Part of the property was used as a Freedman’s Village where former slaves received assistance after their liberation.Īs the number of casualties climbed during the Civil War, the federal government needed additional cemetery space to inter the dead. Federal troops incorporated the land into their defensive fortifications around Washington. With the secession of Virginia from the Union, the family evacuated the property.

In 1857, the property was bequeathed to his daughter Mary Anna Randolph Custis who had married Robert E. He built the Arlington House as a memorial to the nation’s first president. History of an Honored CemeteryĪrlington National Cemetery occupies land once owned by George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted grandson of Martha and George Washington. The cemetery, Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Hemicycle and Arlington House make up the Arlington National Cemetery Historic District that was added to the National Historic Register in 2014. Still an active burial ground, it conducts over 25 funerals each weekday. This national landmark is the country’s largest and most important military cemetery. The hallowed ground serves as the final resting place for numerous presidents, Supreme Court justices, astronauts and other public servants, including more than 400,000 military personnel, veterans and their immediate families. Overlooking the nation’s capital from its serene 624-acre hilltop perch, Arlington National Cemetery is located on the resplendent west bank of the Potomac River. Learn about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

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