Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is a military cemetery first established during the Civil War. The cemetery is located on the former grounds of Arlington House, the estate built in 1802 by George Washington Parke Custis, son of Martha Washington by her first marriage and adopted son of President George Washington. At the start of the Civil War in 1860, Arlington House was owned by General Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Anna Custis Lee, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis. When Virginia seceded from the Union and General Lee joined the Confederacy, he was regarded as a traitor by the Union and Federal troops crossed the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. to occupy Arlington. The cemetery, now stretching over the rolling hills in the shadow of the Custis-Lee Mansion, was established by order of the Secretary of War in 1864, and today continues to inter the remains of honored veterans, servicemen and women, and civilians who meet special criteria for burial.

• Witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns
• Visit the Eternal Flame at President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite
• See the memorials to the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters
• Silently respect the service of those in Arlington, where remains from all wars America has participated in are buried

For more information, visit the official website at www.arlingtoncemetery.org.