Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is situated on the former estate of Mary Anna Custis Lee, the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Union Army seized the strategic high ground overlooking Washington, D.C., in 1861. As the war progressed and casualties mounted, the need for burial space became desperate, leading Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs to propose the estate's conversion into a military cemetery to ensure the Lees could never return. The first military burial took place on May 13, 1864, for Private William Christman, and the grounds were officially designated as a national cemetery by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton later that year. Over the decades, the site expanded from a burial ground for Civil War soldiers to a premier national shrine honoring veterans from every major American conflict, including the Revolutionary War. Today, it spans over 600 acres and serves as the final resting place for more than 400,000 active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. The cemetery’s landscape is punctuated by significant monuments, most notably the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which has been guarded 24 hours a day since 1937. It remains an active cemetery, conducting between 27 and 30 funeral services each weekday, blending its role as a historic landmark with its ongoing mission of providing a dignified final resting place for the nation’s heroes. Visitors come from across the globe to witness the solemn Changing of the Guard ceremony and pay their respects at the Eternal Flame of President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite.