Arlington National Cemetery is comprised of 624 acres and sits on the
Virginia bank of the Potomac River, opposite Washington, D.C. It was
originally part of the estate of President George Washington
(1732–1799; served 1789–97) and was passed along to his adopted son,
G. W. Parke Custis. Custis’s daughter, Mary Ann, who inherited the estate, married Confederate general Robert E. Lee (1807–1870).
Military hospital erected
The United States seized the estate upon the outbreak of the American
Civil War (1861–65). The military built a fort and a hospital on the site
and the grounds were used as a cemetery. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme
Court declared the property be returned to the Lee family. The family accepted $150,000 payment for the land and it became one of the most
important historical sites maintained by the U.S. government.
The soldiers of every war since the American Revolution
(1775–83) are buried in Arlington National Cemetery, as are distinguished statesmen, including Presidents William Howard Taft
(1857–1930; served 1909–13) and John F. Kennedy (1917–1963;
served 1961–63). Also in the cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns
(also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), which commemorates the dead of both world wars and the Korean War (1950–53). This
shrine sits on top of a hill overlooking Washington, D.C., and was
opened to the public in 1932. The tomb is guarded twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week, by the U.S. Army.