General Robert E. Lee A Family History

The Lee Family Tree Robert E. Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis on June 30, 1831.

The Lee Family Tree Mary Lee was the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis.

The Lee Family Tree George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of Martha Washington.

The Lee Family Tree George Washington Parke Custis’ father (George Washington Parke Custis – Jacky) was the son of Martha Washington by her first marriage to Daniel Parke Custis. They also had a daughter named Martha ("Patsy") Parke Custis. When Martha’s first husband died, George Washington adopted Martha’s two children.

The Lee Family Tree Mary Anna Randolph Custis was the step-great granddaughter of President George Washington and Martha Washington.

Arlington House – The Home of Robert E. Lee

Arlington House George Washington Parke Custis (Mary Lee’s father) built Arlington House on the banks of the Potomac River overlooking Washington, D.C. Arlington House was intended as a memorial to George Washington. Mr. Custis stored portraits, Washington's personal papers and clothes, and the command tent which the president had used at Yorktown.

Arlington House When Mary’s father died she inherited Arlington House and Robert and Mary made it their home. Arlington House needed many repairs and Lee took a leave of absence from the Army until 1860 to begin the necessary improvements.

The Civil War Begins Lee was concerned for the safety of his wife who was still residing at the mansion and convinced her to vacate the property. She managed to send some of the family valuables off to safety. Federal forces occupied Lee's property within a month after the fall of Fort Sumter and used it as a headquarters for the Union Army.

Arlington Cemetery By 1864, the military cemeteries of Washington and Alexandria were filled with Union dead, and General Montgomery C. Meigs quickly selected Arlington as the site for a new cemetery. Meigs, a Georgian who had served under Lee in the U.S. Army and who hated his fellow Southerners who were fighting against the Union, ordered that graves be placed just outside the front door of the mansion, to prevent the Lees from ever returning.

Arlington Cemetery Meigs himself supervised the burial of 26 Union soldiers in Mrs. Lee's rose garden. Neither Robert E. Lee nor his wife were to ever set foot on the property again. Robert E. Lee and his wife never legally challenged the return of the home.