Martin Buchanan left Oatlands in 1863 and enlisted in Company G of the 2nd United States Colored Infantry. He served throughout the Civil War. He returned to Loudoun, bought property in nearby Gleedsville, and raised a family there. A descendant of the Buchanans has served their country in every war since.
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Philip, John & James Buchanan, WWII
Three of Martin Buchanan’s grandsons, served in World War II. From left to right: Philip in the Navy; John in the Army; and James in the Air Force. James, shown here in his chauffeur uniform, worked as a chauffeur for the Eustis and Finley families until the early 1970s.
William Eustis, WWI
William Eustis served as the personal secretary to General Pershing during the First World War.
Valentine B. Johnson, WWI
Valentine B. Johnson served during World War I and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He was killed during the War and is memorialized on the WWI monument on the courthouse lawn. Sadly, he and his cousin, Sandy Johnson, as well as African American men across the country,were honored for their war service on monuments that segregate their names from the white soldiers who served. Despite fighting for their country, the war’s survivors returned home to segregated schools, restaurants, and other barriers that did not recognize them as equal citizens.
George Carter and the Introduction of Slavery to Oatlands
George Carter’s grandfather, Robert “King” Carter, started the Carter family dynasty in Virginia. He was born at Corotoman Plantation in Lancaster County, Virginia, to John Carter (1613–1669) of London, England, and Sarah Ludlow (1635–1668) of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, immigrants to the colony of Virginia.
At age 28, Robert Carter entered the General Assembly of Virginia as a Burgess from Lancaster County. In 1726, as President of the Governor’s Council, he served as acting Governor of Virginia after the death of Governor Hugh Drysdale. As an agent of Lord Fairfax – Carter served two terms totaling nearly 20 years, as agent for the Fairfax Proprietary of the Northern Neck of Virginia. He began to acquire large tracts of land for himself in the Rappahannock River region of Virginia. Carter acquired some 20,000 acres (81 km2), including the 6,000-acre (24 km2) Nomini Hall Plantation, also spelled “Nomoni” or “Nominy.”
When Carter became representative of Fairfax’s interests again in 1722, serving from 1722 to 1732, he secured for his children and grandchildren about 110,000 acres in the Northern Neck, as well as additional land in Virginia west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Carter died on 4 August 1732, in Lancaster County, Virginia. He was buried there at Christ Church. He left his family 300,000 acres of land; 3,000 slaves, counted as personal property; and £10,000 in cash, as stated in the academic genealogical study, A Genealogy of the Known Descendants of Robert Carter of Corotoman (1982), written by Florence Tyler Carlton.
Robert Carter III was the grandson of Robert “King” Carter. Also known as Councilor Carter because of his service on the Governor’s council in Williamsburg, one of the large landholdings Robert Carter III inherited from his father was the 11,000 acre Goose Creek tract in Loudoun County. Councilor never lived on the tract; rather, he leased the land to numerous tenant farmers who paid him an annual rent.
In addition to the Goose Creek tract, Councilor had numerous landholdings throughout Virginia, encompassing tens of thousands of acres, and he enslaved over 500 people. Over the course of his life, he came to view slavery as immoral and in 1791 he filed a Deed of Emancipation in Northumberland County, Virginia, for the gradual manumission of the people he enslaved. The laws at that time permitted enslavers to free the people they held in bondage as long as certain conditions were met. Councilor’s “Deed of Gift”, as it is known, is believed to be the largest private emancipation in American history, and one that is not well-known.
None of Carter’s ten surviving children shared their father’s belief about the institution of slavery. In 1798, his son, George Carter, inherited 3,400 acres of the Goose Creek tract and landholdings in Fairfax and Prince William counties. By the 1800 census, George is recorded as enslaving 17 people on his Loudoun property. It was on this land that he established his farm that he named Oatlands and constructed on Goose Creek a large grist mill, saw mill, nail factory, and the county’s only known oil mill for pressing flaxseed. In 1817 he successfully petitioned his neighbor and newly-elected president, James Monroe, to establish a post office at the mill site. This enclave of businesses became a thriving commercial hub which continued into the mid-20th century.
George Carter’s success as a farmer and businessman was dependent on enslaved labor. Enslaved men, women and children farmed the land, tended the 4 ½ acres of garden near the house, cared for the family, and probably worked at the mills. The number of people held in bondage grew from 17 in 1800 to 133 recorded in the 1860 census, right before the start of the American Civil War.
Carter died in 1846, and his wife Elizabeth O. Carter continued to run the plantation as her husband did – with the help of overseers, farm managers, and enslaved labor. She kept a diary from 1861 to 1872, recording the temperature, wind direction, and everyday activities at Oatlands and Bellefield, her other plantation that was near Upperville. Her entries include numerous references to certain enslaved people, probably those who were domestic slaves with proximity to the family and those who provided domestic or personal tasks outside of the house. From the diary we get a glimpse of life during and after the Civil War.
Martin VanBuren Buchanan of Gleedsville, Virginia
Martin VanBuren Buchanan was born in Gleedsville, Virginia between 1842 and 1845. Located outside of Leesburg, Gleedsville is northeast of Oatlands through fields and wooded areas. Martin’s father was Robert Buchanan, an enslaved man at Oatlands, while his mother, Mahala Jackson, was a free woman. By Virginia laws of the day, Martin’s status in life followed that of his mother, and so he was born free.
In his young life, Martin was employed at Oatlands with his father, but he left in 1863.
It was as a free man that Martin enlisted in the Union Army’s newly formed 2nd Infantry U.S. Colored Troops, Company G when he was around 21 years old. Attached to the District of Key West in Florida, this unit was eventually sent to the Gulf Coast area and saw duty in Louisiana and Mississippi as well as Florida.
The risk taken in volunteering for service was great. Martin and those he served with, faced possible execution if captured by Confederate forces. They also received about 30% less than their white counterparts, and were in some cases made to pay for a uniform “allowance” and worked with substandard equipment and training.
Nonetheless, Martin VanBuren Buchanan and some 180,000 other Black men risked everything to fight for freedom on the side of the Union. After the War, Martin returned to Virginia, and to Oatlands where he and his father, worked together once again, this time both as free men. In Gleedsville, where he helped construct the Mount Olive Episcopal Church, Martin married Amelia Gleed, and raised a family.
Today and everyday, we honor Martin VanBuren Buchanan and all those who serve our country.
Thank you to Ellen Young for guest writing this blog.
Remembering the Enslaved of Oatlands
If you are looking for a place where you and your family can learn and discuss more about our American history and the impact of slavery, we invite you to visit Oatlands Historic House and Gardens. Oatlands has been a cultural hub in Loudoun County through its historical association with powerful names like Carter, Corcoran, Eustis, Roosevelt and more. Some of the most impactful people are those whose names are forgotten—but whose presence is evident if you take a closer look.
We encourage you to visit and take an Enslaved Tour, part of our ongoing initiative dedicated to sharing the stories the enslaved African American community was denied to tell.By 1860, the Carters were the largest slave owners in Loudoun County. They owned 133 enslaved men, women and children. These men, women and children were responsible for building an agricultural enterprise that gave Carter great success. Just one visible example of the enslaved community’s labor is the brick that make up a great deal of our landscape.
The brick structures that were built by enslaved labor include the historic mansion, the Dairy/Bachelors Cottage, the Smokehouse and the Carter Barn—the hub of all plantation business.
Today, the one-story Smokehouse where the enslaved stored and preserved meat products is where we preserve and give light to the Reclaim Your Story exhibit, a project funded by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation with support from the JPB Foundation.
We ask guests to consider the skill and effort a person would have had to go through in making the red bricks that have lasted over 200 years. When you touch the walls of the brick buildings, you are touching the same brick that was handled by an enslaved person. An enslaved person dug the clay meant to make thousands of bricks. An enslaved person stacked the bricks to construct the mansion, the Smoke House the garden buildings, two barns and the large grain mill on Goose Creek. When you touch one of these bricks at Oatlands, you are touching a piece of our collective American history!
On April 11, 2015, Oatlands partnered with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun (UUCL) and the Loudoun Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee to dedicate two Civil War Trails markers focusing on the enslaved at Oatlands. It was a chance for the descendants to share stories and fill in some of the faded names of their family tree. And has turned into an enlightening annual reunion at Oatlands. Sadly, this reunion was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If you are looking for a place where you and your family can learn and discuss more about our American history and the impact of slavery, we invite you to visit Oatlands Historic House and Gardens. Oatlands has been a cultural hub in Loudoun County through its historical association with powerful names like Carter, Corcoran, Eustis, Roosevelt and more. Some of the most impactful people are those whose names are forgotten—but whose presence is evident if you take a closer look.
Commodore Charles Morris
Once the United States won its independence, it lost the protection of the British Royal Navy. The fledgling country had to take on the task of protecting its own ships and interests at sea. A strong Naval force was essential in protecting independence and establishing strategic allies. One instrumental figure in the natal stages of the U.S. Navy, was Commodore Charles Morris. Morris was William Eustis’ maternal great-grandfather.
Born in Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1784, Morris joined the Navy at the age of 15, during the Quasi-War with France. His Naval career spanned 57 years and marked many key points in U.S. Navy military history. In 1804, Morris is said to have been at Stephen Decatur’s side during the fabled burning of the captured Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor.
During the War of 1812, he was second in command to Isaac Hull when the USS Constitution defeated HMS Guerriere.
Once promoted to commodore, Morris served twice in the South Atlantic, flying his flag in the frigate Constellation in 1819-1820, and ship of the line Delaware in 1841-44. He served in many key posts, including Navy Commissioner between 1823-1827, Chief of the Bureau of Construction Equipment and Repairs from 1844-1847. He died in Washington D.C. on January 27, 1856.
Today, the Morris name is remembered through ships, such as the USS Morris and USS Commodore Morris, as well as the Charles Morris Court within the Washington Navy Yard.
The Oatlands Connection Explained
In 1835, his daughter Louise elopes and marries William Wilson Corcoran, a philanthropist and banker who co-founded Riggs Bank. Louise and William had three children, of which only one survived into adulthood. This child is Louise Morris Corcoran, who later marries George Eustis Jr.
Louise and George had two sons and one daughter. One of their sons, William Corcoran Eustis, married Edith Livingston Morton and together they modernized the Oatlands mansion.