On this day in history, June 15, 1864, Arlington National Cemetery, our nation’s honorable military burial ground, was officially established.
The national cemetery began with the seizure of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s hilltop home after he defected to the Confederacy during the Civil War, notes History.com.
The cemetery’s origins in Virginia go back to just before the Civil War.
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George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of President George Washington, owned a 1,100-acre plantation and constructed on it a memorial to President Washington named Arlington House.
It held the world’s largest collection of memorabilia related to the president, states the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
A trumpeter from the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Band plays “Taps” during military funeral honors for a U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, on Feb. 23, 2023. (U.S. Army Photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
“Ownership of his estate passed to Custis’ daughter, who had married Robert E. Lee, and they lived in Arlington House for more than 30 years,” says the same source.
Lee, a native Virginian, reportedly spent the night in his then-home, Arlington Estate, as he deliberated whether to lead the Union Army — or fight for his home state’s Confederacy.
He resigned from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861, the same source stated.
“With the high hilltop position overlooking Washington, D.C., Lee knew the Union forces were likely to seize the property.”
“He left for Richmond, Virginia, the next day, and told his wife, the great-granddaughter of first lady Martha Washington, to vacate their house,” said History.com.
“With the high hilltop position overlooking Washington, D.C., Lee knew the Union forces were likely to seize the property, which was in a mostly rural area at the time.”
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Although Mrs. Lee first resisted, she accepted the inevitable Union takeover of the family estate.
On May 24, 1864, Union troops moved into Arlington and occupied the house, multiple sources note.
Memorial Day flags are shown in front of gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The first soldier was buried in Arlington in May 1864. (iStock)
Because of ill will against the South held by Union Brig. Gen. Montgomery Meigs, and the need for burial space for the Union dead, this commander of forces at Arlington urged the federal government to convert 200 acres of Lee’s property into a cemetery, reports U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The first soldier was buried in Arlington in May 1864.
By the end of the Civil War, 16,000 graves filled the spaces close to Arlington House, the same source recounts.
Within a year, more than 5,000 soldiers, mainly privates, were buried there.
William Henry Christman on May 13, 1864, according to History.com, was the first person to be buried in Arlington. The native of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania died of measles and had only served in the Army about 60 days, the same source said.
“About a month later, on June 15, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered that the new cemetery become Arlington National Cemetery, which at the time was about 200 acres. Within a year, more than 5,000 soldiers, mainly privates, were buried there,” says History.com.
Gen. Meigs, who died on Jan. 2, 1892, was laid to rest at Arlington, along with his wife, father and son, says the Library of Congress.
A bird flies away as a U.S. Army bugler plays taps during a full-honors funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in November 2014. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Arlington became a segregated cemetery, just like all national cemeteries at the time. It remained segregated by race and rank until 1948, when President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military, says the official site of Arlington National Cemetery.
The first official “Decoration Day,” later renamed Memorial Day, was held at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868.
Two U.S. presidents are buried at Arlington.
This tradition continues today — and is one reason that Arlington went from being one of many national cemeteries and became the premier national military cemetery, says Arlington National Cemetery’s official site.
Another important milestone in the cemetery’s history is the creation of The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was dedicated on Nov. 11, 1921, with interment of the Unknown from World War I, the same site recounted.
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Two U.S. presidents are buried at Arlington.
President William Howard Taft was buried at Arlington in 1930, and President John F. Kennedy became the second on Nov. 25, 1963, according to multiple sources.
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Today, the cemetery comprises 639 acres. Some 400,000 veterans and their eligible dependents are interred, noted History.com.
