ARLINGTON HISTORY

Arlington House
           Arlington Cemetery surronds Arlington House, which is today the Robert E. Lee Memorial.  The house was built by Martha Washington's grandson, George Washinton Parke Custis.  His daughter Mary Anna married Robert E. Lee, who became the leader of the Confederate Armies.
           Lee left Arlington House to serve in the Civil War in April 1861 and never returned.  Arlington House became an armed camp and headquarters for Union forces.  Part of the property was taken for a cemetery for Union soldiers.
           The Lee family lost claim to the mansion in 1864 because they didn't pay their taxes.  Later, the government paid $150,000 for the property. It became a settlement for freed slaves, and later a farm.
Presidents at Arlington
           Only two presidents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery:  William Howard Taft and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
            Taft's monument is 14 1/2 feet tall.  His wife, Helen, is also buried there.
             Kennedy's grave is marked by an eternal flame (a flame that is never put out).   Also buried there are two of his children and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  His brothers Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy are buried nearby.
Who else rests there?
            Nineteen of our country's astronauts are buried at Arlington.  Sixty-two people from other countries also are laid to rest there.  Twenty-four of them are British.
            Pierre Charles L'Enfant's grave is also found at Arlington.  L'Enfant was born in Paris and served in the U.S. Army during the Revolutionary War.  George Washington asked him to help design the city of Washington, D.C.  Today his monument overlooks the city of Washington.