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Chatham Manor
U.S. Historic district Contributing property

Chatham Manor, March 2008
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Nearest city	Fredericksburg, Virginia
Area	4,601.1 acres (1,862.0 ha)
Built	1771
Built by	William Fitzhugh
Architectural style	Georgian
Part of	Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park (= ID66000046)
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

Chatham Manor is a beautiful Georgian-style mansion built in 1771. It was completed by a farmer and important leader named William Fitzhugh after about three years of work. The manor sits on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, Virginia, right across from Fredericksburg.

For over a hundred years, Chatham was the heart of a large, busy plantation. It holds a special place in history as the only private home in the United States visited by four famous presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Chatham's story also shows the challenges of its time, especially regarding slavery. In 1805, some enslaved people at Chatham stood up to their overseer. Later, in 1857, an owner named Hannah Jones Coalter tried to free her 93 enslaved people in her will. However, a court case stopped this from happening, and they were sold with the property.

During the American Civil War, the family living at Chatham had to leave. The manor became an important U.S. Army headquarters and a large hospital for wounded soldiers. After the war, Chatham was in very bad shape. Over time, new owners helped restore it to its former glory. In 1975, the estate was given to the National Park Service. Today, it serves as the main office for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

Welcome to Chatham Manor!
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Welcome to Chatham Manor!

Chatham Manor is a historic house with many stories to tell. It was built by William Fitzhugh, a wealthy lawyer and planter. The main house was finished in 1771. Enslaved people did much of the construction work. The house has many special architectural features, especially on the side facing the river. This side was meant to be seen from Fredericksburg.

Fitzhugh was a good friend of George Washington. Washington's family farm was close by on the Rappahannock River. Washington often visited Chatham, as noted in his diaries. He and Fitzhugh worked together in the government before the American Revolution. They both loved farming and horses. Fitzhugh's daughter, Molly, married Washington's step-grandson. She later became an important person who worked to end slavery.

The large 1,280-acre (5.2 km²) plantation had an orchard, a mill, and a race track. Fitzhugh named the mansion after a British leader, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. This leader supported the American colonists before the Revolutionary War. Around the main house were many other buildings. These included living quarters for enslaved people, a dairy, an ice house, barns, and stables.

Life on the Plantation

William Fitzhugh owned many enslaved people, sometimes over 100. They worked on his large property, which included about 6,000 acres at Chatham. Most worked in the fields or as house servants. Others were skilled workers like millers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. We know about their lives mostly from old written records.

In January 1805, some enslaved people at Chatham rebelled. They had been ordered back to work too soon after the Christmas holidays. They stood up to their overseer and others who tried to force them back. An armed group quickly stopped the rebellion. One enslaved man was killed, and two others died trying to escape. Two more were sent away, perhaps to other places where slavery existed.

Later, Chatham was given to Hannah Jones Coalter as a wedding present. She was against slavery and tried to free her 92 enslaved people in her will when she died in 1857. Hannah wanted them to have a choice. They could either be freed and move to a free state like Ohio or to Liberia. Or, they could stay enslaved in Virginia and choose their new owners from her family.

However, Hannah's half-sister's husband, J. Horace Lacy, challenged the will in court. The local court agreed that the enslaved people should be freed. But the Virginia Supreme Court disagreed. They used a ruling called the Dred Scott decision to say that enslaved people were property, not people with choices. This meant they could not be freed as Hannah wished.

One enslaved woman, Ellen Mitchell, was a laundress at Chatham. She had hoped for freedom. When the court denied it, she was very upset. She feared being sent to a plantation far away. To get rid of her, Lacy sold her to a slave trader. This trader, James Aler, allowed Ellen a 90-day pass. In early 1860, she traveled to cities like Washington, Baltimore, and New York. She gave speeches to raise money to buy freedom for herself and her children. She succeeded! Lacy was impressed and also freed Ellen's mother. The Mitchell family moved to Ohio, a free state. Ellen started her own laundry business there.

Slavery at Chatham ended in 1865 because of the American Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made slavery illegal everywhere.

Historians are still looking for where the enslaved people's homes were at Chatham. Old sketches and photographs are helping them find these important locations.

Chatham During the Civil War

Chatham Manor, 1862. From the National Archives and Records Administration.

The American Civil War brought big changes and damage to Chatham. The owner, James Horace Lacy, supported the South. He left Chatham to join the Confederate Army. His wife and children stayed until Union troops arrived in 1862. They then had to leave their home.

For over a year, the Union army used Chatham. They called it the "Lacy House." Union officers first used the mansion as their headquarters. In April 1862, General Irvin McDowell brought 30,000 soldiers to Fredericksburg. He oversaw repairs to the railroad and built bridges across the Rappahannock River near Chatham.

President Abraham Lincoln visited Fredericksburg to meet with General McDowell at Chatham. This visit makes Chatham one of only three houses visited by both Lincoln and Washington. While there, Lincoln walked through Fredericksburg and visited soldiers.

Seven months later, in November 1862, a big battle happened in Fredericksburg. General Ambrose E. Burnside brought 120,000 Union soldiers. They crossed the river and attacked Lee's Confederates. The Confederates held the high ground behind the town. General Edwin Sumner watched the battle from Chatham. A German observer, Count Zeppelin, even sent up a reconnaissance balloon from Chatham's lawn to watch the fighting.

The Battle of Fredericksburg was a terrible defeat for the Union. Many wounded soldiers were brought to Chatham for care. For several days, army doctors operated on hundreds of soldiers inside the house. Volunteers helped them, including the famous poet Walt Whitman, Clara Barton (who later started the American Red Cross), and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. Dr. Walker is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor.

Whitman came to Chatham looking for his wounded brother. He was shocked by what he saw. He wrote about the many wounded soldiers and the difficult conditions. Over 130 Union soldiers died at Chatham. They were first buried on the grounds. After the war, their bodies were moved to the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

In the winter after the battle, Union soldiers camped behind Chatham. Confederate soldiers were across the river. Soldiers from both sides sometimes traded newspapers using small sailboats. Union soldiers slept at Chatham when not on duty. Dorothea Dix ran a soup kitchen in the house. As winter went on, soldiers sometimes took wood from the walls for firewood. You can still see some of their pencil drawings and writings on the walls today.

Fighting started again in the spring. In April, General Joseph Hooker led most of the Union army. Other troops, including John Gibbons' division, stayed at Chatham. Another battle, the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, happened. Many of the wounded from this battle were also sent to Chatham, which again served as a hospital.

After the War: A New Beginning

Chatham Manor, Historic American Buildings Survey

By the end of the Civil War in 1865, Chatham was badly damaged. When the Lacy family returned, many windows were broken. Bloodstains were on the floors, and graffiti covered the walls. Much of the wood paneling had been used for firewood. The surrounding forests were cut down, and the gardens were ruined. The lawn had even been used as a graveyard.

Without enslaved people to help maintain the large estate, the Lacys found it hard to keep up their home. They moved to another house and sold Chatham in 1872.

A portion of the east garden wall of the 20th century English-style garden at Chatham Manor, a former plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Chatham had several owners over the years. In the 1920s, General Daniel Bradford Devore and his wife, Helen, began a big restoration project. They made important changes, like making the east entrance the main one for cars. They also added a beautiful, walled English-style garden. This garden was designed by a famous landscape architect named Ellen Biddle Shipman. Thanks to their efforts, Chatham became one of Virginia's finest homes again.

In 1931, John Lee Pratt, a General Motors executive, and his wife bought Chatham. They planned to retire there. During World War II, Pratt helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower visited Chatham to relax and go duck hunting. The Pratts used Chatham as a working farm.

When John Lee Pratt passed away in 1975, he left parts of the land to Stafford County for parks and to the local YMCA. He also gave the manor house and about 30 acres (120,000 m²) of land to the National Park Service (NPS). Today, the NPS uses it as the headquarters for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

Visiting Chatham Today

Five rooms in Chatham Manor are open to the public as a free museum. You can watch an explanatory video tour there. The beautiful grounds are also open for visitors to explore. The rest of the house and other buildings are used for offices and maintenance. In 2014, the National Park Service removed some trees. This helped restore the views to and from Chatham, making it look more like it did during the Civil War.

Since 2012, a non-profit group called the Friends of Chatham has helped care for the historic house and its grounds. They work with local Rotary and garden clubs. They help maintain the gardens and make repairs to the old buildings.