Arlington National Cemetery History

Introduction
Arlington Cemetery is a national military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Located directly across from Washington, DC, along the Potomac River, the cemetery currently occupies over 624 acres.

More than 280,000 veterans and military casualties from every one of the nation's wars are interred in the cemetery from the American Revolution through the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were buried there after 1900.

Along with Mill Springs National Cemetery, Arlington has the distinction of being the oldest military burial ground in the United States.

Established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna (Custis) Lee, a descendant of Martha Washington.

Approximately four million people visit Arlington National Cemetery each year to view grounds, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and the grave of former President John Fitzgerald Kennedy--marked with an eternal flame.

History
During the American Civil War, casualties from both Union and Confederate sides filled hospitals and the burial grounds near Washington, D.C., the capital of United States and pro-Union forces. U.S. Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs, whose son had died as Union soldier, proposed in 1864 that 200 acres of the Robert E. Lee family property (Lee being the military Commander of Sourthern Forces of confederacy )at Arlington be taken for a cemetery. "The grounds about the mansion", Meigs wrote, "are admirably adapted to such a use." Meigs's proposal passed, and he is reported to have said "Bury them up to the rose garden [of the Lee mansion, named Arlington House]."

By the end of the Civil War more than 16,000 graves filled the spaces near the house. Following the war, a number of civil war generals both Northern and Southern were buried on the grounds which had become a national memorial to those that fought in the conflict.

In 1921, the Tomb of the Unknowns (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day and every hour (every half-hour in summer) a changing of the guard ceremony occurs with a march and salute.

In 1932, current Tomb was completed and opened to the public. It stands on a hill overlooking Washington DC. Made of Yule marble from Colorado, it consists of seven pieces with a total weight of 79 short tons (72 metric tons).

Initially named the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" for the unidentified serviceman from World War I that was interred there. Other unknown servicemen were later buried there, and it became known as the "Tomb of the Unknowns". The soldiers buried there are:
Unknown Soldier of World War I was interred on November 11, 1921.
Unknown Soldier of World War II was interred on May 30, 1958.
Unknown Soldier of the Korean War, was also interred May 30, 1958.
Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War was interred May 28, 1984.

The remains were later identified in 1998 as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, whose family had him reinterred near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been decided that the crypt at the Tomb of the Unknowns that contain remains of the Vietnam Unknown will be left empty.

On May 30, 1968, the first national ceremony for Memorial day took place in Arlington Nation Cemetery by the President Lyndon B. Johnson

Today more than 280,000 people buried, Arlington National Cemetery has the second-largest number of people buried of any national cemetery in the United States. Arlington National Cemetery conducts approximately 6,400 burials each year, on average, 28 burials a day. Flags in Arlington National Cemetery are flown at half-staff from a half hour before the first funeral until a half hour after the last funeral each day.