This article's lead sectionmay be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(December 2024)
Foster ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1838.[3] In 1840, he was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventhCongress (March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843).[4] During his term, Foster was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury.[5] He did not run for reelection in 1842.
Later career
Memorial marker over the grave of A. Lawrence Foster at Glenwood Cemetery.
After the Civil War he returned to Fairfax, and was appointed one of three U.S. Tax Commissioners for the northern part of the state after Virginia was readmitted to the Union.[10] In this capacity he was responsible for the sale to the federal government of the Robert E. Lee estate, which is now Arlington National Cemetery.[11]
Death and burial
Foster's health began to fail in the 1870s, after which he resided in Washington, D.C. He died there on May 21, 1877, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.[12]
Legacy
In the 1890s, his heirs petitioned Congress to compensate them nearly $29,000 (over $712,000 in 2009) for Foster's property and supplies that were used by the Union Army or destroyed by the Confederacy. In the early 1900s the United States Court of Claims authorized partial payment to resolve the case.[13]
