Posted on March 8, 2010.
Visit to Arlington National Cemetery is a history lesson For the four million people who visit Arlington National Cemetery each year, the reasons for making the trip vary.
Some may simply see a chance to walk among headstones that chronicle the cost of war in very personal terms. Others remember and honor the heroes of the nation's war fallen. And there are personal "goodbye" that occur during the funeral for a family member or friend.
Veterans and exceptional individuals buried at Arlington represents a cross section of Americans who lived in the Revolutionary War to current military action abroad. From the point of view of visitors to the area of Washington, DC, the reason most sacred fallen American military burial is one of the most visited sites.
A visit of at least two hours is recommended for those who choose to include Arlington on a route of travel of groups of students. Among the highlights of any visit, is the tomb of unknown soldiers and the gravesite of President John F Kennedy.
Arlington National Cemetery has been operational since May 1864, at the funeral recently averaged 27 per workday, some of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, other graves of aging World War II veterans and others.
Renovations of the showroom and the development of some 40 acres of land are among the recent activities have taken place in Arlington National Cemetery.
If Arlington House seems out of place among the more than 250,000 military graves, standing on a hillside in Virginia and rising above the Potomac River as it overlooks the capital, it is possible that the estate had not intended to be a national cemetery.
In fact, Arlington House was built by George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of President George Washington, and was originally to be called Mount Washington, a memorial to the adoptive father Custis. Eventually, however, he was given the name of the Custis family ancestral estate in the tidal zone in Virginia.
The estate was designed by George Hadfield, who had helped build the U.S. Capitol. It should Custis 16 years to complete the Greek Revival design.
The first building was created in the north wing, which was completed in 1802 and served as home Custis. Some was also used to store George Washington memorabilia, including portraits, personal papers and clothing.
Even after the south wing was completed in 1804, Arlington House was more a set of isolated buildings. With the completion of the central section in 1818, the house stretched 140 feet north of the south wing. Services include a central dining room and lounge, large dining room and lounge. One of the most recognizable features of the section is eight columns of the portico outside, every 5 meters in diameter at the base.
George Washington Parke Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh in 1804 and they lived in Arlington House for the rest of their lives. They were buried together on the property. On June 30, 1831, only child Custis, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married her childhood friend and distant cousin, Robert E. Lee.
Between 1841 and 1857, Lee was away from Arlington House for several extended periods, serving in the Mexican War under General Winfield Scott, and as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After his stepfather has died in 1857, Lee returned to Arlington to join his family and serve as executor of the estate.
In the words of his father's will, Mary Anna Custis Lee was given the right to inhabit and control the house for the rest of his life. Custis' will also stipulated that the death of Anna Mary, full ownership would be transferred to his eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee. Robert E. Lee A.
