Lt. Col. John Augustine Washington, lll

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• John Augustine Washington, III was a Confederate States Army Officer, and great - grandnephew of George Washington. He was also the last Washington to own "Mount Vernon". In 1840 he graduated from the University of Virginia. Three years later he married Eleanor Love Selden (1824 - 1860). He purchased a farm in Fauquier County, Virginia called "Waveland" where he made his home. His wife died in 1860 from childbirth. .
• Listed as a farmer in the 1850 Federal Census, Fairfax, Virginia.
• Listed as a farmer in the 1860 Federal Census, South West Revenue District, Fauquier, VA.
• When Virginia seceded from the Union, John volunteered to defend Virginia in the oncoming conflict. Entered the Confederate Army as Aide de Camp on the Staff of Gen. R. E. Lee, with the rank of Lieut. Colonel. In a letter written on September 6th 1861 to his brother-in-law, Dr. W. Fountain Alexander from the "Camp of Valley Mountain" John expresses his concerns of his own survival. "…I don't know when I shall leave this region, or indeed whether I ever shall do so, as of course my chances are the same as those of other men, and I know some of us will never get away…" signed, "Most Affectionately yours, John A. Washington". He died one week later, killed at Cheat Mountain, W. VA, while on a scout (sic). He was reportedly shot by a bushwacker.
• He had been a close friend of General Robert E. Lee.

Notes

• Mt. Vernon by inheritance from his mother, Jane Charlotte, and sold it three years later. He was the last private owner of the estate of President George Washington. For many years, however, he had shared responsibilities with his mother for running both Blakeley and Mt. Vernon. To preserve it he sold it to the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association in 1858.
• On September 13th, 1861, he was killed at Elk Water on Cheat Mountain, when he reconnoitered too far into enemy-held territory. A distant relative to John Augustine, through the Lees, and a childhood friend, Gen. Lee was hit hard by one of the first personal losses he would experience in the War.

Sources:

1. Stella Pickett Hardy, "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America: A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families Who Settled in the Colonies prior to the Revolution," Baltimore, MD: Southern Book Co., 1958.

Find A Grave Memorial # 6045745.

Links: http://www.palmspringsbum.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I132...

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6045745

Birth: May 3, 1820 Death: Sep. 13, 1861

Lt. Col. CSA Last private owner of Mount Vernon.

Birth: May 3, 1821 Death: Sep. 13, 1861

Confederate States Army Officer. Great grandnephew of George Washington and the last Washington to own "Mount Vernon". In 1840 he graduated from the University of Virginia. Three years later he married Eleanor Love Seldon. He purchased a farm in Fauquier County, Virginia called "Waveland" where he made his home. His wife died in 1860 from childbirth. When Virginia seceded from the Union John volunteered to defend Virginia in the oncoming conflict. He served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Robert E. Lee in the campaign of western Virginia. He was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel on this campaign. While reconnoitering in the Cheat Mountains of now West Virginia he was shot by a bushwhacker and killed. In a letter written on September 6th 1861 to his brother-in-law, Dr. W. Fountain Alexander from the "Camp of Valley Mountain" John expresses his concerns of his own survival. "…I don't know when I shall leave this region, or indeed whether I ever shall do so, as of course my chances are the same as those of other men, and I know some of us will never get away…"signed, "Most Affectionately yours, John A. Washington". He died one week later. (bio by: stars&bars)