N:42, July 2, 1806. Center, name index files. 23 The portrait of John Douglass Brown is un- 13 In 1788, Patrick Murray was the grantee of 806 dated. Thompson was one of the artists who rented acres of land “on the waters of the Piney River” in space from Guy Atkinson during 1805-1806 at 113 Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Library of Vir- North Fairfax Street. Thompson also made annual ginia, Land Office Grants No. 18, 1788-1789, p. 661. trips through the South as a portrait painter between 14 In 1784, when Murray built the addition on his 1800 and 1825. Deborah L. Sisum, A Most Favorable house in Alexandria, he advertised the land and its and Striking Resemblance: The Virginia Portraits of improvements, including meadow, cultivable land, Cephas Thompson, Journal of Early Southern Deco- orchards, and improvements for sale. Alexandria Ga- rative Arts, 1997, Vol. 23, p. 1-101. zette, March 11, 1784. https://www.findagrave.com/memo- 15 Fairfax County Circuit Court records show that rial/60063136/cephas-thompson. Murray had five or six debts around the same time as 24 Brown genealogy chart on file at Office of His- the western Virginia land was advertised for sale, in- toric Alexandria. Samuel Brown came to Pennsylva- cluding a debt to John Jolly in 1783. Alexandria Ga- nia from near Belfast, Ireland. He owned farms in zette, Oct. 12, 1786, p.3. One debt was 33.5 pounds-- Montgomery and Chester counties. equal to $5,261.15 in 2019 money. https://gbp.cur- 25 Alexandria Gazette, October 21,1823. rencyrate.today/usd/1783; https://www.measuring- 26 Cheeseman family papers. Copies on file at Of- worth.com/calculators/uscompare/. fice of Historic Alexandria. 16 The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of 27 During the term of Edward Jennings Lee as Great Britain and Ireland for 1862, Including all the Mayor, 1815 -1818, Alexandria undertook a number Titled Classes. Vol.22. by Robert P. Dod, p. 445, of street improvements including paving Prince St. as Bishops, Privy Councillors, &c. far as St. Asaph St. See J. Tercha, The Origins of the 17 Alexandria Gazette October 1789. Alexandria, Virginia, Sewerage System, Part 1: Chal- 18 "There is at present on the lot fronting on lenges and Improvements before the Civil War, The Prince a commodious framed house with 4 rooms and Alexandria Chronicle (Fall 2017). 3 fireplaces on the first floor and 2 rooms and on sec- 28 Margaret and Ellen were born before 1816. ond and a kitchen annexed to the same–Also a large Three other children followed. 29 stable on one of the lots on St. Asaph St.” Virginia Mutual Assurance Company Policies: No. Gazette and Alexandria Advertiser Sept. 13, 1792. 1903, 1815 Dec 15, taken out by William Smith, and 19 Murray-Dick-Faucett [cq] report by Edward A. Policy No. 4914, 1823 March 31 by John D. Brown. 30 Chappell of Colonial Williamsburg for the Office of “Copartners" listed in “Supplementary Arti- Historic Alexandria, Dec. 17, 2017. cles” for the partnership were Thomas Janney, Presi- 20 Elisha Cullen Dick is now most remembered as dent; William Jolliffe, Thomas Shreve, Anthony C. one of the physicians who attended George Washing- Cazenove, Jonathan Butcher, Edward Stabler, and ton at the time of his death. The home in Alexandria John D. Brown. Cheeseman family papers. 31 now most associated with him is 211 Prince Street, Alexandria Gazette, October 1825. 32 which he rented after losing his home at 408 Duke Alexandria Gazette, January 1826. 33 Street in bankruptcy. Dr. Dick’s bankruptcy did not Alexandria Gazette, April 1826. 34 diminish the esteem he enjoyed in Alexandria. In Will of Mary G. Brown, Alexandria Will Book 1804-1805, he was Mayor of Alexandria, D.C., and 6:308, Aug. 24, 1853. was throughout his life involved in other civic and political endeavors in the community. See T. Michael

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Paul’s vestryman; his sister-in-law, Ellen, was an ac- 35 Family Genealogical Records. Copy on file at tive volunteer, usually working in the sacristy; Wal- Office of Historic Alexandria. lace and Jennett’s son, Douglass, graduated from Vir- 36 Betty Hoff Lemons, “GENESIS: Hoffs and ginia Theological Seminary in 1881and later served Hoofs of Virginia 1730 to 1980” (“Hooff Family His- as rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick tory”) (Vienna, Va. 1980). Maryland. In person Cheeseman family interviews. 37 Gay Montague Moore, Seaport in Virginia. 46 Philip G. Terrie, A Social History of the 500 Garrett and Massie (Richmond 1949). Block, King Street in Alexandria, Va., Special Col- 38 Others in the Hooff family were among those lections, Alexandria Library (1979). leaving Christ Church to form St. Paul’s Episcopal 47 John Cheeseman, oral history, April 5, 2019. Church in 1809. See Ruth Lincoln Kaye, The History 48 An 1894 ledger survives showing the price paid of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria Virginia, for staples – bacon, brooms, prunes, sardines, castile November 12, 1809 — November 12, 1984 (“Kaye, soap. Copy on file with the Office of Historic Alex- History of St. Paul’s”) (Springfield, Va.: Goetz 1984) andria. p. 6. 49 William B. Fawcett Jr., A History of the Faw- 39 Theresa Vargas, A Rare Stamp Reunited with cetts and Related Families in America (“A History of Its Lost Love Story Philatelic Detective Work the Fawcetts”), Utah State University, Vol. 1, p. 96 Matches 1847 Letter to “Alexandria Blue Boy”, (1996). Washington Post, May 25, 2006. The letter was not 50 One of the boys did not want to leave home. He sold and is still in the Cheeseman family. But see, expressed his displeasure by deeply scratching the Kaye, History of St. Paul’s pp. 6, 10, 188 (showing glass in his attic bedroom. The scratched Hooffs as founding members of St. Paul’s and “John pane remains. Family interviews on tape with OHA. D. Brown” as an early member of the vestry). 51 Mary’s descendants have donated a lace bodice 40 https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-panic-of- and satin skirt from her mourning period to The Ly- 1837 ceum, the City’s history museum. 41 The Panic of 1857 ignited when the Ohio and 52 Alexandrian Killed in Flying Accident; Lieut. Life Insurance and Trust Co. collapsed following R.H. Fawcett Falls at Scott Field, Belleville, Ill., massive embezzlement. British investors moved their Mother Is Informed, The Washington Post, July 9, funds from American banks. Goods began to pile up 1918. in warehouses, leading to massive layoffs. Railroads 53 Wallace’s height and weight were listed on the suffered, followed by land speculators. All of this permit as 5’ 11”, weight 145 pounds, which was tall preceded the National Banking Act of 1863. for his generation. Copy of original document on file https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h159.html . at Office of Historic Alexandria. 42 From review of copies of the bank share certifi- 54 Hooff Family History, p. 82-83. cates on file at the Office of Historic Alexandria. It 55 https://owlcation.com/humanities/What-Were- may be estimated that Hooff lost the equivalent of at Liberty-Bonds-in-World-War-1; https://www.feder- least $200,000 in 2019 dollars. According to paper alreservehistory.org/essays/liberty_bonds stock certificates, he owned shares in Farmers Bank 56 Ellen saved eight of the 7-by-10 ½-inch thin of Virginia, Exchange Bank of Virginia and The black-and-white paper flyers. One side shows Lady Bank of the Old Dominion. Liberty with outstretched hands imploring: “Let’s 43 The Bank of the Old Dominion opened in 1851 End It-Quick With Liberty Bonds.” On the flip side is at 201 Prince St. and operated until Union forces oc- an explanation that includes: “There are many of us cupied Alexandria. Its premises were seized and it who cannot offer our lives in the service of our coun- became the Chief Commissary Office used by the try. Yet we can prove that we are with our Govern- U.S Commissary Quartermaster (where Hooff ment for Liberty…SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIBERTY worked). The bank closed in 1862. LOAN TODAY GET BEHIND THE SOLDIER.” A http://www.nvfaa.org/history; http://www.an- copy of one of the flyers is on file at Office of His- tiquemoney.com/. The building that survives is now toric Alexandria. the Athenaeum. 57 Kaye, History of St. Paul’s p. 148. 44 In the cellar dirt floor, by some family ac- 58 John Cheeseman, oral history, April 5, 2019. counts. 59 Susan’s will is dated July 6, 1936; proved 45 Or, maybe also in the cellar dirt floor. St. Paul’s Oct. 27, 1955. Susan died in 1955, Ellen in 1965. was closed by the Union occupation in February Mary died without a will; the list of heirs included 1862 and its sanctuary was used as a hospital for the Susan, Ellen, Lewis, and Mary, ages 44, 38 37, and 3, duration of the conflict. Kaye, History of St. Paul’s as living in the home; and Wallace, Janet, Edward pp. 44-64. The ties of the family to St. Paul’s and the and Laurence as residing elsewhere. Episcopal Church were strong. Wallace was a St.

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https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washing- 60 Katherine Barrett Pozer, Tour for Benefit of tonpost/obituary.aspx?n=richard-l- Two Famous Old Churches To Include Houses of Al- cheeseman&pid=16488852 exandria’s Historic Past, The Washington Post. 67 Julia M. Williams, Burke & Herbert Celebrates (May 8, 1938.) 150 Years: A living legacy of Commitment and Ser- 61 Margaret (Missy) Cheeseman of San Diego, El- vice (Richmond, Va.: Dietz Press 2002). len’s grand-niece and a working artist, said Ellen en- 68 Robinson newsletter, unnamed, article by Rich- couraged her to be an artist because she felt she could ard L. Cheeseman. Copy on file at Office of Historic not pursue her own dream for financial reasons. Tele- Alexandria. phone interview March 2019. 69 Between 1971 and 1981, various family mem- 62 Malone was, among other things, editor of Jef- bers and friends stayed in the house from time to ferson’s papers and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author time, bur no one lived there. Janice Cheeseman Inter- of the six-volume biography, Jefferson and His Time. view. The family has first editions of each volume. John 70 Janice Cheeseman, phone interview, March 20, Cheeseman Interview, March 2019. 2018. 63 A History of the Fawcetts, p. 49. 71 Investigation of the Ceiling, Fawcett 64 Cheeseman family records; copies of selected House, by Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker, Architects, ledgers on file at Office of Historic Alexandria. April 21, 2018. 65 Interview with John Cheeseman. 72 In person interview with Joe Reeder (April 66 Obituary, The Washington Post, Jan. 27, 2006, 2019). https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lo- 73 John Cheeseman, oral history interview, cal/2006/01/27/obituaries/f926d90e-44bf-4904-ba40- April 5, 2019. 2c94fdf58fea/?utm_term=.620acabcd7cf and

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The Grand Presidential Troop Reviews of April 1863

Terry E. Zerwick†

In April 1863, my great-great grandfather, drums and 4 brass bands there. There Dr. Lafayette F. Butler, M.D., was an assistant was also 18 large cannon and each surgeon in the 125th Regiment of the Pennsyl- wagon drawn by six horses. There was vania Reserve Volunteer Corps, serving in the also all the Generals of the Army of unit with his eldest son, 14-year-old Corporal the Potomac that you read of in the pa- Charles E. Butler, until both mustered out on pers. It was a very beautiful sight and I 74 May 18, 1863. The 125th was part of Briga- wished that you were with me for one dier General Thomas Kane’s day to see it. Charles … Bucktail Brigade. The Buck- was on duty at the land- tails were in Major General ing that day so he missed Henry Slocum’s Twelfth the most beautiful sight I Corps, which was stationed expect ever to see. Most near Aquia Landing, Virginia. Dr. Butler wrote letters of the Regiments there home to his second-born son, were old ones that had James Edwin Butler, “Eddy.” been in many battles and who was living with his they were very well mother and siblings in East drilled. They marched Freedom, Pennsylvania. He along under their flags often related details about that were all riddled with camp life, describing his quar- ball. One flag I seen was ters, what he ate, what the nearly all shot away – weather was like, the condi- only a small piece was tions he endured, and what he Figure 1. Dr. Lafayette F. Butler, M.D.. hanging to the flag staff saw and heard. In one of these Credit: Author’s personal collection and even that was full of letters, he described for Eddy bullet holes…” a grand review of the Twelfth Corps before This review, witnessed by Dr. Butler on President Abraham Lincoln: April 10, was the last of five formal reviews of “…We had a grand review the other the corps of the Army of the Potomac con- day Eddy and I would like you to see ducted for the President between April 6 and one like it. There was about 23,000 April 10. men under arms to be reviewed by the President. There was about 120 or 200

† Terry is a past president of the Gadsby’s Tavern Museum Society. He has been a member of the Alexandria Historical Society and a Friend of the Carlyle House for over 20 years. Navy veteran and magna cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland, Terry has had a lifelong interest in the Civil War and is a member of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia. Terry and Kay, his wife of 47 years, live in Alexandria.

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Prelude to the Grand Reviews to her husband that they escape the cares of In late November 1862, after Antietam and Washington and visit the troops in Fredericks- the appointment of Major General Ambrose burg, taking their youngest son, Thomas Lin- Burnside as its commander, the Army of the coln III, “Tad,” with them to celebrate his Potomac set up camp in Stafford County, Vir- birthday, which fell on April 4, the day before 77 ginia. The Army of the Potomac eventually Easter. grew to 135,000 soldiers and occupied 200 In a meeting with General Hooker on square miles on the north side of the Rappa- March 31, the president likely discussed a 78 hannock River.75 In December, however, presidential visit to Hooker’s command. On Burnside’s army suffered 12,600 casualties April 3, Lincoln telegraphed Hooker that he (total killed, wounded, and captured/missing) would arrive on Easter Sunday with a party in a calamitous defeat near Fredericksburg by that “will probably not exceed six persons” 79 the Army of Northern Virginia under the com- and stay until Tuesday morning. In fact, he mand of General Robert E. Lee. The Army of stayed until Friday, April 10. Northern Virginia sustained 5,400 casualties. Arrival at the Front and the President’s In January, Burnside’s plan for a second Impression of General Hooker major attack on Lee’s army across the Rappa- Toward sunset on April 4, the president, hannock was thwarted by three days of icy- Mrs. Lincoln, Tad, Attorney General Edward torrential rain. The rain turned roads into bot- Bates, Dr. Anson G. Henry, an old Springfield tomless pits of mud. Horses, mules, wagons friend, Noah Brooks, a correspondent of the and cannon got stuck in the quagmire, immo- Sacramento Daily Union bilizing Burnside’s and a confidant of the army, which re- President, and a family treated in humilia- friend from Oregon tion without firing a boarded the steamer shot, ending the dis- Carrie Martin at the astrous “Mud Washington Navy Yard March.”76 amid a heavy snowstorm On January 26, and headed for the land- 1863, President Lin- ing at Aquia Creek. coln replaced Burn- The presidential party side with Major arrived at Aquia Landing General Joseph on Easter Sunday morn- Hooker, who took ing, April 5th, snow still steps to improve the Figure 2. Camps of the Army of the Potomac (April 8 review falling. About 10 o’clock army’s capability site highlighted in red). In February 1863, the Ninth Corps they boarded a freight and morale. A few was ordered to Newport News and then to Kentucky and was not present during the president’s April 1863 visit. car fitted with rough- weeks later, Dr. Credit: Stafford’s Big Day, Blog: Mysteries and Conundrums, hewn plank seats and be- Butler joined his (April 7, 2013) decked with flags and son’s regiment, the bunting for an hour’s ride to Falmouth Station. 125th Pennsylvania. From there, two four-wheeled ambulances fit- In the spring of 1863, Mary Todd Lincoln ted with springs conveyed them, under cavalry was still consumed by melancholy a year after escort, to Hooker’s headquarters three miles to the loss of her third son, William Wallace Lin- the east.80 coln, “Willie,” to typhoid fever. She proposed

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Figure 3. Edwin Forbes drawing of President Lincoln reviewing cavalry of the Army of the Potomac on Monday, April 6, 1863. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2004661562/ (accessed May 5, 2019). Traveling over a “fearfully muddy road” confided to Noah Brooks: “That is the most they passed the charred hulk of the Phillips depressing thing about Hooker. It seems to me house, Burnside’s former headquarters. Ac- that he is overconfident”.83 Lincoln found it cording to Noah Brooks the “ruins of that ele- necessary to focus Hooker on defeating Lee’s gant mansion … added to the sorrowful ap- army as the correct objective.84 81 pearance of the region desolated by war.” The Grand Reviews Arriving about noon, the guests were shown to During his six-day visit to the Army of the their quarters, which consisted of three large Potomac, Lincoln formally reviewed all seven hospital tents.82 Deterred by inclement condi- of Hooker’s corps and his newly formed con- tions, the President contented himself with re- solidated cavalry unit. The general hoped to ceiving Hooker’s staff, shaking hands and ex- impress him with the readiness of the Army; changing pleasantries. and the soldiers got a rare opportunity to see In conversations with Hooker, Lincoln their President and to see themselves marching found the general boastful and arrogant, con- in splendid form. firming uneasy thoughts already held. Hooker The snowstorm delayed a cavalry review expressed little doubt about his being able planned by General Hooker for Easter Sunday soon to capture Richmond. The President later

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Figure 4. Thomas Nast engraving of the April 8 Grand Review of the II, III, V Corps (the largest of the Grand Reviews) show- ing General Hooker on a white horse. Harpers Weekly, October 10, 1863, pp. 648-649. until the next day. Monday morning, April 6, horsemen of the new Cavalry Corps under was cold and blustery when the President set Major General George Stoneman passed by, out on horseback to visit the sick and wounded the largest such concentration ever assembled in hospital tents, each typically occupied by on this continent.86 Held probably on the six soldiers. Noah Brooks wrote “The large Sthreshley Farm (pronounced Thrashley, the hearted and noble President moved softly be- exact location is uncertain), this show of force tween beds, his face shining with sympathy was purposely staged in plain sight of the and his voice often low with emotion … a Confederates across the Rappahannock River. touching scene, and one to be long remem- Tad, riding a pony, marveled and Attorney bered … No wonder that these long lines of General Bates called the cavalry review “the weary sufferers, far from home and friends, grandest sight I ever saw.”87 often shed a tear of sad pleasure as they re- Tuesday morning, April 7, saw the cold turned the kind salutation of the President and continue as President Lincoln and General gazed after him with a new glow upon their Hooker, accompanied by lancers, passed by faces.”85 units of Major General George Meade’s Fifth At noon, following a 21-gun salute, the Corps arrayed in front of their camps. They presidential party watched as the 15,000 then proceeded to the hospital tents of the

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Fifth Corps located near Stoneman’s Station This event was the largest such display of on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Poto- military might until the parades held in Wash- mac Railroad. The president spent most of the ington, D.C., on May 23 and 24, 1865, to cele- day visiting with every soldier in every tent. brate the end of the war.89 Passing the Fifth Corps encampment on the Thursday, April 9, dawned bright and way back, Lincoln received a thunderous sunny for the president’s review of Hooker’s cheer from the soldiers, who had gained a new First Corps near Belle Plain about eight miles appreciation for his compassion and empa- east of Fredericksburg. The fine weather en- thy.88 That evening, President and Mrs. Lin- hanced the picturesque setting — a broad flat coln attended a gala hosted by Third Corps parade ground partially surrounded by woods commander Major General Daniel Sickles at and open on one side to a beautiful view of Boscobel, the home of Henrietta Fitzhugh, Potomac Creek.90 which Sickles had commandeered as his head- On April 10, a day that was cool and crisp, quarters. the President and his traveling companions left The largest of the Grand Reviews before Hooker’s headquarters heading north in car- the President was on April 8. The review oc- riages drawn by horses over corduroy roads.91 cupied most of the day, involved 70,000 sol- They were escorted by General Hooker and a diers, and received national press coverage. cavalry bodyguard a half-mile in length. At The Second, Third and Fifth Corps were re- around noon, they arrived at Brooke Station, viewed together on the Sthreshley Farm, and where the President reviewed the Eleventh the Sixth Corps was reviewed nearby on the Corps. Major General Darius Couch, com- fields in front of Boscobel. mander of the Second Corps and Hooker’s

Figure 5. “This was a picturesque spot near the front, used as a hospital for Slocum’s corps, and as a rendezvous for ske- daddlers.” Harpers Weekly, May 23, 1863, 331 (A. R. Waud drawing, 333).

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second-in-command, sat on horseback next to Aftermath Lincoln, and he later reminisced: “It was a In early May, General Lee, commanding beautiful day, and the review was a stirring half as many men, defeated Hooker at Chan- sight. Mr. Lincoln sitting there with his hat cellorsville. Casualties were appalling: 17,300 off, head bent, and seemingly meditating, sud- for the Union, 12,800 for the Confederates. denly turned to me and said, ‘General Couch, Hooker’s defeat at Chancellorsville and Lin- what do you suppose will become of all these coln’s growing frustration with Hooker’s lack men when the war is over?’ And it struck me of aggressiveness as Lee marched his army as very pleasant that somebody had an idea into Pennsylvania led the president to replace 92 that the war would sometime end.” Hooker with Major General George Meade Between 3 and 4 o’clock, the president re- three days before Gettysburg. viewed the Twelfth Corps, about 20,000 The 125th Pennsylvania, part of General strong, at or near Stafford Courthouse. A sol- Slocum’s Twelfth Corps, was heavily engaged dier in Dr. Butler’s regiment, the 125th Penn- at Chancellorsville around the Chancellor sylvania, wrote about the preparations for the House, which served as a field hospital until it review: “This visit and inspection by the Pres- caught fire and burned on May 3. Kalmbach’s ident was a great occasion. We all labored to Sawmill, located about two miles north-north- appear our very best: clean clothes, blackened west of Chancellor House and identified in shoes, bright buttons and burnished guns, told Harpers Weekly as a steam mill “used as a 93 the story of how we appreciated the visit.” hospital for Slocum’s Corps,” served as a After reviewing the Twelfth Corps, the Presi- medical facility for men of the Fifth Corps.94 dent and his group boarded the train at Brooke Dr. Butler almost certainly tended soldiers Station for a short ride to the Carrie Martin at wounded in the battle, possibly at one or both Aquia Landing for their return trip to Wash- of these locations, but his experiences and ington, D.C. those of his son are not recorded in surviving letters.

74 Charles was serving a nine-month enlistment ready to march, by coming in contact with their Com- which began in August 1862. His muster-in record mander-in-Chief and his family.” Many years later, obtained from the National Archives stated that he Brooks stated that the trip “had been intended to cele- was 18, when, in fact, he was only 14. In September brate Tad’s tenth birthday”. St. Nicholas (a periodi- he was wounded at Antietam but was not disabled. cal), November 1882, p. 62. 75 Jane Hollenbeck Conner, Lincoln in Stafford 78 “Gen. Hooker, after his interview with the Presi- (“Conner, Lincoln in Stafford”) (Stafford, Virginia: dent on the 31st ult., visited the theatre at Washing- Parker Publishing, LLC, 2006), p. 21. In addition to ton.” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (New providing information about the Army of the Poto- York, NY), April 18, 1863. The same issue of mac in Stafford County, Ms. Conner’s well re- Leslie’s reported that “Hooker reviewed the army on searched book documents a number of the details the Rappahannock on the 2d of April” prior to and about the presidential reviews of April 1863 de- perhaps in rehearsal for the president’s visit. Since scribed in this article. ancient times, reviews of troops have been means to 76 Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, pp. 29-31. inspect the discipline, equipment and battle-readiness 77 Noah Brooks, letter sent on April 12, 1863 and of troops. See, e.g., Kaveh Farrokh, Shadows in the published in the Sacramento Daily Union on May 8, Desert: Ancient Persia at War (2007), p. 40. 1863: “The thoughtful wife of the President, an able 79 Abraham Lincoln, Collected Works of Abra- and a noble woman, ought to have the credit of origi- ham Lincoln (“Lincoln, Collected Works”), Vol. nating the plan of a tour through the Army by the 6/1:344; maintained online by the University of President, as she saw what an excellent effect would Michigan, accessed February 19, 2019. be given to the troops, now in good condition and

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corps under General Stoneman. Bruce Catton, Glory 80 Howard K. Beale, ed., The Diary of Edward Road (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Bates 1859-1866 (“Bates Diary”) (Washington, D.C.: 1952), pp. 141-147. United States Government Printing Office, 1933) 87 Bates Diary, pp. 287-288. pp. 287-288. 88 Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, pp. 50. 81 Noah Brooks, Washington in Lincoln’s Time 89 On May 23, 1865, General George Meade led (“Brooks, Washington in Lincoln’s Time”) (New 90,000 men of the Army of the Potomac from Capitol York: Rinehart & Co, Inc., 1958), p. 58; quoted in Hill down Pennsylvania Avenue to the reviewing Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, p. 44. stand in front of the White House occupied by Presi- 82 The correspondent of the Evening Star (Wash- dent Andrew Johnson, General-in-Chief Ulysses S. ington, D.C.) wrote from the Headquarters of the Grant and members of the cabinet. The next day, Army of the Potomac on April 6, 1863, “The visit of 60,000 soldiers of the Army of the West marched President Lincoln and family has served to relieve the through town led by General William Tecumseh monotony of camp life, and has had a good effect Sherman. D. Reid Ross, Civil War Grand Review, upon the men, as showing the interest the Chief Mag- America’s Civil War, May 2015, accessed at istrate feels in their welfare. It is pleasant also to see https://www.historynet.com/civil-war-grand-re- a lady in the camp; and Mrs. Lincoln probably had a view.htm on March 2, 2019. new experience in sleeping for the first time in her 90 Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, p. 61. Connor life in a tent.” Evening Star, April 7, 1863, p. 2:1. notes that the beauty of the site was especially men- 83 Brooks, Washington in Lincoln’s Time, p. 56; tioned in a New York Times article published on quoted in James M. McPherson, Tried by War: Abra- April 13, 1863. ham Lincoln as Commander in Chief (New York: 91 Corduroy roads were made of cut logs laid Penguin Press, 2008) pp. 164-165. close together perpendicular to the direction of travel. 84 “My opinion is, that just now, with the enemy 92 Darius N. Couch, The Battle of Fredericksburg, directly ahead of us, there is no eligible route for us The Century War Book (New York: Arno Press, into Richmond; and consequently a question of pref- 1978) 169; quoted in Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, erence between the Rappahannock route, and the p. 66. James River route is a contest about nothing. Hence 93 Conner, Lincoln in Stafford, p. 66. our prime object is the enemies’ army in front of us, 94 The identification of the “steam mill” pictured and is not with, or about, Richmond—at all, unless it in Harper’s Weekly as Kalmbach’s Sawmill and its be incidental to the main object.”, Abraham Lincoln, use as a hospital for Fifth Corps wounded were con- “Memorandum on Joseph Hooker’s Plan of Cam- firmed for me by John Hennessy, chief historian at paign Against Richmond” (c. April 6-10, 1863), in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Lincoln, Collected Works, Vol. 6/1:354, accessed Park. Detailed timeline maps of the Battle of Chan- March 3, 2019. Emphasis in original. cellorsville were used to substantiate the location of 85 Albert Z. Conner, Jr., with Chris Mackowski, Kalmbach's Sawmill and the deployment of the 125th Seizing Destiny (Eldorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie Pennsylvania and Slocum's Twelfth Corps. The LLC, 2016), p. 212, quoting Brooks. maps were researched by Frank A. O'Reilly with the 86 Among the organizational and administrative assistance of Eric J. Mink, illustrated and produced improvements Hooker made after assuming com- by John Dove, 1998. mand was the consolidation of cavalry into a single

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The mission of the Alexandria Historical Society is to promote an active interest in American history, particularly the history of Alexandria and that of the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole. Schedule of Events: May-June 2019

“We Cannot be Tame Spectators”: Three Centuries of Virginia Women’s History Dr. Cynthia Kierner, Professor of History George Mason University 22 May 2019 • 7:30 p.m. at The Lyceum The Early History of Seaport Alexandria: New Insights from Archaeology Dr. Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist Office of Historic Alexandria 26 June 2019 • 7:00 p.m. at The Lyceum Schedule of Events: Fall 2019

They Came for Freedom (In honor of the 5th anniversary of Alexandria’s Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial) 25 September 2019 • 7:30 p.m. at Alexandria Lyceum Ms. Char McCargo Bah, author Alexandria Freedman’s Cemetery: A Legacy of Freedom Virginia Slave Housing: Issues of Research, Preservation and Interpretation Dr. Douglas W. Sanford, Virginia Slave Housing Project 23 October 2019 • 7:30 p.m. at Alexandria Lyceum Professor Emeritus, Department of Historic Preservation, University of Mary Washington

Additional details are on the Society Website: www.alexandriahistorical.org