The Washington Family Tomb

A View Inside the
Washington Family Tomb
Mount Vernon Estate, Va.

Prior to his death in 1799, George Washington directed that a new family tomb was to be constructed on the grounds of Mount Vernon, his Virginia estate. The new family tomb was built in 1831 and the remains of George and Martha Washington were placed in the new tomb. Requests to move President Washington's sarcophagus to a chamber under the U.S. Capitol building, specifically constructed for Washington's entombment, were denied by the family following the desired wishes of Washington as laid out in his will.

As you face the entrance to the tomb - which is temporarily opened in this photo - George Washington's sarcophagus is on the right, the sarcophagus on the left is, of course, Martha Washington's.

Remembering the Veteran on Memorial Day

"The Supreme Sacrifice"
Oak Grove Cemetery
230 Playstead Road
Medford, Mass.

This statute of an American Doughboy, entitled "The Supreme Sacrifice", is dedicated to those Americans from Medford who lost their lives in the First World War. The soldier is holding his arms out as in the manner of a cross and is looking up towards the sky. Unlike most statues of this kind the soldier is not holding a weapon. The statues creator, Emilius R. Ciampa (1896-1996) was born in Italy but grew up in Boston's North End.

The bronze statue overlooks the headstones of the Medford Veterans of that long ago war, arranged in neat rows with American flags marking every grave. All of our Veterans of the First World War are gone now, just as in the not too distant future, all of the Veterans of the Second World War will also be gone. That last great war in Europe ended in May 0f 1945 and we owe the men and women who fought in those wars and have kept the peace since then a great debt. Especially those who made the supreme sacrifice.

Grand Re-Opening for Hancock-Clarke House

Hancock-Clarke House
36 Hancock St.
Lexington, Mass.

The Lexington Historical Society will conduct a grand re-opening celebration for the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington on Sunday May 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The property has just undergone a year long extensive renovation. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2:00 p.m. and tours of the house will be conducted. Everyone is invited to attend.

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate

Mount Vernon
3200 Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, Va.

If the old saying, "home is where the heart is" is true, then George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia is certainly where his heart could be found.

Originally built in 1757 (upon the foundations of an earlier farmhouse) Mount Vernon is beautifully situated on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River. It was given the name Mount Vernon by Washington's older half-brother Lawrence in honor of British Admiral Edward Vernon.

The mansion and the surrounding outbuildings were extensively renovated throughout Washington's life. Through inheritance, purchase and his marriage to the widower Martha Custis, George Washington eventually became the proprietor of five farms comprising some 8,000 acres of land. Washington spent much of his life overseeing all aspects of the management of his property, determining what crops to grow, hiring artisans and managers, landscaping and later in life, deciding to have a grist mill and distillery built.

Called away to serve his country in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and as the nations first President (1789-1797) Washington gratefully returned to Mount Vernon and spent his last years there. He died on December 14, 1799 after a brief illness and is buried in the family tomb on the estate alongside his wife Martha.

After his death Mount Vernon was not as ably managed and over time the mansion itself fell into disrepair and much of the property was sold off or given to family members. By the 1850's Mount Vernon was desperately in need of new ownership. The property was offered for sale to both the Federal government and the State of Virginia, both of whom declined.

Ann Pamela Cunningham of South Carolina subsequently founded the Mount Vernon Ladies Association in 1853 and in 1858 the Association purchased Mount Vernon, along with 200 acres, from George Washington's heirs. Mount Vernon was given much needed repairs and was first opened to the public in 1860. Since that time George Washington's Mount Vernon has been owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association as a non-profit organization operating under the public trust.

Mount Vernon is open to the public 365 days of the year and in addition to tours of the mansion and the grounds, there are shops, a food court, restaurant, a visitors center and museum. Parking is free.

"They Came Three Thousand Miles, and Died..."

Grave for British Soldiers
Old North Bridge
Monument St.
Concord, Mass.

Not far from the foot of the Old North Bridge there is a stone grave marker for the fallen soldiers of the 4th King's Own Light Company, killed nearby on 19 April 1775. Two British flags are placed in front of the memorial. The marker reads as follows:

Grave of British Soldiers
"They came three thousand miles, and died,
To keep the Past upon its throne:
Unheard, beyond the ocean tide,
Their English mother made her moan."
April 19, 1775

These lines are taken from the poem by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) of Cambridge, Mass. a graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law and an ardent abolitionist.

"Lines, Suggested By the Graves of Two English Soldiers On Concord Battle-Ground" (1849)

The same good blood that now refills
The dotard Orient's shrunken veins,
The same whose vigor westward thrills,
Bursting Nevada's silver chains,
Poured here upon the April grass,
Freckled with red the herbage new;
On reeled the battle's trampling mass,
Back to the ash the bluebird flew.

Poured here in vain;--that sturdy blood
Was meant to make the earth more green,
But in a higher, gentler mood
Than broke this April noon serene;
Two graves are here: to mark the place,
At head and foot, an unhewn stone,
O'er which the herald lichens trace
The blazon of Oblivion.

These men were brave enough, and true
To the hired soldier's bull-dog creed;
What brought them here they never knew,
They fought as suits the English breed:
They came three thousand miles, and died,
To keep the Past upon its throne:
Unheard, beyond the ocean tide,
Their English mother made her moan.

The turf that covers them no thrill
Sends up to fire the heart and brain;
No stronger purpose nerves the will,
No hope renews its youth again:
From farm to farm the Concord glides,
And trails my fancy with its flow;
O'erhead the balanced hen-hawk slides,
Twinned in the river's heaven below.

But go, whose Bay State bosom stirs,
Proud of thy birth and neighbor's right,
Where sleep the heroic villagers
Borne red and stiff from Concord fight;
Thought Reuben, snatching down his gun,
Or Seth, as ebbed the life away,
What earthquake rifts would shoot and run
World-wide from that short April fray?

What then? With heart and hand they wrought,
According to their village light;
'Twas for the Future that they fought,
Their rustic faith in what was right.
Upon earth's tragic stage they burst
Unsummoned, in the humble sock;
Theirs the fifth act; the curtain first
Rose long ago on Charles's block.

Their graves have voices; if they threw
Dice charged with fates beyond their ken,
Yet to their instincts they were true,
And had the genius to be men.
Fine privilege of Freedom's host,
Of humblest soldiers for the Right!
--Age after age ye hold your post,
Your graves send courage forth, and might.