The place was not without historic interest, as the scene of Washington's first interview with Martha Custis, who afterward became his wife.

He was married either at St.Peter's Church near by, or in the house which originally stood on the site of the one now destroyed by the Federal forces.

Its historic associations thus failed to protect the White House, and, like Arlington, it fell a sacrifice to the pitiless hand of war.
From this species of digression we come back to the narrative of public events, and the history of the great series of battles which were to make the banks of the Chickahominy historic ground.

On taking command, Lee had assiduously addressed himself to the task of increasing the efficiency of the army: riding incessantly to and fro, he had inspected with his own eyes the condition of the troops; officers of the commissary, quartermaster, and ordnance departments were held to a strict accountability; and, in a short time, the army was in a high state of efficiency.
"What was the amount of the Confederate force under command of Lee ?" it may be asked.

The present writer is unable to state this number with any thing like exactness.