Arlington House: Comeuppance, Just Desserts & Poetic Justice

Three terms, one result.  That is, setting Karma off on a rampage.  For the sake of simplicity, however, let’s stick with Poetic Justice.  After all, ”Comeuppance” is effectively a mouthful of Scrabble tiles, and Just Desserts could be confused with a tres cool bakery in San Francisco.

So, Poetic Justice, it is…

Now, as you know, this notion can be manifested via a number of charming antidotes. 

The undesirable result of 
Right Hose, Wrong Tank

There’s the ol’ urban myth-ish story of a young lad endeavoring to steal gasoline from an RV via a siphoning exercise… only to accidentally stick his hose in the sewage holding tank rather than the petrol holding tank.   Needless to say... that tanked.  Whoops.

A more philosophical approach as uttered by Dante Alighieri might be...  And I shall paraphrase: “Fortune-tellers will necessarily end-up walking around with their heads on backwards (in hell), unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life.”  Obscure, but I get it.

Then there’s the practical, reality bit that I’ve experienced.  That is, going to great lengths to procure a snow blower this past fall (whilst reflecting back on the tons of snow I shoveled from my 100-yard-long drive last year) only to have this winter more closely resemble a holiday in Barbados than Lake Tahoe during ski season.

Which finally brings us to a historic bent on the concept...  How about electing to go to war against the country you love, for some harebrained conviction (AKA The Confederacy*), only to have the same brothers you were ultimately responsible for killing buried in the backyard of your home. 

(*Yes, I know this is going to land me in hot water with a lot of folks.  So be it.)

Arlington House & Cemetery

Such is the story relating to Robert E. Lee and his ancestral home, Arlington House (AKA the Custis-Lee Mansion, AKA The Robert E. Lee Memorial) with his backyard, of course, being Arlington National Cemetery. 

Ouch… Take THAT, Mr. Lee!

If you’re still not clear on the concept, try: Poetic Justice—An ideal distribution of rewards and punishments in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.  A mouthful, to be sure.

More simply put, we'll just call it: What goes around comes around.

And, true to the quote by Barry Hughart (Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was):

“...the problem with poetic justice is that it never knows when to stop.”

True enough.  And, coincidentally, that is the story with Arlington House as its backyard is still a popular place for fallen comrades-in-arms to meet to this day.

All that being said, the focus here isn’t on the backyard, but rather on the house, itself. 

The Lee Bedchamber

Built by George Washington Custis—grandson of Martha Washington—at the turn of the 19^th century, Arlington House is actually located in Arlington National Cemetery grounds, and was home of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee for the 30-years leading up to the Civil War. It was here, during the night of April 20, that Lee composed the letter resigning his commission from the U.S. Army to fight for his native Virginia.  He left on that mission two days later, never to return.

General Lee

Robert E. Lee, of course, is best known for commanding the main eastern force of the Confederacy during the Civil War, winning major battles against much superior Union forces at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He led two unsuccessful attempts to invade the North (turned back at Antietam in 1862 and Gettysburg in 1863), and then saw his army ground down by Union general Ulysses S. Grant in an attrition campaign through 1864 and part of 1865. His surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 effectively ended the war.

Arlington House was abandoned by the Lees early during the Civil War and was later used as headquarters for the Union army. The estate was confiscated for nonpayment of taxes, and its approximately 200 acres (80 hectares) were set aside for a national cemetery in 1864. 

The house and grounds have served many purposes over the last two hundred years—including being a working plantation / estate, a home to 63 slaves, and later a community for emancipated slaves.

It is now preserved as a memorial to General Lee, who gained the respect of Americans in both the North and the South in due course.

Arlington House, Today

The mansion, itself, was built by slaves on the plantation of handmade brick and faced with cement which was scored and painted to look like marble and sandstone, One of the earliest Greek Revival structures in the country, and one of the earliest residences to use the “Colossal Orders,” (the huge columns that span the entire two stories of the house), Arlington House was inspired by Greek temple design.  The facade of the house including both wings is 140 feet. The massive portico is 60 feet across by 25 feet deep and features 8 massive Doric columns 23 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter.

Today, Arlington House is part of the National Park Service, and open to the public for tours.  Within the mansion, visitors will get a glimpse of the Lees' grand old Southern aristocratic furnishings and rooms, and can even peruse the estate's former slave quarters.  The mansion also houses a selection of artifacts and exhibits focused on Lee’s life. 

Arlington House, Yesterday

Despite the varied feelings that American’s have about the mansion’s background, it is a significant component of American history, and extremely interesting to those that can switch off any “us vs. them” mentality.  Definitely a worthwhile excursion, only minutes from DC itself, and easily accessible by car or Metro.  And, the estate enjoys a staggering view of DC—from the Potomac, across Memorial Bridge, past the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and straight up The Mall to The Capital beyond. 

Touring the mansion will take approximately an hour, and the NPS does offer guided tours—but check ahead for availability and timing. 

Arlington House is open to visitors from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visits are first-come, first-served. Be advised, however, that there may be delays on busier days.  And, while you're there, why not wander into the backyard?  There are many historically significant, if not solemn sites to experience there as well—not the least of which are The Tomb of the Unknowns, JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy burial plots / memorial, the Robert F Kennedy burial plot / memorial, and the Challenger disaster memorial, to name just a few.  

The View from The Mansion

Arlington House 
(Custis-Lee Mansion)

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington, VA 22211

703.235.1530

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Admission: Free

Parking: Paid parking is accessible from Memorial Drive in Arlington, VA. The cost is $1.75 / hour for the first three hours, and $2.00 / hour thereafter.

Metro: Blue Line to Arlington Cemetery.  Then, it’s up the hill!

In sum… if you've not been, do go!  As the Civil War Sesquentenial is happening all around us, it’s only appropriate.  

For the latest, follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/@DeathXDrowning

© 2012 Death by Drowning