A good bit of the furnishings and household goods at Arlington, including the carpets, were removed by Mrs. Lee's cousin with the permission of U.S. authorities, and later were used to furnish General Lee's postwar home at Lexington. Some of the relics inherited by Mrs. Lee from Mount Vernon were carried off by souvenir hunters, never to be seen again, but most of them, including the most valuable, were stored at the U.S. Patent Office until 1903, when President McKinley ordered them to be restored to the Lee family.

The Custis-Lee mansion is an impressive structure. It has been carefully maintained through the years as a national monument. I've attended some funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, and my eye is always drawn to that beautiful building.