General Robert E. Lee's Buried Treasure — Washington's Silver

With the family silver safely out of reach of the Union troops, Mrs. Lee readied Arlington House for the impending occupation. She sent the family portraits and George Washington's bed to Ravensworth, her aunt's home in Fairfax County, where she would spend part of her time during the war. The books were locked in closets and the "Cincinnati & State China from Mt Vernon was carefully put away & nailed up in boxes in the cellar." Believing the family's prized possessions were safe, she and her children abandoned the mansion.

On May 23, 1861, Federal troops crossed the Potomac River and occupied Arlington Heights and the Lees' home. Major General Charles Sandford wrote on May 28: "Finding the mansion vacated by the family, I stated to some of the servants left there that... I would, by occupying it myself, be responsible for the perfect care and security of the house and everything in and about it." He did not keep his promise.

While the structure of the house remained largely intact, Union soldiers looted many of the Lee family's belongings. Even though General Irwin McDowell sent a significant portion of the Washington items to the U.S. Patent Office, these too were subject to the curious Federal troops occupying Arlington.

Mrs. Lee later mused: "How little could I foresee the nature of that enemy who were to pry into every corner of my house, & rob it of articles that even they should have held sacred."

It was not until June of 1864, as Union Army General David Hunter raided the Valley of Virginia, that these relics were in danger of falling into enemy hands. Although Mary Custis Lee openly worried about these possessions, her husband attempted to calm her fears, writing: "It will be impossible to remove the silver, &c., from Lexington. It will incur more danger in removal than in remaining. It must bide its fate."

The silver was saved from destruction by the actions of Superintendent Smith and ordnance sergeant, John Hampsey. As General Hunter advanced on the town of Lexington, Smith arranged for Hampsey to bury the two large trunks that held the sacred Washington silver.

On Sunday, June 12, Union troops set fire to all of the public buildings on the VMI campus. Concealed beneath the earth's surface, the Lee's family heirlooms avoided destruction.

Robert E. Lee wrote to Superintendent Smith a few weeks later thanking him "for the care of the relics [he] so kindly undertook to guard" and also expressed gratitude to "the trusty friend who acted in the matter." As the war came to a close, Mrs. Lee wrote to Smith thanking him for his careful protection of their "silver and papers." 

After the cessation of hostilities , Mary Custis Lee wished to return to Arlington House, but her hopes were crushed when she learned that Federal troops had turned Arlington into a burial ground. With retirement to a quiet life at Arlington no longer an option, Robert E. Lee accepted the position of president of Washington College in Lexington (later Washington and Lee University).

Good fortune struck in the summer of 2007, when two Custis descendants, Mary Lee Bowman and her brother Robert E. Lee IV, decided to open a pair of storage trunks that had long resided in a corner of Mrs. Bowman's basement. The trunks revealed a cache of George Washington's silver. Tucked away among mostly 19th-century artifacts was a large silverplated wine cooler and a silver bottle roller used by the Washingtons during the presidency and afterwards at Mount Vernon. Two Revolutionary War spoons decorated with Washington's griffin crest were also sheltered in the trunks.

Mrs. Bowman and Mr. Lee immediately thought of Mount Vernon, where their loyalties were already strongly established. Mrs. Bowman had served as an active member of The Founders, Washington Committee for Historic Mount Vernon, for more than two decades. Mr. Lee was a past member of both the Mount Vernon Inn Board and the Mount Vernon Advisory Committee, and his wife, Carew, served as the Vice Regent for Maryland from 1972-2006, and as Regent from 1996-1999.

Mrs. Bowman and Mr. Lee had previously donated family silver to Mount Vernon in the 1980s, so they were well aware of how important these additional discoveries would be to the collection.

Due to their generosity, after two centuries of traveling in and around Virginia, above and below ground, these remarkable pieces of Washington silver have found their way back home. These tablewares highlight the care that Washington took in setting his Revolutionary War and presidential tables, and their long journey back to Mount Vernon emphasizes the enduring legacy of George Washington.