Dedication of Plaque at the Mount Eagle Mansion Site

  On June 1, a plaque was dedicated marking the site of the Mount Eagle Mansion on the Montebello Condominium grounds in Alexandria.  This was the home built by Bryan Fairfax in 1790 and stood until it was razed in 1968 after being used for several purposes, including a country club.   George Washington was a friend of the Fairfax family and attended a dinner here the week before his death in 1799.   
 
Bryan Fairfax was the 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and in fact, was the first member of the House of Lords born in America.  Fairfax’s feelings were torn between England and America during the Revolutionary War.  On his own in 1777, he decided to be a mediator between the two sides.  He was arrested in Lancaster, PA, for refusing to sign a loyalty oath.  However, he wrote to his good friend, George Washington, who gave him a pass to travel between the lines.  In New York, British officials also required a loyalty oath, which he refused to take.  With his mediation attempts a failure, he returned to Virginia for the remainder of the war.   In the 1790s, he became Rector of Christ Church in Alexandria and lived at the Mount Eagle estate until his death in 1802.
 
The plaque was designed and funded by Montebello residents Paul Zeisset and Chuck Amorisino.  Fairfax County Supervisor Dan Storck also participated in the dedication.  Montebello residents and George Washington Compatriots Lisle Bean and Paul Walden also attended. Submitted by Paul Walden.