Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-03-15
IS - - ~ 80
RESIDENCE OF LEE:
In Baltimore Is Now Warehouse for
:. Old Furniture.

:. Old Furniture.
At S07 Madison avenue stands an.aE7
Client brick house. three stories high, OF
no particular architectural value, says
q. Baltimore. Md, letter. 1t is, at pres
ent occupied asa storage warehouse
for old furniture. 1t has seen many
years and much hard usage and now
presents a shabby and rundown APP
pearance. '".-a!;:T y 49, - -. -
:: High Jup! between. the second STORY
windows a white tablet is let into tft
red brick wall. Into tho marble are cut
some white, letters. BY dint of patience
good eyesight. and a crielo in the neck
one may make. out, thel announcement
that in this house lived for more athan
three years General Robert E. Lee. ga'-
t;To. the casual observer it; seems
strange, that the city which. was for
nearly four years the home. of General
Lee, the city. with which he was ,intl=
mately associated, both before and aft
er the CivlL.war, has, done nothing to
mark and preserve the house. but set
up a more or less .illegible tablet on its
outer wall ..:.
! Not that no efforts, have been made!
More than ten years ago an option was
secured on the property under which 1t
could have been purchased for $4,000. A
bill was introduced In the state legis-
lature .appropriatlng $4,000 toward its
purchase. An. organization was formed
to- solicit funds from ,rhe camps'of.Con
federate Veterans. all over the south,
The newspapers were. filled for a con-
siderable timeswith, reports. Of progress.
Various sums; seem to have been con-
tributed by private donors. -, ~.
. Then the whole project seemed to
have died. The bill setting aside $4,000
failed to pass. the; Legislature and the
ancient residence. now degraded to use
as a, storage. warehouse, continues to
grow shabbieF, and more. neglected,
: The life, Of General Lee, written by
his son, is full of references to his faith
er's residence, in, Baltimore and to his his
later connections with the city. 1t was
late in ,1s4s, that General Lee seems
first to have, come. here. He was fresh
from the. honors. won in, the Mexican
war; just. past 4o.;yeags old, handsome in
with, his young family
growing up about. him. He was sent to
Baltimore to take charge of the build: lid:
ing Of, Fort. Carroll. which still stands
on it's island at the mouth of. the har-
Dor. ...:.::.,. riE;. -,
The earliest Baltimore recollection Of
the son is that,of his. father taking him
down to thee docks to auperintend the
landing Of q white Mexican pony which
Col. Lee had had shipped up from Tex:
as for his son. All the three years Of
their life. in Baltimore the white pony
was daily: ridden, about the streets OF
the city by. the. boy; BY boat also was
to Baltimore a riding mare for:
Mrs. Lee. :who, was. the great-grand-
OF Martha washington:
Almost. every day Colonel Lee often
accompanied, BY, his, son, took an IA. ola
bus from his home on Madison avenue
and rode down to the docks. There a
rowboat was. waiting, manned; by two
sailors. who pulled off down the harboEr
to the point Of land projecting into the
river opposite the island on which the
fort was; being built. There. the boy
was " landed, While, his father, rowed out
to supervise, the work on. the is7
land. At; ;aeSnl the. two enjtoyed a coun-
try dinner, at the q9ld, q9d farmhouse on the
point and. in, the, evening. were rowed
back .to:the city,,
During their stay in Baltimore Colo
mel and Mrs, Lee were social favorites.
They, had plenty oferelatives in and
about the city, and formed many en-
during friendships. The son remem-
bers how handsome his father. used to
look. as, attired in the full dress uni
form Of his rank, he and Mrs. Lee
started out for an evenings entertain
ment.
After the war General Lees CORE
spondence is, full Of references to his
Baltimore friends and many of the let let
ters are written to. Baltimore people
When in the summers Of the late COS
General and Mrs. Lee visited the old
White. Sulphur they often occupied q
cottage in the famous Baltimore Row
and were the, life of many parties given
by Baltimore, people.
In 1865 General Lee came to Balti-
more to urge. the city. to help in the
construction, Of branch railroad which
should connect Lexington with the rest
of the country. Something like pub
lie reception. was given to hin on the
floor of the Flour exchange building
and what had been arranged rs Il busi-
ness conference became a great demon
stration in honor of the aero Of the
Confederacy.
When General Lee, in common with
other Southern leaders, was indicted
soon after the war on charges Of trea-
son. the late Reverdy Johnson volun-
teered for his defense, and Baltimore
manufacturers sent down many hand