Displays At Arlington House Where Robert E Lee Lived May Be Removed

Arlington House, in Virginia across from Washington D.C, is one of the most viewed Civil War sites in the country. Sitting on a prominent hill over Arlington National Cemetery, it can be seen from the National Mall in Washington and from surrounding parks. Even many people who don’t visit the mansion have seen it during their trips to the nation’s capital.

Arlington House was the family home of Robert E. Lee at the start of the Civil War. According to the National Park Service web site; “Arlington House is the nation’s memorial to Robert E. Lee. It honors him for specific reasons, including his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War. In a larger sense it exists as a place of study and contemplation of the meaning of some of the most difficult aspects of American history: military service; sacrifice; citizenship; duty; loyalty; slavery and freedom.” Roughly 200,000 people visit each year, but many millions see the house on their tours.

George Washington Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington, had the house built from 1803 to 1818. His daughter Mary Anna Custis married Robert E. Lee. The couple used Arlington House as their permanent residence, even though Lee travelled the country for posts at forts and military bases. It was at Arlington House that Lee made his decision to resign his commission and join the seceded state forces of Virginia in 1861.

Last year the president issued one of his first Executive Orders calling for the National Park Service (NPS) to restore “sanity” in telling United States history. In the Fall of 2025 the Interior Department ordered individual sites to identify signage and exhibits that violate the new executive order. I have been examining the sites which have submitted controversial exhibits to their superiors for removal or rewriting. At the end of February, insiders at the Interior Department leaked those exhibits which are being considered. The photos in this article were taken by employees of the Interior Department and submitted as potentially violative of the Executive Order.

The first exhibit submitted for review was this piece on the changes in the use of Arlington House during the Civil War when its grounds became Arlington National Cemetery as well as a Freedmen’s village.

The quote at the top comes from the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator which points out that Lee fought to enslave Black people.

The panel at the bottom is devoted to people recently freed by the Union Army establishing a community in their refugee camp at Arlington. The panel also focuses on the help that Christian missionaries supplied to these refugees.

Next is a panel devoted to George Washington Custis’s death bed announcement to his slaves that he would set them free. Many white Southerners considered the manumission of slaves, so this was an unpopular decision.

The next panel looks at the “Myth of the ‘Good Slaveholder'” which focuses on Robert E. Lee’s treatment of the slaves he administered after his father-in-law’s death. He used them as slaves and did not immediately free them. He only freed them at the end of a five year term using their labor to pay off his father-in-laws debts.

The next exhibit is on how the nation memorialized Robert E. Lee.

The panel offers many of Lee’s occupations, including as a slaveholder, and says that Southern whites wanted the home protected for a general who fought for honor and to protect his home, and not for slavery. This was called the “Lost Cause” version of Civil War history.

There are also panels explaining what the rooms in the house were and what they were used for. This controversial panel says that during the Civil War, Union forces occupied the house and that some Union soldiers stole items in the house.

Another panel describes President Jimmy Carter’s decision to pardon Lee.

Another panel describes Lee’s family as refugees after the Union Army crossed the Potomac in 1861.

An outdoor wayside describes the post-war period and Reconstruction which does note that Lee “worked to reunify the country.”

Here is an expanded view of the text.

Another panel describes Lee’s “resolute” views on the questions of his day.

Here is a close-up of the text.

A panel describes Lee’s “brutal” treatment of escaped slaves.

The is also an exhibit where visitors are asked several questions and they can leave post-its behind with their opinions.

A panel on “restoring peace” after the end of the Civil War.

There is a further description of Lee’s behavior after the war.

The president’s Executive Order says that some of the National Parks harm the “United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.” The president says that proper history should “foster unity.” He writes that “Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame.” The president sketches out how the National Park Service should approach history:

“It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing. ”