Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr is kneeling by the grave of John Spear of the 91st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. Fort Myer is in the background. This image was taken facing northwest at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking Washington, D.C., has many connections to Gettysburg and to the Gettysburg Campaign. There are many more connections than to only Robert E. Lee’s residence, and John F. Kennedy’s grave. Almost every row in the older sections have someone buried there who had a link to Gettysburg.
Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shows us the individuals connected to Gettysburg who are buried at Arlington.
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In today’s Arlington post, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shows us the grave of John Spear of the 91st Pennsylvania and Edward Hunter of the 124th New York.
This map shows us the locations taken of videos for our Gettysburg at Arlington series. Videos #1-#92 were shown in our previous Arlington posts. Video #93 was taken at the grave of John Spear of the 91st Pennsylvania. Video #94 was taken at the grave of Edward Hunter of the 124th New York. This map was created facing north at approximately 7:45 PM on Friday, March 25, 2011.
Although all of the military records spell his name “Spear,” the family says that it should be spelled “Spare.” This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
In Video #93 (Videos #1 – #92 were shown in our previous Arlington posts) Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shares some information about John Spear or John Spare who fought with the 91st Pennsylvania on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. This view was taken facing northwest to west at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr is kneeling by the grave of Edward Hunter of the 124th New York Infantry Regiment. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
In Video #94 Licensed Battlefield Guide Rich Kohr shares some information about John Spear or John Spare who fought with the 91st Pennsylvania on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. This view was taken facing northwest to west at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
The grave of Edward Hunter is not too far from the Custis Family burial plot. The burial plot is in the left background with two larger, lighter colored monuments surrounded by a black iron fence. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
The “front” of the Custis burial plot. The roots of the tree are causing the monuments to be “tipping.” This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of Martha Washington and the step-son of George Washington. He inherited this land, consiting of 1100 acres, in 1802. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
George Washington Parke Custis was raised as the nation’s first presidential son. He dedicated his life to the commemoration of the first president. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
On July 7, 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh. Of their four children, only one daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, survived. She married Robert E. Lee at Arlington House on June 30, 1831. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 3:30 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria. She and her family helped to revive the Episcopal churches in Virginia in the early 1800s. Her cousin, Bishop William Meade was the Bishop of Virginia. Mary Lee Custis promoted Sunday schools and supported the work of the American Colonization Society. This view was taken facing northeast at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis died at Arlington on April 23, 1853. Her husband survived her by four years, at which point Arlington House and the grounds were inherited by their daughter Mary Anna Randolph Custis, Mrs. Robert E. Lee. This view was taken facing north at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
In 1799, George Washington Parke Custis was commissioned as a cornet (new and junior officer) in the United States Army and aide-de-camp to General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. During the War of 1812, Custis volunteered in the defense of Washington, D.C., at the Battle of Bladensburg. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
In 1799, George Washington Parke Custis was commissioned as a cornet (new and junior officer) in the United States Army and aide-de-camp to General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. During the War of 1812, Custis volunteered in the defense of Washington, D.C., at the Battle of Bladensburg. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
When Custis died in 1857, his daughter, Mary Anna Custis Lee actually inherited his three plantations, Arlington House (eventually inherited by his grandson George Washington Custis Lee (1832-1913), White House in New Kent County (eventually inherited by his grandson William H. F. Rooney Lee (1837-1891)), and Romancoke in King William County (eventually inherited by his grandson, Robert E. Lee Jr.). This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
Under Custis’s will, his 200 slaves were to be freed once the legacies from his estate were paid, and absolutely no later than five years after his death. These terms were fulfilled by Robert E. Lee, his executor, in the winter of 1862. This view was taken facing south at approximately 3:15 PM on Sunday, February 27, 2011.
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