Arlington National Cemetery  "Lee's Virginia Estate"

Robert E. Lee's home, "Arlington", had been built in 1802 by his wife's father, George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's adopted son. Because of Lee's inability to pay taxes on the property in person during the Civil War, the federal government "acquired" the estate, and in 1864 Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs selected the property to be the site of a military cemetery. The first person interred at Arlington was a Confederate prisoner who had died at a local hospital and was buried on the grounds on May 13, 1864. Meigs specified that the first grave be dug right at Lee's front steps, but his instructions were not followed.

Today, more than 163,000 people are buried in Arlington National Cemetery, including soldiers from almost every war in which the United States has participated- even a few from the American Revolution. Included are graves of famous Union generals and past presidents including William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy.

The grounds of Arlington National Cemetery encompass more than 500 acres in a basically semicircular shape, and the Fields of the Dead follow a pattern that all national cemeteries have used since 1872. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors soldiers from World War 1 and other wars. Also on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery is the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, the statue of Marines raising the American flag at Iwo Jima. The Memorial Amphitheater was dedicated on May 15, 1920 as a place to assemble for Memorial Day services.

Although Lee never returned to Arlington after the war, the house itself now stands as "The Robert E. Lee Memorial." Visitors can tour the interior and exterior of the house and see how it appeared when Lee lived there before the Civil War. From the front porch visitors get an excellent view of the heart of Washington, DC, and its impressive monuments, and stretched before them- within the soil once farmed by the Confederacy's beloved Gen. Robert E. Lee- lie many of our nation's honored soldiers.

Fascinating Fact:  Arlington house's architecture, with its huge Doric columns, was reportedly modeled after the Theseum in Athens, Greece.


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