and much of the interior wood paneling had been removed for firewood. In addition, the surrounding forests had been cut down for fuel, the gardens and several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and the lawn had been used as a graveyard. Some of their furniture had been evacuated, but the transport boat sank in the Rappahannock, ruining much of it. Over the subsequent years, the Union Burial Corps removed many soldiers' remains from the gardens and lawn for reburial at the new national cemetery in Fredericksburg. Unable to maintain their home properly without enslaved people, they moved to their house known as "Ellwood" and sold Chatham in 1872 to a Pennsylvania banker for $23,900. Betty Lacy helped found the Ladies Memorial Association of Fredericksburg, establishing the Confederate Cemetery, and her husband traveled and made speeches to raise money. The property had a succession of owners until the 1920s when General Daniel Bradford Devore (1860–1956) and his wife, Helen Stewart Devore, undertook its restoration (and made significant changes). Their restoration re-oriented the house away from the west front on the river (no longer the main transportation route); the east entrance became the main entrance, easily reached by automobile. They also added a large, walled English-style garden designed by the noted landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman on the east side. As a result of the DeVores' efforts, Chatham regained its place among Virginia's finest homes. However, the DeVores sold Chatham in 1931 to move to Washington D.C., where they built a townhouse later also designated a historic site (and once offered to become the official residence of the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). Today the house and the of surrounding grounds are open to the public. The last private owners, Northern Neck native and General Motors executive John Lee Pratt and his wife, purchased the Chatham estate (shrunken to 256 acres) from the Devores in 1931 for $150,000 cash. They were looking ahead to retirement. During World War II, Pratt served as one of President Roosevelt's "dollar-a-year" men. Pratt met and had as visitors Generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower, among many others, essentially to get away from Washington to relax and go duck hunting. Chatham's distinction thus continued during their ownership, as the Pratts did retire to the home and used it as a working "gentleman's" farm. However, he continued to serve on the General Motors Board of Directors