Colonel & Mrs. Lee's Chamber

or 30 years following their marriage, Robert and Mary Lee shared this bedchamber whenever they were in living at Arlington House. Mrs. Lee had selected the room as a young girl because it looked out over her flower garden to the South of the house.

	View of Colonel and Mrs. Lee's Chamber from Upper Hall. Click on the picture to view a QuickTime movie of the room. (304 KB) QuickTime plug-in is required and can be downloaded at the QuickTime Web site.

It was here where Lee faced the grim choice between loyalty to Virginia, where his family had lived for six generations, and loyalty to the United States which he had served for thirty two years as an officer in the U.S. Army. After learning that Virginia would soon vote to secede from the Union, Lee retired to this room on the evening of April 19, 1861 to consider the situation and his own role in the impending Civil War. Closing the door behind him, he paced back and forth across the pine floors, trying to bring himself to a final decision. Shortly after midnight he came downstairs with two letters in hand—one to the Secretary of War and the other to his friend and mentor, Gen. Winfield Scott—and announced to his wife, "Well, Mary, the question is settled. Here is my letter of resignation..." Two days later, Lee left for Richmond where he accepted command of the Virginia militia forces, never to return to Arlington again. Within a month, the rest of the family would follow him southward.

Today there are a number of original pieces in the Lee Chamber, including the bed and Robert E. Lee's writing chair. This was likely the chair he used when he wrote his letter of resignation on April 20, 1861.

Continue the Tour

Click on the room you would like to visit next. To go to another floor, use the menu below the floorplan.