A House Divided: Philip Fendall II & His Rebel Son
“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” prophetically spoke Abraham Lincoln in his 1858 speech. While the “house” referred to the United States of America, average American homes faced their own great divides in the wake of sectional conflict. Some wanted to stand up for their beliefs, while a few hoped for glory. Some looked forward to the paycheck and others latched onto the propaganda of their times.
In the midst of all this, mothers and fathers wanted to protect their sons, wives worried about widowhood, and children awaited their parents’ return from the faraway front. In Washington, D.C., Philip Fendall II pondered the fate of his three serving sons – and if his Confederate boy would ever come back to the Union.
Philip Richard Fendall II (1794-1868) was a staunch Whig lawyer who served as district attorney for Washington, D.C. twice. The first child to be born at the Lee-Fendall House in Alexandria, and as Robert E. Lee’s first cousin, he was raised among many other Lees and cared for by enslaved labor. Philip emerged as a unique thinker, developing anti-slavery views and representing persons held in bondage at manumission court. He served other notable societal positions, including executive for the Washington National Monument Society and secretary of the American Colonization Society. Philip’s differing politics, however, did not prevent him from enslaving a man named Henry Tate until 1862.
He and his wife Mary Young (1804-1859) had eleven children, ten of whom survived to adulthood.[1] A powerhouse in capital politics, Philip instilled a sense of duty and work ethic in his offspring, especially as sectional divisions threatened Alexandria. He embraced the Republican cause and denounced secession, emancipating Henry when slavery was abolished in the District. Of their seven sons, three fought in the Civil War. In his older age, Philip witnessed two sons help preserve his beloved Union and one defect to the South in rebellion against the family’s values.
Philip Fendall III (1832-1879) became the oldest son when his brother Robert passed away at age three, a few months after Philip III was born. Commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps in 1857, he accrued a storied service aboard several naval vessels during the war as second lieutenant. He was promoted to captain by war’s end and major prior to his death in New Hampshire. Clarence “Claude” Fendall (1836-1868) served in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and produced maps for generals William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. He contracted uremia during the war, which led to his ultimate demise in 1868, seven months after his father’s passing.
James Robert Young Fendall (1838-1867) relocated to New Orleans in 1860 to seek employment, influenced by his uncle Albert Gallatin Brown (former governor of Mississippi and then Confederate senator). Joining “Brown’s Rebels” and later the 18th Mississippi at age 22, he diverged from his father’s creed to side with his mother’s Southern relatives. While Philip III, Claude, and James’s military services are rich in detail and layered with intrigue, we shall focus on James’s relationship with his father Philip – and save those stories for another article!
At war’s end, James was paroled at Mobile, Alabama. He remained in Terry, Mississippi at or near the estate of Uncle Brown. It was clear to James that he would remain in the South rather than return home to Washington, D.C. where his father and several siblings still resided. In a series of letter between Philip and his son James dated between June-September 1865, we can glimpse at not only how the South was torn apart but also the Fendall family in the aftermath of surrender.[2]
On June 10 – the assumed first letter that James sent home since being paroled – he wrote that “Between the yankees and confederates nearly everything has been swept off Mr. B’s [Brown] place and his is now in a worse condition than ever before in his life. The Federals stole, the Confederates impressed and the neighbors plundered Mr. B and all the family moved away, taking part of the negroes with them, and left the plantation to be plundered by every rascal who chose to avail himself of the chance of all authority to restrain his thirty properties…The negroes that now remain do so by their own choice and are liable at anytime to scamper off to one of the large cities, where they huddle together to die like sheep on a brick yard.” While these “rascals” did not represent the large majority of Federal troops stationed in the South, it reflects on James’s disparaging view toward Northern forces. It took Philip himself many decades to come to terms with his position on slavery, exposing his own children to the institution through his ownership of Henry Tate. These additional comments on the enslaved labor being removed or choosing to leave the plantation likely stem from this antebellum upbringing.
James expressed immense frustration at the difficulty in securing a government position. Once an employee at a post office, he finds that some “confederate officers obtained situations in the custom house at Mobile through a New York relative. Indeed one of them informed me that several others were given places under similar circumstances.” He enlisted the help of his older brother, William “Willie” (1834-1871), to research potential employment options at sites that he is familiar with from his law career.
“We have been uncertain for several weeks expecting to hear from one of you,” Philip responded on June 15. The fate of all three of his soldier-sons weighed heavily on his mind. “It will probably be long before the Southern country can [move] from the obstruction influences of the war, so as to re-open the channels of business…I should fear that your remaining there would be very uncomfortable. Would it not be better for you to return home, and rest awhile after your hardships and privations, until you can obtain suitable employment with in this region, or elsewhere? I am very desirous to have you over more at your home, and to talk over with you your plans for the future. Let me know where you are, and to that I will loan money to you. You must need it.”
His son did, in fact, need money. After asking for one hundred dollars, Philip sent double, hoping to secure James’s passage up North which never came to fruition. In the weeks following, Philip ventured to government offices and close connections in Washington to find work for his financially distraught son. All of this, however, was in vain, as some locations where either hesitant to recruit a paroled Confederate or had already promised positions to others.
Another factor negatively impacted James’s prospects of finding stable employment. He refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States upon his parole, essentially “blacklisting” him from viable options. James had a rather sour and skewed view of the state of affairs regarding the oath requirement. “As far as my limited judgement extends I believe it is the policy of the government to fill all offices in Southern States by persons belonging to the south,” he explained to his father on July 7, “President Johnson himself says all offices will be filled by loyal residents of the south as far as practical, and when loyal men cannot be obtained by men from the south.”
While James referred to himself as Southern and stood by his decision to enlist in the Confederate Army, he expressed distaste over some claiming his father’s politics and how incorrect it all feels: “They have no fear of Mr. Brown [Uncle Brown] pointing out to the people the absurdity of these republicans calling themselves whigs; or that he will run for any office. He would not have any office in the state and had ‘washed his hands’ of politics entirely.”
Something changed in James as summer ended. In a September 3 letter home, he enclosed a copy of his signed oath. “In your last letter you direct me to take the last oath and have it recorded at once in Washington. I send it to you as it is very doubtful when the oaths are sent on to Washington by the Governor. You can either retain it or forward it to the State Department,” he instructed.
In a final surviving letter to his son dated September 18, Philip insists “how anxious I am to see you.” His emotional state was clear for all to see: “You must bear it [his circumstances] and continue your efforts to obtain employment. The subject is seldom absent from my mind, but yet I have been unable to think of any feasible.” Even though James would not accept the invitation home, Philip likely felt responsible for his son’s situation and retention in the South. Would things have turned out differently if Philip, in fact, secured a job for James in Washington?
James Fendall never made it back to his family. After contracting tuberculosis, he died alone in New Orleans in 1867, just mere months before Philip died of a stroke. Did James’s premature demise led to his father’s illness? We can only imagine what could have been for the Fendall family. James made his choices, opting to remain in Mississippi and journey to Louisiana. Pride overshadowed sensibility and logic. The “Fendall house” divided against itself could not stand, because the foundation was shattered and the front door was locked.
Endnotes
[1] Philip & Mary’s eleven children: Mary (b.1828), Robert (b.1829), Philip III (b.1832), William (b.1834), Clarence (b.1836), James (b.1838), Florence (b.1841), Arthur (b.1843), Reginald (b.1845), Elizabeth (b.1847), and Stratford (b.1849).
[2] These letters are available at the Lee-Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, VA.
Biography
Madeline Feierstein is an Alexandria, VA historian specializing in psychiatric institutions, hospitals, and prisons. A native of Washington, D.C., her work has been showcased across the Capital Region. As Lead Historian for the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden, Madeline leads efforts to document the sick, injured, and imprisoned soldiers that passed through Civil War Alexandria. Additionally, she supports the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and interprets the burials in Alexandria’s historically rich cemeteries with Gravestone Stories. Madeline holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from George Mason University and a Master’s in American History from Southern New Hampshire University. Explore her research at www.madelinefeierstein.com.
