Civil War Tours at Mount Vernon

The weather may have been frightful last weekend, but the crowds found the Civil War tours at the Mount Vernon Estate simply delightful.

The walking tours debuted Saturday and will run twice a day each weekend through October. 

This particular tour is a first for Mount Vernon, because the estate has never offered a tour before that extended beyond the lives of members of the Washington family, said Stacey Stephens, who led Saturday's tour. 

“This is unique,” said Stephens.

These walking tours are led by a history interpreter with the estate.  The tours will typically wind through the grounds and end up at Washington’s tomb, but terrible weather pushed the majority of Saturday afternoon’s tour inside the greenhouse.

Much of the tour focused on historical figures like Sarah Tracy and Upton Herbert, who more or less ran the entire estate during the Civil War.  Despite the fighting raging in and around Virginia, Mount Vernon was given special status.

“It was sacred ground,” said Stephens. “Despite the fact there was a war going on it was respected by both sides.”

Tracy, who was the secretary to the Mount Vernon Ladies Association during the Civil War, dutifully approached each new military general to assure Mount Vernon would remain neutral.

“People like Sarah Tracy were willing to go and get the proper paperwork,” Stephens said.  “They were willing to make a stand.”

Throughout the tour, guests learn that Mount Vernon was for the most part open for business during war time. Guests were still allowed on the property, Mount Vernon made some money off photographs taken by Washington’s tomb, and the estate’s garden yielded vegetables and flowers that could be sold both in Alexandria and to members of the military.

“One day they sold over 800 bouquets to the soldiers,” Stephens said.

The Civil War walking tours will be available for several months.  For more information, click here.