Clermont (Alexandria, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Clermont was an 18th-century plantation
in Fairfax County
(now Alexandria
, Virginia
, United States
. Clermont is best known as the home of John Mason
(4 April 1766–19 March 1849), an early American merchant and planter and a son of George Mason
, a Founding Father of the United States
. Clermont is also known for being the birthplace of Fitzhugh Lee
(9 November 1835–18 April 1905), nephew of Robert E. Lee
, grandson of John Mason, Confederate
cavalry
general in the American Civil War
, Governor of Virginia
, diplomat, and United States Army
general in the Spanish-American War
.
was built by Benjamin Dulaney in the late 18th-century. Dulaney, a friend of George Washington
, used the estate as his summer residence. Clermont was large in size with two parlors, eleven bedroom
s, and multiple outbuildings. Dulaney's family members were loyalist
s during the American Revolutionary War
and many of them lost their possessions and property. Dulaney's property was spared, probably due to his friendship with Washington, but Dulaney attempted to sell Clermont to Washington, Washington refused. Dulaney married Washington's goddaughter, daughter of Daniel French of Rose Hill.
After Dulaney, Clermont hosted a succession of tenants and owners. Between 1803 and 1804, Clermont was the residence of Reverend Thomas Davis, Vicar
of Christ Church
in Alexandria. Davis tried unsuccessfully to establish a school for young men at Clermont. Reverend Davis is best known for officiating at Washington's burial service.
General John Mason
was the next resident of Clermont. Mason had two other homes, one in Georgetown
and a summer residence on Analostan Island
. After suffering financial setbacks, Mason was forced to give up his island residence, and in 1833, he and his family relocated to the Virginia countryside at Clermont.
After Mason's death, the Alexandria Gazette ran an advertisement for the sale of Clermont on 28 May 1849. The advertisement read as follows:
Clermont was purchased by Commodore French Forrest
, head of the Washington Navy Yard
. Forrest was the son of Major Joseph Forrest and his wife Elizabeth French Dulaney, daughter of Clermont's original owner. During the American Civil War
, Forrest resigned his commission with the United States Navy
and offered his services to Virginia. Forrest never again stepped foot on Clermont. Forrest assumed command of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
where he supervised the construction of the CSS Virginia
. During the war, Clermont was confiscated by the Union Army
and used as small pox hospital. The mansion was subsequently burned to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
(now Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Clermont is best known as the home of John Mason
John Mason (1766–1849)
John Mason was an early American merchant, banker, planter. As a son of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States, Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family.-Early life and education:...
(4 April 1766–19 March 1849), an early American merchant and planter and a son of George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
, a Founding Father of the United States
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
. Clermont is also known for being the birthplace of Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...
(9 November 1835–18 April 1905), nephew of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, grandson of John Mason, Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
general in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
, diplomat, and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
general in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.
History
Clermont plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
was built by Benjamin Dulaney in the late 18th-century. Dulaney, a friend of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, used the estate as his summer residence. Clermont was large in size with two parlors, eleven bedroom
Bedroom
A bedroom is a private room where people usually sleep for the night or relax during the day.About one third of our lives are spent sleeping and most of the time we are asleep, we are sleeping in a bedroom. To be considered a bedroom the room needs to have bed. Bedrooms can range from really simple...
s, and multiple outbuildings. Dulaney's family members were loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
s during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and many of them lost their possessions and property. Dulaney's property was spared, probably due to his friendship with Washington, but Dulaney attempted to sell Clermont to Washington, Washington refused. Dulaney married Washington's goddaughter, daughter of Daniel French of Rose Hill.
After Dulaney, Clermont hosted a succession of tenants and owners. Between 1803 and 1804, Clermont was the residence of Reverend Thomas Davis, Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Christ Church
Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, is an Episcopal church built from 1767 to 1773 by John Carlyle.The church was designed by James Wren in the colonial style, and frequented by such notables as George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and Philip Richard Fendall I...
in Alexandria. Davis tried unsuccessfully to establish a school for young men at Clermont. Reverend Davis is best known for officiating at Washington's burial service.
General John Mason
John Mason (1766–1849)
John Mason was an early American merchant, banker, planter. As a son of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States, Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family.-Early life and education:...
was the next resident of Clermont. Mason had two other homes, one in Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
and a summer residence on Analostan Island
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Theodore Roosevelt Island is a island and a national memorial located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The island was given to the American people by the Theodore Roosevelt Association in memory of the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt....
. After suffering financial setbacks, Mason was forced to give up his island residence, and in 1833, he and his family relocated to the Virginia countryside at Clermont.
After Mason's death, the Alexandria Gazette ran an advertisement for the sale of Clermont on 28 May 1849. The advertisement read as follows:
FOR SALE -- This estate is distant about four miles from Alexandria, and one mile south of the Little Turnpike Road, leading to the Town, comprising about 320 acres of land. The arable land, of which about 160 acres is level bottom on Cameron Run, is in a state of high fertility, having been well drained, and the whole with about 40 acres of upland, judiciously cultivated and improved, by Clover and Plaister, with the free use of lime and other manure. It is divided into seven fields, one a large meadow of timothy, with one or more fine springs in each. The residue of the tract, exclusive of the lawns, orchards, and gardens, is in young wood. The Mansion and its appurtenances are of the most ample and commodious description, beautifully situated on a gentle eminence, and overlooking the Town of Alexandria and the lowlands of the estate. The dwelling house on the first floor contains two parlors, besides large library, and an office, with eleven chambers above stairs, and in the buildings appurtenant to it, besides an ample kitchen, laundry, and housekeeper's room, a dairy, bath-house, smoke house, ample accommodations for servants, ice house, the houses of farm servants, blacksmith's shop, a kiln of brick for burning lime, with ample barns, stabling, and other houses for stock and farm purposes, orchards of choice fruit, ornamental grounds and walks -- the whole in good order and well preserved by its late proprietor.
Clermont was purchased by Commodore French Forrest
French Forrest
French Forrest was an American naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later the Confederate States Navy. His combat experience prior to the American Civil War included service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:Born in Maryland, he became a...
, head of the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
. Forrest was the son of Major Joseph Forrest and his wife Elizabeth French Dulaney, daughter of Clermont's original owner. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Forrest resigned his commission with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and offered his services to Virginia. Forrest never again stepped foot on Clermont. Forrest assumed command of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
where he supervised the construction of the CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
. During the war, Clermont was confiscated by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
and used as small pox hospital. The mansion was subsequently burned to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Notable individuals
- Fitzhugh LeeFitzhugh LeeFitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...
(1835–1905), son of Sydney Smith Lee and his wife Anna Maria Mason, was born at Clermont on 19 November 1835