Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-09-08
Arlington flights and Alexandria.


Arlington Hiphts. once the beoutiGl 20.
sidence Of Gen Robert T. Loo IL no,v ono
great graveyard The Grand old mansion
with its barns and negro quarters is occnr;ed
by the keeper of the cemetery. and Nc mas.
siye doors are ALWAYS omen IN those who ,,isi, |
the spot But from its very doorwov strot.b
ing far down the hillside ore the 1,ro,,os ocI
Union soldiers II was beartif,I 9loc,t;on
before the war. and its beaut, has hoo, ,,ro,,
" increased In, tho now notbs non - % .,,l
lawns which now adorn tbo oo,,,otos r.
this elevation the visitor can looL day,,, ,,,'o,
Washington and Georretovp unon ,bo ~
ing waters of the Po.omoc and M, h.
unaulatlnr INNS OF Inc 1sas, ,,r,rnrs ,.,,,,,.
Here sat Gen. Lee in 1861 surrounded NV
every luxury of life. and from this norcb
gazed upon the city. saving il should lac de.
stroyed. Had any one said that his lands
should be taken. the grounds about his borso
used for "a graveyard, his barns be taken as n |
storehouse for Yankee collins and his man.
sion for Offices and sections quarters. while
his own slaves would be hired TO decorate
and adorn the graves Of his enemies. he would
have considered it impossible. 1t was init
mated to us by some half rebels that these
bodies would be taken up by the government
and inferred somewhere else For. without
violation of the constitution. Congress cannot
pass bill of attainder" which prevents
the children from coming into possession Of
the property. Congress can confscatc pro.
perty only during the life of its owner. after
which it must revert to the heirs. If such
is the case, when Lee dies his heirs can and
doubtless will, come to claim their own, and
the government will be obliged either to relin,
quish 1t or pay any sum, no matter how great
which the heirs demand for it, If this is the
case, and certainly it looks reasonable il
seems like remarkable shortsightedness on
the part Of the quartermastcr general to tax,
this estate for cemetery. Our informant
stated that this was the case with the GENE.
teres at Richmond and Hampton and il
many other places. II is a bad lob it, after
ten or twelve years, all these bodies must b,
removed, because the children Of the formei
owners come to claim the land We ha,
hoped that, after being so long in the bleach
ing sun, the bones of these heroes might b.
permitted now to rest forever in peace, an,
that another removal might not be cited as
sample Of the ungrateiuluess Of republics.
From Arlington Nights we went to Alex
andrla. But the change here since the war
except in uniforms, has not been sufficient,
marked to permit us to dwell long upon ii
The streets have the same Virginia look
which they had during the war, and the house
and stores look just about as gloomy. In thu
bar-room Of the Marshall house, where ELS
worth was killed, we saw long haired Vir
ginian Boosting how he loved jackson, tn
former proprietor, and how willing he woul,
be to go North Qor three drinks and ayeng
Jackson's death. The house seems to be wei
p"tronzed by southerners and conlederacy
loving young ladies, who deem it great hon
or to stand under the same roof where fol
the Sc martyr jackson" 1t has at present
however passed out Of the hands Of the Jack
son family, and is kept by man who boast
that he s. Is neither one thing nor another
Alexandria has never been reconstructed. 1t
inhabitants are as bitter enemies Of the ma
uon as they ever were, and their acts anO
words IN any other land would bring hundred
., mem 70 inc gallows Portraits Of JEFF
pay,s ana . Lee hsng IN all their parlors, dc
oSrI WV "i'h confederate hags Photograph