Description:

Robert E. Lee's Wife Writes Her Virginia Pastor, While Her Husband is Stationed at Fort Hamilton in New York City

In this letter written from Fort Hamilton, New York, Mary Custis Lee writes to her pastor who was also in New York City for a church conference. Lee's husband, Captain Robert E. Lee, was assigned the task of improving the defenses of Fort Hamilton and other forts in the area, and he served as Fort Hamilton's post engineer from 1841 to 1846. The Protestant Episcopal Church held a general convention in New York City in October 1841.

Lee mentions several Episcopal churchmen in her letter, including Rev. James D. Carder (1803-1866), Rector of St. John's Church in Fort Hamilton, where the Lees attended; Rev. Dr. Benjamin C. Cutler (1798-1863), the rector of St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn; Rev. Dr. Reuel Keith (1792-1842), a professor at Virginia Theological Seminary from 1823 to 1840; and Bishop William Meade (1789-1862), who served as the third American Episcopal Bishop of Virginia from 1841 to 1862. In 1831, Dr. Keith officiated at the wedding of 2nd Lieutenant Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Randolph Custis. He resigned from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1840 due to poor health and returned to his native Vermont.

MARY CUSTIS LEE, Autograph Letter Signed, to Charles B. Dana, ca. 1841, Fort Hamilton, New York. 2 pp., 8" x 10". Expected folds; hole in integral leaf, not affecting text; general toning; very good.

Complete Transcript
Fort Hamilton Monday night
I was not aware my dear Mr Dana that you had come to the Convention until yesterday at church when the letters were handed me by Mr Carder I felt truly sorry that you should be so near us without our meeting but Mr Lee has been so occupied every day for the past week & often till late at night that he has found it impossible to take me up to the City & I very much fear that he cannot come home tomorrow. After a few days this great press of business will be over & I shall certainly go the first morning he can leave this place & see Dr Kieth If you should be detained after tomorrow, if you cannot come down, write & tell me how long you will probably remain & if you are staying at Dr Cutlers or with your cousin & write me the name of the street he lives on If Mr Kieth is not well enough to return to the Seminary if he would come down & stay with us, the quiet of this place & the sea air might benefit him. Write me if he could come & we will go up for him I have a nice room at his disposal & he must bring some books along with him as our library here is very small If he agrees to this plan I hope you will be able to come with him Tell him I have suffered so much from indisposition myself that I am quite a good nurse We shall be very much pleased to see Dr Cutler & to become acquainted with him I have written to Bishop Meade to beg him to come down & see us Do you know any thing of his plans? I hope Dr Keith's forebodings are without foundation for tho' our loss may be gain to him I must wish & pray that his valuable life may be long spared Do remember Mr Lee & myself most affectionately to him & tell him we should be much gratified if he could come & make us a visit. And now I must acknowledge your kindness in writing to us when I know your time is so entirely occupied I will not relinquish the hope of seeing you & shall expect to hear as soon as practicable I sent 2 letters for you to carry to Bishop Meade They were sent in St John's church to him this morning If you should be detained I may have something further but at present they are all I have to send
Believe me yrs most sincerely & affectionately
M C Lee

[Address:] To / The Revd C B Dana / Care of The Revd Dr. Cutler / Lands Street / Brooklyn

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (1807-1873) was born in Virginia as the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington and therefore step-great-granddaughter of George Washington. The only surviving child of her parents, she was pampered and well-educated. Like her mother, she taught enslaved people how to read and write, and she supported gradual emancipation and colonization in Africa but opposed abolitionism and racial equality. In 1831, she married her third cousin, Lt. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) of the U.S. Army, and they had seven children. After the death of her father George Washington Parke Custis in 1857, she edited and published his writings in 1859. She also inherited Arlington House from him, which she only evacuated on May 15, 1861. When trapped behind Union lines at her son's plantation east of Richmond in May 1862, Union Major General George B. McClellan allowed her to pass through the lines into Richmond. After the war, she lived with her husband in Lexington, where he was president of Washington College from October 1865 until his death.

Charles B. Dana (1806-1873) was born in New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1828. He graduated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1833, became a clergyman in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and briefly taught rhetoric at Mount Hope College, from which he received the degree of D.D. He served as rector of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1834 to 1860. While there, he presented Robert E. Lee to his bishop for confirmation. In 1860, he married his parishioner Elvira Rosebell Close (1833-1886), and they had two sons. Later in 1860, Dana moved to Port Gibson, Mississippi, where he was rector of St. James's Church. In 1866, he moved to Natchez as rector of Trinity Church, where he remained until his death.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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