Robert E. Lee’s slave, Selina Gray — the hero of Arlington House
When Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary, fled Arlington House at the start of the Civil War, she gave her personal slave, Selina Norris Gray, the keys to the mansion and responsibility for the grand house the Lees had lived in for 30 years.
Gray fulfilled her duties. She is famously credited with saving from marauding Union soldiers numerous heirlooms belonging to George Washington that were stored in the house.
Now the National Park Service, which administers Arlington House, has acquired what it says is a rare and previously unknown photograph of Gray and, apparently, two of her eight children.
The Union army took over Arlington on May 24, 1861, after Robert E. Lee joined the Confederacy and his family left the mansion, which contained Washington china, furniture, and art work.
Gray tried to keep track of Washington and Lee valuables in the house. When Gray found that some of the heirlooms had been stolen, she confronted the soldiers and told them not to touch any of “Mrs. Lee’s things,” according to the Park Service.
Gray, whose parents had also been slaves, then complained to Union Gen. Irvin McDowell, and the remaining heirlooms were sent to the Patent Office for safekeeping and posterity. “She had incredible courage,” Anzelmo-Sarles said. “So we owe a lot to being able to tell the story of our first president to this enslaved woman.” Gray was freed in December 1862, according to the will of Curtis, who ordered that his slaves be freed five years after his death, Anzelmo-Sarles said. He died in 1857. Gray and her family bought land near Arlington and grew and sold vegetables. She died in 1907.
