Well, I’m not him, but here’s a cite, from the National Park Service:
Here’s one: Citation
Haj
Thanks, all. Interesting story.
Any support for the idea that the “taxpayer must show up in person” was selectively used against the Lee family?
After G.W.C. Lee won his lawsuit for the return of the property, the government agreed to pay him $150,000, which was not a “meager sum” in 1883.
The former slaves who had been working on the land received $0.00.
Here’s the bill. I couldn’t find it as text, so it’s the scanned pages…you’ll have to read each page seperately.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsb&fileName=037/llsb037.db&recNum=393
It basically says, as far as I can tell, since the insurrection started, it’s been impossible to levy taxes in the rebel areas. Therefore, taxes will be levied from the date that the United states regains control of the area. Loyal citizens have 60 days to pay their taxes or else their property will be taken by the government. Because the government recognizes civil unrest might make this time period impractical, a loyal citizen has up to 2 years to reclaim his land by paying the back taxes plus 10% per year. As for traitors, their lands will be taken by the government without compensation and auctioned.
The bill is S. 121, but it might be a draft bill, and not the final act. I haven’t found anything yet about enforcement of the act.
a couple of random thoughts.
The Lee property in Arlington came from Mrs. Lee’s family. IIRC, her family was descendent from Geo. Washington in some manner. She was also an invalid who had crippling arthritis or some such debilitating condition, so I imagine traveling to pay taxes in person would have been impossible for her.
There was a lot of skirmishing and raiding going on in MD in the first few years of the war. The MD/VA border was pretty porous. Hell, Union forces even captured an experimental artillery piece being smuggled out of the city by Confederates right near where I live. Must’ve been an interesting area to live in back then.
Oh, and Exapno thanks for the book ref. I’ll check it out.
This map shows the circle of forts around Washington D.C.
My great-great grandfather, a private in the 2nd N.Y. Heavy Artillery, served in the Washington forts. He was stationed, at various times, in Fts. Ward, Worth, Haggarty, Woodbury, and C.F. Smith.
In May 1864 his and many other Heavy Artillery regiments were called up to the front to make up for Grant’s horrendous losses at the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. This stripping of the Washington garrison encouraged the attack on Ft. Stevens that occurred later that summer.
My great-great-great-grandfather was also involved in defending Washington. He and the rest of his company, from the 45th N.Y. Infantry, were captured by Confederate cavalry while on outpost picket duty in Annandale, Virginia, just south of Arlington, in December 1861.
After the First Bull Run the Confederate Army had the Union Army on the run but…
This was prior to Robert E. Lee being named Commanding General.
[sup]Yesterday was Lee’s birthday[/sup]