Explore the nation’s most famous national cemetery.
National cemeteries are the final resting places of soldiers lost in active duty, veterans and some of their family members, usually spouses. These cemeteries are found across the country, 171 in total. The Civil War led to national cemeteries being created. In 1862, Congress passed an act that allowed for designated military burial grounds and by the end of that year, fourteen had been created to inter the soldiers lost in during the ongoing conflict.
Arlington National Cemetery, located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., was officially founded on May 13, 1864, when the first soldier was interned on the grounds. Arlington was not an empty plot of land, but the confiscated home of Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The estate was conveniently located right across the Potomac from the Union capitol and high enough above the river that flooding would not be an issue (the Potomac floods a lot). Burying Union soldiers on a Confederate general’s home was just an added bonus. Mary Lee and her daughters abandoned the estate in 1861 right before Union soldiers arrived to capture the property. Arlington House (my next post) was located on top of a large hill, giving a great view of the capitol. Multiple forts, to prevent the Confederate army from capturing the property, and a Freedmen’s village were built on the property. However, Mary Anna’s son, George Washington Custis Lee sued the U.S. government in 1874 for the return of the property. He won his suit and retook the property. Custis Lee was not really into living in a house overlooking a cemetery, so he sold the property back to the U.S. government.
Now that the property officially belonged to the U.S. Government, more burials were allowed to take place. Future wars filled up the original estate and Arlington was later expanded to adjacent federal property. Since the start of the 21st century, property exchanges with local government and outright purchases have allowed the cemetery to keep growing. Hopefully, that will not be needed.
Today, there are around 400,000 graves in Arlington National Cemetery, including a select few from wars before the Civil War. Two U.S. presidents are buried here and countless other notables.
The newly restored Arlington National Bridge, which connects the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington House can be seen on top of the hill which used to be known as Mount Washington.
Arlington is known for its rows and rows of simple white tombstones. Burials here were from the 1960s and has tombs from soldiers that served in World War I and II and Vietnam.
These white tombstones can be found in any national cemetery and some private cemeteries.
The best view of Arlington House. The Kennedy Tombs are located below the hill, in front of Arlington House.
While Arlington is famous for its white tombstones, there are still “normal” tombstones around Arlington House and behind it. Larger tombstones are often for higher ranking military members who supplied their own.
The tombs of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The eternal flame is going. It never has showed up in any of my pictures.
The tomb of Joseph F. Kennedy, the brother of John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968. He is buried not far from his brother.
I explored further while waiting for my Arlington House tour. I found this great memorial in the shape of a book under a tree.
This memorial is for US Correspondents that were lost while reporting wars or conflicts. This is my favorite memorial in Arlington, just because it is so simple.
The Canadian Cross of Sacrifice was dedicated to the US citizens that volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WWI before the US officially entered. Some 40,000 US residents (35,000 citizens) perished while serving in the CEF.
Arlington Memorial Amphitheater sits in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Memorial to the crew of the lost Space Shuttle Columbia.
Another memorial to a lost Space Shuttle. This one is for Challenger. The crew included a teacher, Crista McAuliffe, who was brought along to teach kids about space.
I was a little late for the entire changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has contained the remains of unidentified soldiers. The tomb was created for a unidentified soldier in 1921 from WWI. The tomb doesn’t actually hold any remains. Several small tombs, the marble slabs on the ground, hold the remains. WWI is the left one, Korea the right one and Vietnam the center one, which is now empty after DNA testing identified him.
Arlington is quite hilly. I explored the areas around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and behind Arlington House. There is a copy of the Washington Monument in the middle there.
Behind Arlington House, some of the tombstones become a bit unique. It looks more like a normal cemetery back here.
The tomb of Benjamin Franklin Kelley, who served as a Brigadier General in the Civil War. After the war, he became a civil servant moving between government jobs. His tomb features his face (I like when they do that) and promotes his Civil War service, including that he was injured in 1861.
This weird memorial is the Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial for the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.
A tomb featuring an angel and a boat for a man that served in the Navy.
This rock tomb seems a bit out of place in this cemetery, but these are much more common out in Arizona.
The tomb of John Wesley Powell, the first man to completely run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Even more impressive is that he did that with only one arm, having lost one during the Civil War. Powell also explored the Green and Colorado Rivers and mapped them. He was an early conservationist, telling people that the west was just too dry for agriculture and fights will later break out about water rights. No one listened to him and now the West is drying out and water rights have become a big issue. Lake Powell (a disappearing man-made lake on the Arizona/Utah border) was named after him.
The tomb of John Follin, who joined the Navy at 17 to serve in the Revolutionary War and was held captive by the British for three years. He wasn’t released until the end of the war. He is one of the handful Revolutionary soldiers buried at Arlington.
The tomb of Joseph Carleton, who served in Pulaski’s Legion during the Revolutionary War. He was buried in Georgetown and relocated to Arlington in 1907.
The tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and Sailors from the War of 1812.
The tomb of William Owen O’Neill, mayor of Prescott, Arizona. He died during in the Spanish-American War at San Juan Hill, serving as one of those infamous Rough Riders. I wonder if he knew Theodore Roosevelt.
The tomb of John Rodgers, a commander in the Navy. His tomb has an entire story on the back of the tomb, telling of his service removing mines in the North Sea in 1919, as a pioneer in Naval Aeronautics being the second pilot to fly for the US Navy, participating in an experiment with man-raising kites (he reached 400 ft off a ship by kite), being the first person to visit his parents by plane (1911), serving in a submarine, trying to reach Hawaii by plane (he failed but he established a new non-stop air distance record for seaplanes of 1992 miles (3206 km)), and died when his plane went into the Delaware River in 1926. The tomb on the left is his dad, John A. Rodgers. He was also a very accomplished Navy man.
The tomb of Robert Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln. Robert is Lincoln’s only son not buried with him in Springfield, Illinois. Totally found this by accident.
And last, the tomb of William Howard Taft, former president and chief justice. He is the only former president to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court.
Arlington National Cemetery is a somber place to visit. The park like appearance is similar to many cemeteries across this nation but the rows and rows of white tombstones set it apart. I had visited Arlington two times before this visit, but it was nice to see more of the cemetery outside of the normal visitors’ itinerary. Arlington is probably best not visited in summer. There can be crowds and high temperatures. At least it was not as crowded as the last time I visited.
Check out my next update where I will be exploring Arlington House!
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