Chatham is the only house in America to be visited by both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In the 1700s it was owned by William Fitzhugh, a wealthy planter and politician. Fitzhugh employed 100 slaves some of whom revolted in 1805, when an overseer tried to get them to go back to work after the Christmas holiday. Three men died in the incident. Chatham is best-known for its role in the Civil War when it served the Union army as both a headquarters and hospital. Clara Barton and Walt Whitman were both at the house during the war.