Thousands of students visit Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC every year to see the Tomb of the Unknowns, the grave site of President John F. Kennedy, and many other important memorials, making it one of the most popular sites in our nation’s capital.
Arlington National Cemetery also provides a wonderful lesson in American history. In fact, the story of the evolution of the Custis-Lee Mansion or ‘Arlington House’ remains a fascinating and educational chapter in American history.
The only home in Arlington National Cementary, Arlington House, was built by George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of the first President of the United States, George Washington. He intended to name it Mount Washington, as a memorial to his father. Eventually, however, it was given the name of the Custis family ancestral estate in the Virginia tidewater area.
The estate was designed by George Hadfield, who had helped construct the U.S. Capitol Building. It took Hadfield 16 years to complete the Greek revival design. The north wing was completed in 1802 and served as Custis' home. Part of it was also used to store George Washington memorabilia, including portraits, personal papers, and clothing.
When the south wing was completed in 1804, Arlington House was nothing more than a set of detached buildings. It wasn’t until 1818 that the house was operational when the central section was completed and linked the two wings. The central section contained a dining room and sitting room, a large hall and a parlor. One of the most recognizable features of the central section was the eight columns of the exterior portico, each 5 feet in diameter at the base.
In the mean time, George Washington Parke Custis had married Mary Lee Fitzhugh (1804) and they were living in the partially completed home. They remained there for the duration of their lives and were buried on the property.
George and Mary had one child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis. On June 30, 1831 she married her childhood friend and distant cousin, Robert E. Lee and they moved into Arlington House.
From 1841 and 1857, Robert E. Lee served in the Mexican War under General Winfield Scott, and then became the Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After his father-in-law died in 1857, Lee returned to Arlington to join his family and to serve as executor of the estate. The Lees’ lived at Arlington House until 1861. When Virginia ratified an alliance with the Confederacy and seceded from the Union, Robert entered the Civil War as the general of the Confederacy.
In 1863 Mrs. Lee was unable to pay her property taxes and the property was confiscated by the federal government. It was offered for public sale Jan. 11, 1864, and was purchased by a tax commissioner for "government use, for war, military, charitable and educational purposes."
Arlington National Cemetery was established after Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, who commanded the garrison at Arlington House, appropriated the grounds June 15, 1864, for use as a military cemetery. His intention was to render the house uninhabitable should the Lee family ever attempt to return. Among the first monuments to Union dead was a stone and masonry burial vault in the rose garden that contained the remains of 1,800 Bull Run casualties.
After the Civil War, the oldest son of Robert E. Lee, George Washington Custis Lee went to court and argued that the land had been illegally confiscated and that and should be returned to its legal owner. In December 1882, in a historic U.S. Supreme Court decision, the property was returned.
This fascinating story spanning nearly 85 year came to an end on March 3, 1883, when Congress purchased the property from Lee for $150,000 and turned it into Arlington National Cemetary.
Today, Arlington National Cemetery, steeped in history, remains a place worthy of a visit during student group travel to the Washington, D.C., area.