Arlington National Cemetery was established on 13 May 1864, during theAmerican Civil War after Arlington Estate, the land on which the cemetery was built, was confiscated by theU.S. federal government from the private ownership ofConfederate States Army generalRobert E. Lee's family following a tax dispute over the property. The cemetery is managed by theU.S. Department of the Army. As of 2024, it conducts approximately 27 to 30 funerals each weekday and between six and eight services on Saturday, or 141 to 158 per week.[2]
In 1818, Arlington House was completed. Custis initially intended the house to serve as a home and memorial toGeorge Washington, his foster father, but Washington died on 14 December 1799. Custis' will granted a life inheritance of the house to his wife, allowing her to live at and run Arlington House for the rest of her life but prohibiting her from selling any portion of it.[6] Following his wife's death, Arlington House, then known as the Custis-Lee Mansion, was passed on to her eldest grandson,George Washington Custis Lee.[6][5]
Five days after Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the national capital, on 20 April,Robert E. Lee, embracing the cause of Virginia's separation from theUnion, resigned hisU.S. Army commission to lead Virginia's separatist armed forces; the following year, on 1 June 1862, Lee was appointed commander of theArmy of Northern Virginia, the Confederate Army's primary military force.[7]
On 3 May 1861, GeneralWinfield Scott orderedBrigadier GeneralIrvin McDowell to clear all troops not loyal to the Union from Arlington and neighboringAlexandria.[9] On 7 May 1861, however, the Confederate-alignedVirginia militia captured Arlington and Arlington House.[10] With Confederate forces occupying the high ground of Arlington, the neighboring national capital inWashington, D.C. was left vulnerable to Confederate Army attack.[11]
Despite not wanting to leave Arlington House, Mary Lee believed her estate would soon be recaptured by Union soldiers. On 14 May, she buried many of her family treasures on the grounds, and then left for her sister's estate atRavensworth in present-dayFairfax County, Virginia.[12][13] Some of the personal property she buried included family portraits that were stolen by Union soldiers.[14] McDowell occupied Arlington without opposition on 24 May.[15]
Beginning in 1863, the federal government used the southern portion of the land now occupied by the cemetery as a settlement for freed slaves, giving the land the name "Freedman's Village". The government constructed rental houses that 1,100 to 3,000 freed slaves eventually occupied while farming 1,100 acres (450 ha) of the estate and receiving schooling and occupational training, both during the Civil War and after its end.[16][17]
In May 1864, theUnion Army suffered large fatalities in theBattle of the Wilderness. Quartermaster GeneralMontgomery C. Meigs ordered a review of eligible sites for the establishment of a large and new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area.[8] The property was located at a relatively high elevation and was typically free from floods capable of unearthing graves, and it was aesthetically pleasing. An additional factor in its selection was likely that it was the residence of Robert E. Lee, a leader in the Confederate States Army, and denying Lee use of his home during and following the war was advantageous to the Union.[18]
On 13 May 1864,William Henry Christman was buried at Arlington Cemetery,[19] close to what is now the northeast gate in Section 27,[20] even though Meigs did not formally authorize establishment of burials until the following month, on 15 June 1864.[21] Consistent with the practices of many cemeteries in the late 19th century, Arlington Cemetery maintained segregated burial practices. On 26 July 1948, however,U.S. presidentHarry S. Truman issuedExecutive Order 9981, which formally reversed this practice.[22]
In 1864, with the Civil War still ongoing, the Union acquired Arlington Cemetery for $26,800, equivalent to $538,794 in 2024, after the property was placed for tax sale.[23] Mrs. Lee did not appear in person for the tax sale, but sent an agent, who attempted to pay the $92.07 allegedly owed in property taxes, equivalent to $1,851 in 2024, which had been assessed on the estate.[24] The Union government, however, turned her agent away, and refused to accept the tendered payment. The Washington Chronicle described the Freedmen's Village at Arlington in an article published in September 1864 and recorded at that time, "This cemetery is at present divided into the upper yard and the lower yard. The upper yard contains fourteen hundred graves, and the lower twelve hundred. These graves are marked with wooden slabs, with the exception of one marble slab in the upper and one in the lower yard. As we passed by it, a cortege of five ambulances, containing nine coffins, moved by. Some of the coffins were draped with our colors. The cemetery is as yet enclosed with a wooden fence."[25]
In 1866,The Old Bell Church, led byRev. Robert S. Laws, was founded.[26] After Freedman's Village became part of a military reservation, the government asked the villagers to leave. In 1887, however, some still remained, and John A. Commerford, the Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, asked the U.S. Army's Quartermaster General to close the village on the grounds that people living in it had been taking trees at night from the cemetery for use as firewood.[27][28] The Quartermaster General and theSecretary of War then approved Commerford's request.[27]
In 1874,George Washington Custis Lee sued theU.S. federal government, claiming ownership of the Arlington Cemetery grounds. On 9 December 1882, theU.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Lee's favor inUnited States v. Lee, concluding that the U.S. government seized Arlington Cemetery and its surrounding grounds without affording Lee due process.[24][29]
Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision,Congress abided by the Supreme Court ruling, and returned the estate to Lee. By this time, however, Lee was less interested in obtaining the property than in receiving cash compensation for it. On 3 March 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the U.S. government for $150,000 (equivalent to $4,295,000 in 2024) at a signing ceremony with thenSecretary of WarRobert Todd Lincoln.[23][30] The land then became aU.S. military reservation.[27]
In 1900, the last remaining residents of the village departed after the56th United States Congress appropriated $75,000 (equivalent to $2,834,700 in 2024) to settle the U.S. government's debts to them.[27] With limited space but large numbers ofKIAs fromWorld War II,Korean War,Vietnam War, along with natural deaths from high-ranking military officials, the need for additional burial space at Arlington Cemetery became a challenge and priority to the U.S. government.
In October 1991,John C. Metzler Jr., Arlington Cemetery's superintendent, implemented a $1.4 million plan to clear a former 13-acre (5.3 ha) parking lot to create additional space that would accommodate approximately 9,000 additional grave sites.[32]
In 1992, the Worcester Wreath company inHarrington, Maine, had a surplus at the end of the Christmas holiday season. Recalling a boyhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, company founder Morrill Worcester donated 5,000 wreaths to the cemetery to honor the cemetery's dead with the help of volunteers and a local trucking company.[33] In 2005, after 13 years of similar donations, a photo of snowy gravestones covered with wreaths at the cemetery received widespread circulation on the internet. Thousands of people called Worcester Wreath Company, wanting to replicate the wreath-laying service at their own veteran cemeteries.[34] In 2014, volunteers were able to place wreaths in all sections of the cemetery for the first time.[34]
On 22 February 1995, officials of theU.S. Department of Interior and theU.S. Department of the Army signed an agreement to transfer from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, to the U.S. Army a part of Arlington Woods, which was located in Section 29 of theNational Park Service at Arlington National Cemetery between Arlington House andFort Myer.[35] The property transfer, which involved 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land, was intended to permit Metzler to start expanding the cemetery beyond its existing boundaries.[36][37]
In September 1996, Arlington Cemetery received the authority to transfer 12 acres (4.9 ha) of woodland from theNational Park Service-controlledArlington House[38][36] in 2001,[39][40] 37 acres (15 ha) of land in 1999 from the DoD that was the site of theNavy Annex building,[41][42] 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land in 1999 from the Department of the Army that was part ofFort Myer,[41][43] 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land from Arlington County's Southgate Road right-of-way in 2004,[44] and just under 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land from Fort Myer in 2005.[39][45][46]
On 23 September 1996, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201) authorized theSecretary of the Interior to transfer to theSecretary of the Army all of the land in Section 29 that was within an "Arlington National CemeteryInterment Zone" and some of the land in the Section that was within a "Robert E. Lee Memorial Preservation Zone".[38][36]
On 5 March 1998, the National Park Service, a component of the Department of the Interior, informed theNational Capital Planning Commission that it wanted to transfer only 4 acres (1.6 ha) to the cemetery, rather than the 12 acres (4.9 ha) that the 1995 agreement had described. In response, Metzler stated: "I was surprised. But we will continue to work with the Department of Interior and see what happens."[36]
On 12 July 1999, the National Park Service published aFederal Register notice, announcing the availability of an environmental assessment for the transfer.[37][47] The EA stated that the Interment Zone contained the oldest and largest tract ofclimaxeastern hardwood forest in Arlington County. This forest was the same type that once covered the Arlington estate, and had regenerated from trees that were present historically. A forestry study determined that a representative tree was 258 years old. The Interment Zone was also determined to contain significant archeological and cultural landscape resources, in addition to those in the Preservation Zone.[47] The EA described four alternative courses of action.[47]
In contrast to the National Park Service's March 1998 statement to the National Capital Planning Commission, the 1999 environmental assessment stated that the preferred alternative (Alternative 1) would transfer to the cemetery approximately 9.6 acres (3.9 ha), comprising most of the Interment Zone and the northern tip of the Preservation Zone.[47] Another alternative (Alternative 3) would transfer to the cemetery the 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone, while keeping the 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) Preservation Zone under NPS jurisdiction.[47] The EA concluded: "Public Law 104-201 directed the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army jurisdiction over the Interment Zone, which is the plan in Alternative 3. Adoption of any of the other alternatives would require legislative action to amend the existing law."[47]
In 1998, a Congressional proposal to expand the cemetery onto land that the Navy Annex and Fort Myer then occupied led to concerns that Arlington County officials had not been properly consulted, leading to the withdrawal of the proposal.[48] However, theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65), which was enacted into law during October 1999, subsequently required theSecretary of Defense to transfer administrative jurisdiction of the 36 acres (15 ha) Navy Annex property to the Secretary of the Army. The Act required the Secretary of Defense to demolish the Annex's buildings and prepare the property for use as part of the cemetery, while requiring the Secretary of the Army to incorporate the Annex property into the cemetery.[42]
Arlington House in November 2005A portion of Arlington Woods on Humphreys Drive in 2013An October 2014 map showing the Millennium Project's expansion of Arlington National Cemetery into Arlington Woods andFort MyerAn aerial view of Arlington National Cemetery in January 2022An aerial view of Arlington National Cemetery's Millennium Project in January 2022
On 28 December 2001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107) repealed the "obsolete" part of Public Law 104-201 that had authorized the transfer of portions of Section 29 to the Secretary of the Army.[40] The new legislation required the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army within 30 days the approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone.[40] The transfer therefore involved the entire 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land that the 1995 agreement and Alternative 3 in the 1999 EA had described.
The 2001 legislation required the Secretary of the Army to use the Interment Zone for in-ground burial sites andcolumbarium.[40] In addition, the legislation required the Secretary of the Interior to manage the remainder of Section 29 "in perpetuity to provide a natural setting and visual buffer for Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial."[40]
In 2007, Metzler implemented the Millennium Project, a $35 million expansion plan to begin utilizing the Arlington woodland, Fort Myer, and Navy Annex land. The project also included converting 40 acres (16 ha) of unused space and 4 acres (16,000 m2) of maintenance property on the cemetery grounds into burial space in 2006 and 2007 to allow an additional 26,000 graves and 5,000inurnments. The Millennium Project expanded the cemetery's physical boundaries for the first time since the 1960s, and was the largest expansion of burial space at the site since the U.S. Civil War.[45] Several environmental and historical preservation groups criticized Metzler's plans, as did the NPS and the manager of Arlington House.[45][46][49]
On 9 June 2010, United States Secretary of the ArmyJohn M. McHugh reprimanded the cemetery's superintendent, John C. Metzler, Jr., and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham, after aDOD inspector general's report revealed that cemetery officials had placed the wrong headstones on tombs, buried coffins in shallow graves, and buried bodies on top of one another. Metzler, who had already announced his intention to retire, admitted some mistakes had been made but denied allegations of widespread or serious mismanagement.[50] The investigation also found that cemetery employees were burdened in their day-to-day work by "dysfunctional management, lack of established policy and procedures, and an overall unhealthy organizational climate."[51][52] Both Metzler and Higgenbotham retired soon after the investigation commenced.[53]
In March 2011, as a result of the problems discovered, Kathryn Condon, the recently appointed executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries, announced that the cemetery's staff had been increased from 102 to 159. She added that the cemetery was also acquiring additional equipment because, "They didn't have the proper equipment to do the job really to the standard they needed to do."[54]
The mismanagement controversy included a limitation on mass media access to funerals, which also proved controversial. Until 2005, the cemetery's administration gave free access, with the family's permission, to the press to cover funerals at the cemetery. In July 2008,The Washington Post reported that the cemetery had imposed gradually increasing restrictions on media coverage of funerals beginning three years earlier, in 2005.[55]
After the cemetery's management controversy began to end, the Army appointed Patrick K. Hallinan the acting superintendent of the cemetery in June 2010. He was promoted permanently to the position in October 2010. Hallinan had previously worked for the Office of Field Programs in the National Cemetery Administration, an agency of theUnited States Department of Veterans' Affairs. In that capacity, Hallinan had oversight of 131 national cemeteries, national cemetery policy, procedures, and operations.[56] Hallinan was promoted to executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries upon the retirement of Kathryn Condon in spring 2014.[57]
In May 2014, Hallinan stepped down and was replaced by Jack E. Lechner, Jr. as superintendent of the cemetery. Lechner had been afuneral director for 10 years in the private sector before joining the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of colonel, and retired in November 2011 after having spent 2008 to 2010 as chief of the Supply Division of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, overseeing the equipping security forces inIraq andAfghanistan. Since 2010, he served as executive officer and deputy superintendent of the cemetery under Hallinan.[57]
In September 2008, environmentalists expressed concerns that the agreement would result in the partial destruction of the 24-acre (9.7 ha) remnant of a historically important stand of native trees.[49] A historical marker near the woodland notes that, while visiting Arlington House in 1825,Marquis de Lafayette, the French volunteer to theContinental Army who ultimately became one ofGeorge Washington's long-standing friends, warnedMary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, wife ofGeorge Washington Parke Custis, "Cherish these forest trees around your mansion. Recollect how much easier it is to cut a tree than to make one grow." The marker notes that the Virginia Native Plant Society recognized the woodland as being one of the best examples of old growth terraced gravel forest remaining in Virginia.[58]
On 12 December 2012, theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers asked for comments on a draft environmental assessment that described a further expansion of Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Millennium Project.[59][60][61]
The 2012 draft environmental assessment was intended to implement conversion into burial space of the 17 acres (6.9 ha) of Fort Myer grounds and 10 acres (4.0 ha) of Section 29 woodland. The draft described seven alternatives. The preferred alternative (Alternative E) called for the removal of about one-half of the 1,700 trees with a diameter of 6 inches (15 cm) or greater on the site. About 640 of the trees were within a 135-year-old portion of Arlington Woods.[62] The draft concluded, "Based on the evaluation of environmental impacts....., no significant impacts would be expected from the Proposed Action; therefore, anEnvironmental Impact Statement will not be prepared and aFinding of No Significant Impact will be prepared and signed."[62]
In January 2013, the county manager of Arlington County, Virginia, and the executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries (consisting of Arlington National Cemetery and theUnited States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery)[63] signed amemorandum of understanding (MOU) between theArlington County Board and the Department of the Army to expand the cemetery even further. Under the tentative plan, Arlington County would give up theeasement for Southgate Road (which lies between the Navy Annex property and the cemetery's 2012 boundary), and obtain a narrow easement along the southwest border of the Navy Annex site for a new Southgate Road. In exchange, the Department of Defense would give the Navy Annex parking lot to the county.
The Army would also transfer land west of South Joyce Street toColumbia Pike to Arlington County. Additionally, the Commonwealth of Virginia would convey to the cemetery roughly the northern half of theVirginia Department of Transportation land bounded by South Joyce Street, Columbia Pike, and SouthWashington Boulevard. Thecloverleaf interchange between Columbia Pike and S. Washington Blvd. would be eliminated, and thehairpin turn in Columbia Pike straightened, to provide a safer, more natural exit from S. Washington Blvd. onto Columbia Pike. Although exact acreages were not specified and the plan depended upon the Commonwealth of Virginia's cooperation, the MOU if implemented would have created a more contiguous plot of land for the cemetery.[64]
On 12 March 2013, the Corps of Engineers released a revised environmental assessment for the Millennium Project.[65][66]
The revised environmental assessment included copies of a number of public comments on the draft that criticized the project and parts of the assessment while proposing alternative locations for new military burials near the cemetery and elsewhere.[67] However, the Department of Forestry of the Commonwealth of Virginia found that, based on information in the draft environmental assessment, the project would not have a significant adverse impact on the Commonwealth's forest resources.[68] The revised EA did not change the preferred alternative (Alternative E) or the Army's plans to prepare and sign the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that the draft EA had described.[69][70]
On 26 March 2013, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113–6) appropriated to the DoD $84 million to plan, design and construct the Millennium Project.[71] The legislation additionally appropriated to the DoD $19 million to study, plan and design a future expansion of the cemetery's burial space.[71]
On 5 June 2013, after reviewing 100 public comments that it had received on the revised environmental assessment, the Corps of Engineers released a final EA and a signed FONSI for the Millennium Project.[72][73][74][75] The Final EA and the FONSI retained Alternative E as the preferred alternative.[72][73] The final environmental assessment stated that, of the 905 trees to be removed, 771 trees were healthy native trees that had diameters between six and 41 inches.[76][77]
The project involved removing approximately 211 trees from a less than 2.63 acres (1.06 ha) area containing a portion of a 145-year-old forest that stood within the property boundaries of a historic district that aNational Register of Historic Places nomination form for Arlington House had described in 1966.[76][78][79][80] About 491 trees would be removed from an area of trees that was approximately 105 years old.[76] Approximately 203 trees with ages of 50 to 145 years would be removed from a former picnic area.[76] At a public hearing on 11 July 2013, the National Capital Planning Commission approved the site and building plans for the Millennium Project.[81]
In August 2015, the U.S. Army removed Lechner as superintendent of the cemetery after a performance review "called into question his ability to serve successfully as a senior leader". The Army declined to elaborate further and appointed Hallinan to be the temporary Cemetery superintendent until the Army could find a successor.[82]In December 2016, theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) authorized the Secretary of the Army to expand the cemetery by acquiring from Arlington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia bycondemnation and other means properties near the cemetery that contain the Southgate Road, South Joyce Street and Washington Boulevard right-of-ways, including the Washington Boulevard-Columbia Pike interchange.[83] The Army then informed the Arlington County government in June 2017 that the Army would no longer pursue aland exchange with the county. The Army told the County that the Army would use the entire Navy Annex site to expand the cemetery and would acquire for the cemetery about 5 acres (2.0 ha) of public land that Arlington County then owned. The Army would also acquire for the cemetery expansion about 7 acres (2.8 ha) of land located between Columbia Pike andInterstate 395 that the Commonwealth of Virginia then owned.[84]
In 2018, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced the expansion would allow for 40,000 to 60,000 additional burials and will incorporate the existingUnited States Air Force Memorial. Construction of roadways is planned for 2021–2023 and of the actual cemetery 2023–2025. Total cost of the project is $274 million.[85] The project covers 70 acres (28 ha) and by closing and relocating local roadways, allows the cemetery to utilize the former Navy annex property and remain contiguous. The Columbia Pike and interchange will be realigned to maximize burial space. The existing Operations Complex will also be relocated south of the Columbia Pike and its current location will become burial space. The expansion is projected to keep the cemetery open into the middle of the century.[86]
During May and June 2014, the cemetery celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding with a month-long series of events, tours, and lectures.[87] During these celebrations, cemetery officials formally re-designated the Old Amphitheater as theJames Tanner Amphitheater.James R. Tanner was a Union Army officer who lost both legs during the war. He later became a War Department stenographer, and recorded much of the early evidence in the investigation into theassassination of Abraham Lincoln. He later was active in theGrand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veterans group. Tanner is buried a few yards from the amphitheater.[88]
On 2 March 2017, Katharine Kelley, a former U.S. Army officer and senior executive service civilian employee for the Department of the Army, was appointed superintendent of the cemetery.[89] She moved to another Army position in March 2019.
Three years later, on 18 February 2020, Charles R. "Ray" Alexander, a former U.S. Armycolonel and senior executive service civilian employee for the Department of the Army, was appointed superintendent of the cemetery.[90]
Graves of former slaves, marked "Citizen", in Section 27
The Cemetery is divided into 70 sections, with some sections in the southeast and western part of the cemetery reserved for future expansion.[91] Section 60, in the southeast part of the cemetery, is the burial ground for military personnel killed in the "war on terror" since 2001.[92] Section 21, also known as the Nurses Section, is the burial site for many nurses, and the location of theSpanish–American War Nurses Memorial and the Nurses Memorial.[93] Another section – Chaplains Hill – includes monuments to Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholicmilitary chaplains.
In 1901, Confederate soldiers buried at the Soldiers' Home and various locations within Arlington were reinterred in a Confederate section that was authorized by Congress in 1900. On 4 June 1914, theUnited Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated theConfederate Memorial designed byMoses Ezekiel. Upon his death in 1917, Ezekiel was buried at the base of the monument as he was a veteran of the Confederate army.[94] All Confederate headstones in this section are peaked rather than rounded.[95] The Naming Commission, appointed by Congress, has recommended removing the Confederate memorial down to its foundation.[96]
More than 3,800 formerly enslaved people, called "Contrabands" during the Civil War, were buried in Section 27 between 1864 and 1867.[97] Their headstones are designated with the word "Civilian" or "Citizen".[98]
In early 2025, Arlington National Cemetery's website deleted its lists of "notable graves" of Black, Hispanic, and female service members, while continuing to showcase those of notable politicians, sportspeople and foreigners. Also during this interval histories of the Arlington Freedmen's Village and Section 27—among six other education modules—were removed from history link menus on the U.S. government website for Arlington. Those histories remain live and are linked from a historical narrative published on the website. A spokesperson for the cemetery stated that the changes were prompted by theTrump administration's orders requiring the removal of race and gender-related language and policies, and said that the academic modules would return after review and updating.[99]
TheUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs oversees theNational Cemetery Administration's orders[100] for placement of inscriptions and faith emblems at no charge to the estate of the deceased, submitted with information provided by the next of kin[101] that is placed on upright marble headstones or columbarium niche covers. The Department of Veterans Affairs currently offers 63authorized faith emblems for placement on markers to represent the deceased's faith.[102] Over time this number grew as the result of legal challenges to policy.[103]
Prior to 2007, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) did not allow the use of thepentacle as an "emblem of belief" on tombstones in military cemeteries. This policy was changed following an out-of-court settlement on 23 April following a series of lawsuits by the family ofPatrick Stewart against the VA.[104][105][106]
Between 1947 and 2001, privately purchased markers were permitted in the cemetery. The sections in which the cemetery permitted such markers are nearly filled and the cemetery generally does not allow new burials in these sections.[107] Nevertheless, the older sections of the cemetery have a wide variety of private markers placed prior to 2001, including an artillery piece.[108]
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is part of theArlington Memorial Amphitheater. The Memorial Amphitheater has hosted state funerals andMemorial Day andVeterans Day ceremonies. Ceremonies are also held forEaster. About 5,000 people attend these holiday ceremonies each year. The structure is mostly built of Imperial Danby marble fromVermont. The Memorial Display room, between the amphitheater and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, usesBotticino stone, imported from Italy. The amphitheater was the result of a campaign byIvory Kimball to construct a place to honor America's servicemen/women. Congress authorized the structure on 4 March 1913.Woodrow Wilson laid the cornerstone for the building on 15 October 1915. The cornerstone contained 15 items including a Bible and a copy of the Constitution.[110]
Before the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater was completed in 1921, important ceremonies were held at what is now known as the "Old Amphitheater". This structure sits where Robert E. Lee once had his gardens. The amphitheater was built in 1868 under the direction of Civil War GeneralJohn A. Logan. Gen.James A. Garfield was the featured speaker at theDecoration Day dedication ceremony, 30 May 1868, later being elected as President of the United States in 1880. The amphitheater has an encircling colonnade with a latticed roof that once supported a web of vines. The amphitheater has a marbledais, known as "therostrum", which is inscribed with the U.S. national motto found on theGreat Seal of the United States,E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one"). The rostrum was designed by GeneralMontgomery C. Meigs, then Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army.[111] The amphitheater seats 1,500 people and has hosted speakers such asWilliam Jennings Bryan.[112]
TheTomb of the Unknown Soldier stands on top of a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. One of the more well-attended sites at the cemetery, the tomb is made from Yule marble quarried in Colorado. It consists of seven pieces, with a total weight of 79short tons (72metric tons). The tomb was completed and opened to the public 9 April 1932, at a cost of $48,000.
Other unknown servicemen were later placed in crypts there, and it also became known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, though it has never been officially named. The soldiers entombed there are:
Unknown Soldier of theKorean War, also interred 30 May 1958; President Dwight Eisenhower presided again, Vice PresidentRichard Nixon acted as next of kin
Unknown Soldier of theVietnam War, interred 28 May 1984; PresidentRonald Reagan presided. The remains of the Vietnam Unknown were disinterred, under the authority of PresidentBill Clinton, on 14 May 1998, and were identified as those of Air Force first Lt.Michael J. Blassie, whose family had them reinterred near their home inSt. Louis, Missouri. It has been determined that the crypt at the Tomb of the Unknowns that contained the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will remain empty.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been perpetually guarded since 2 July 1937, by the U.S. Army. The3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") began guarding the Tomb on 6 April 1948. There is a meticulous routine that the guard follows when watching over the graves.[113] The Tomb Guard:
Marches 21 steps southward down the black mat behind the Tomb
Turns left, facing east for 21 seconds
Turns left, facing north for 21 seconds
Takes 21 steps down the mat
Repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at thechanging of the guard
After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.
Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed – the21-gun salute.
At each turn, the guard makes precise movements followed by a loud click of the heels as the soldier snaps them together. The guard is changed every half-hour during daylight in the summer, and every hour during daylight in the winter and every two hours at night (when the cemetery is closed to the public), regardless of weather conditions.
Arlington Amphitheater 1922 issue
A commemorative stamp was issued on 11 November 1922, the first anniversary of the first entombment picturing the Amphitheater. It encompasses the original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The remains of an unidentified American soldier from World War I were entombed on Armistice Day, 11 November 1921, later covered in 1931 by a more elaborate marble sarcophagus.[114]
There are several memorials on the grounds of the cemetery. However, due to the lack of space for burials and the large amount of space that memorials take up, the U.S. Army now requires a joint or concurrent resolution from Congress before it will place new memorials at Arlington.
Near the Tomb of the Unknowns stands theUSSMaine Mast Memorial, which commemorates the 266 men who died aboard theUSSMaine. The memorial is built around amast salvaged from the ship's wreckage. The memorial served as the temporary resting place for two foreign heads of state or government who died in exile in the United States during World War II,Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippines andIgnacy Jan Paderewski of Poland.
TheSpace ShuttleChallenger Memorial was dedicated on 20 May 1986, in memory of the crew of flightSTS-51-L, whodied during launch on 28 January 1986. Transcribed on the back of the stone is the text of theJohn Gillespie Magee, Jr. poem "High Flight", which was quoted by then President Ronald Reagan when he addressed the disaster. Although many remains were identified and returned to the families for private burial, some were not, and were laid to rest under the marker. Two crew members,Dick Scobee andMichael Smith, are buried in Arlington. On 1 February 2004,NASA AdministratorSean O'Keefe dedicated a similar memorial to those who died when the ShuttleColumbiabroke apart during reentry on 1 February 2003.[115] AstronautsLaurel Clark,David Brown, andMichael Anderson, who were killed in theColumbia disaster, are also buried in Arlington.
The Lockerbie Cairn is a memorial to the 270 killed in the bombing ofPan Am Flight 103 overLockerbie, Scotland. The memorial is constructed of 270 stones, one for each person killed in the disaster. In section 64, a memorial to the 184 victims of the11 September attacks on the Pentagon was dedicated 11 September 2002. The memorial takes the shape of a pentagon, and lists the names of all the victims who were killed. Unidentified remains from the victims are buried beneath it.[116]
On 25 June 1925, PresidentCalvin Coolidge approved a request to erect a CommonwealthCross of Sacrifice with the names of all the citizens of the United States who died fighting in the Canadian forces during World War I. The monument was dedicated 11 November 1927, and after the Korean War and World War II the names of US citizens who died in those conflicts were added.
In 2008, a bronzeBraille flag was installed as a monument to blinded or blind veterans, service members, and other Americans after the passing of the H.R. 4169 American Braille Flag Memorial Act.[117][118]
In 2012, legislation began moving through Congress to approve a "Place of Remembrance" at the cemetery. The memorial will be anossuary designed to contain fragments of remains which are unidentifiable through DNA analysis. The remains will be cremated before placement in the memorial.[120]
The flag at Arlington House is lowered tohalf-staff during interments.Thecolumbarium is for individuals whose remains werecremated.
The flags in the cemetery are flown athalf-staff from a half-hour before the firstfuneral until a half hour after the last funeral each day. Funerals are normally conducted five days a week, excluding weekends.[121][122]
Funerals, including interments and inurnments, average between 27 and 30 per day. The cemetery conducts approximately 6,900 burials each year.[98]
With more than 400,000 interments,[1] the cemetery has the second-largest number of burials of any national cemetery in the United States. The largest of the 130 national cemeteries isCalverton National Cemetery, onLong Island, nearRiverhead, New York, which conducts more than 7,000 burials annually.
In addition to in-ground burial, the cemetery also has one of the largercolumbaria for cremated remains in the country. Four courts are currently in use, each with 5,000 niches. When construction is complete, there will be nine courts with a total of 50,000 niches; capacity for 100,000 remains. Any honorably discharged veteran is eligible for inurnment in the columbarium, if they served on active duty at some point in their career (other than for training).[123]
Military funeral procession in Arlington National Cemetery, July 1967
Part 553 (Army National Military Cemeteries) ofTitle 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) establishes regulations for the cemetery, including eligibility for interment (ground burial) and inurnment.[124] Due to limited space, the criteria for ground burial eligibility are more restrictive than at other national cemeteries, as well as more restrictive than for inurnment in the columbarium.
The persons specified below are eligible for ground burial in the cemetery, unless otherwise prohibited.[125] The last period of active duty of former members of the armed forces must have ended honorably. Interment may be of casketed or cremated remains.
Any active-duty member of thearmed forces (except those members serving on active duty for training only)
Any veteran who is retired and eligible for retirement pay from service in the armed forces, including service members retired from a reserve component who served a period of active duty (other than for training)
Any former member of the armed forces separated honorably prior to 1 October 1949, for medical reasons and who was rated at 30% or greater disabled effective on the day of discharge
Any former member of the armed forces who has been awarded one of the following decorations:
An office listed, at the time the person held the position, in 5 USC 5312 or 5313 (Levels I and II of the Executive Schedule)
The chief of a mission who was at any time during his/her tenure classified in Class I under the provisions of Section 411, Act of 13 August 1946, 60 Stat. 1002, as amended (22 USC 866) or as listed in State Department memorandum dated 21 March 1988
Any former prisoner of war who, while a prisoner of war, served honorably in the active military, naval, or air service, whose last period of military, naval or air service terminated honorably and who died on or after 30 November 1993
The spouse, widow or widower, minor child, or permanently dependent child, and certain unmarried adult children of any of the above eligible veterans
Respectful silence is requested at Arlington National Cemetery.
The widow or widower of:
a member of the armed forces who was lost or buried at sea or fell out of a plane or officially determined to be permanently absent with a status of either missing or missing in action
The spouse, minor child, or permanently dependent child of any person already buried in Arlington National Cemetery
The parents of a minor child, or permanently dependent child whose remains, based on the eligibility of a parent, are already buried at Arlington. A spouse divorced from the primary eligible, or widowed and remarried, is not eligible for interment
Provided certain conditions are met, a former member of the armed forces may be buried in the same grave with a close relative who is already buried and is the primary eligible
Due at least partly to the lack of space at the cemetery for ground burial, standards for inurnment (burial of cremated remains) in the columbarium are currently much less restrictive than for ground burial at the cemetery. In general, any former member of the armed forces who served on active duty (other than for training) and whose last service terminated honorably is eligible for inurnment. Eligibility for inurnment is described fully in32 C.F.R. § 553.15a.
Congress has from time to time created prohibited categories of persons who, even if otherwise eligible for burial, lose that eligibility. One such prohibition is against certain persons who are convicted of committing certain state or federal capital crimes, as defined in38 U.S. Code § 2411. Capital crime is a specifically defined term in the statute, and for state offenses can include offenses that are eligible for a life sentence (with or without parole). The reasoning for this provision originally was to preventTimothy McVeigh from being eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, but it has since been amended to bar others.[126]
Among the most frequently visited sites in the cemetery is the grave of President John F. Kennedy andJacqueline Kennedy, who is buried nearby along with their son Patrick and their stillborn daughter Arabella. Kennedy's remains were interred there on 14 March 1967, a reinterment from his original Arlington burial site, some 20 feet (6.1 m) away, where he was buried in November 1963. The grave is marked withan "eternal flame". The remains of his brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy along with Robert's wifeEthel Kennedy, are buried nearby. The latter two graves are marked with simple crosses and footstones. On 1 December 1971,Robert Kennedy's body was re-interred 100 feet (30 m) from its original June 1968 burial site.
Military figures from all backgrounds and walks of life are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Among many African American veterans is GeneralBenjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the World War IITuskegee Airmen and the first Black brigadier general of the United States Air Force.[130] American veterans with Spanish and Latin American roots are also laid to rest at Arlington. They include Hispanic Americans such as Rear Admiral Henry Gabriel Sanchez[131] of the U.S. Navy, who commanded air squadrons during World War II.[132] Women memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery span many decades of U.S. military history, fromAnna Etheridge Hooks, a Civil War Army nurse awarded the Kearny Cross; to Master Sergeant Catherine Murray[133] who enlisted in theMarine Corps Women's Reserve after the attack on Pearl Harbor; to Gulf War pilot MajorMarie Therese Rossi, the first female Army commander to engage in active combat.[134]
Two of the astronauts who were killed on 27 January 1967, by a flash fire inside theApollo 1 command module,Gus Grissom andRoger Chaffee, are buried at the cemetery.John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth and a longtime U.S. Senator from Ohio, was buried at the cemetery in April 2017.[136]
Britishdiplomat andField Marshal SirJohn Dill was buried at the cemetery when he died in Washington D.C. during World War II.[137] The equestrian statue on Dill's grave is one of only two such statues at the cemetery; the other is Major GeneralPhilip Kearny's.[138]
Lauri Törni, known for having served in the Finnish army during theWinter War, the German army during World War II, and the US army during the Vietnam War is buried at Arlington. He is the only former member of theWaffen-SS to be interred here.[139]
Richard McKinley, who died during theSL-1 reactor explosion in 1961. His body is so radioactive it is in a special casket.[140]
In 2016, the cemetery announced policies and procedures that limit visitor access to the cemetery's grounds, some of which were thought to possibly create delays for visitors.
Pursuant to the Department of the Army final rule established in 2016,[141] the cemetery's bicycle policy states bicycling presents a potential safety hazard, and is only allowed on its grounds with a family pass.[142]
In September 2016, acting superintendent of the cemetery Patrick Hallinan announced that the cemetery was increasing security measures for its visitors. In addition to random identification checks and other security measures already in place, the cemetery would require pedestrians to enter at set access points: the main entrance on Memorial Avenue, the Ord and Weitzel gate, and the Old Post Chapel gate at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Before entering the cemetery through its main entrance, all pedestrians are now screened through the cemetery's Welcome Center. All vehicle access requires presenting valid, government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or passport, when entering the cemetery. Vehicles are also subject to random inspections. Hallinan stated that these processes could result in delays when entering the cemetery.[143]
^Van Horn, Jennifer. “‘The Dark Iconoclast’: African Americans’ Artistic Resistance in the Civil War South.”The Art Bulletin, vol. 99, no. 4, 2017, p. 135.JSTOR website Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^Letter from J.A. Commerford to G.B. Dandy, November 12, 1887,Consolidated Quartermaster General File. R.G. 105, cited inSchildt (1984), p. 21, Footnote 66.
^Kaplow, Bobby (24 October 1991)."Arlington National Cemetery Being Expanded".The Washington Post. p. VA2C.ProQuest140476371.Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved20 July 2017.Arlington National Cemetery is undergoing its first expansion since 1976, as work began in mid-August to clear a 13-acre tract to make space for about 9,000 new grave sites.
^abcdWee, Eric L. (6 March 1998)."Good News for Tree Lovers, Not for Arlington Cemetery; Park Service Wants to Give 4 Acres, Not 12".Metro Section.The Washington Post. p. B7.ProQuest408351148.Archived from the original on 17 September 2016.In 1995, the Park Service agreed to move forward with plans to give the cemetery the 12 acres of woodlands near the Arlington House mansion, where Robert E. Lee lived before the Civil War. Congress approved the transfer on the condition that an archaeological and cultural study be done on the land. Another 12-acre parcel near the house already had been largely ruled out for graves because of its historic value.
^abcde"Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002: Title XXVIII – General Provisions: Subtitle E – Other Matters: Section 2863(h): Alternate Site for United States Air Force Memorial, Preservation of Open Space on Arlington Ridge Tract, and Related Land Transfer At Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia: Land Transfer, Section 29 (115 Stat. 1332–1333)"(PDF).Public Law 107-107:National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002.United States Government Printing Office. 28 December 2001.Archived(PDF) from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved16 March 2013.SEC. 2863. Alternative Site for United States Air Force Memorial, Preservation of Open Space on Arlington Ridge Tract, and related Land Transfer at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia..... (h) Land Transfer, Section 29. (1) Transfer required. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall transfer, without reimbursement, to the Secretary of the Army administrative jurisdiction over that portion of Section 29 designated as the interment zone and consisting of approximately 12 acres. The Secretary of the Interior shall modify the boundaries of the George Washington Memorial Parkway as may be necessary to reflect the land transfer required by this subsection. (2) Use of transferred land. The Secretary of the Army shall use the transferred property for the development of in-ground burial sites and columbarium that are designed to meet the contours of Section 29. (3) Management of remainder. The Secretary of the Interior shall manage that portion of Section 29 not transferred under this subsection in perpetuity to provide a natural setting and visual buffer for Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial. (4) Repeal of obsolete law. Section 2821(a) of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (division B of Public Law 104-201; 110 Stat. 2791) is repealed.
^ab"Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000: Title XXVIII – General Provisions: Subtitle F – Expansion of Arlington National Cemetery: Sec. 2881. Transfer from Navy Annex, Arlington, Virginia"(PDF).Public Law 106-65:National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. Washington, D.C.:United States Government Printing Office. pp. 113 Stat. 879–113 Stat. 880. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 5 May 2009. Retrieved18 July 2017.SEC. 2881. Transfer From Navy Annex, Arlington, Virginia (a) Land Transfer Required. The Secretary of Defense shall provide for the transfer to the Secretary of the Army of administrative jurisdiction over three parcels of real property consisting of approximately 36 acres and known as the Navy Annex (in this section referred to as the "Navy Annex property"). (b) Use of Land. Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Army shall incorporate the Navy Annex property transferred under subsection (a) into Arlington National Cemetery. (2) ... (c) Remediation of Land for Cemetery Use. Immediately after the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the Navy Annex property, the Secretary of Defense shall provide for the removal of any improvements on that property and shall prepare the property for use as part of Arlington National Cemetery. ...
^"Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005: Title XXVIII – General Provisions: Subtitle D – Land Conveyances: Part IV – Other Conveyances: Section 2881. Land Exchange, Arlington County, Virginia (118 Stat. 2153–2154)"(PDF).Public Law 108-375: Ronald W. ReaganNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.United States Government Printing Office. 28 October 2004.Archived(PDF) from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved20 March 2013.Sec. 2881. Land Exchange, Arlington County, Virginia. (a) Exchange Authorized.--The Secretary of Defense may convey to Arlington County, Virginia (in this section referred to as the "County"), all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real property, together with any improvements thereon, that consists of not more than 4.5 acres and is located north of Columbia Pike on the Navy Annex property in Arlington County, Virginia, for the purpose of the construction of a freedmen heritage museum and an Arlington history museum. (b) Consideration. As consideration for the conveyance of the real property under subsection (a), the County shall convey to the United States all right, title, and interest of the County in and to a parcel of real property, together with any improvements thereon, that is of a size equivalent to the total acreage of the real property conveyed by the Secretary under subsection (a) and is located in the area known as the Southgate Road right-of-way between Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, and the Navy Annex property..... (g) Inclusion of Southgate Road Right-of-Way Property in Transfer of Navy Annex Property for Arlington National Cemetery. Subsection (a) of section 2881 of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (division B of Public Law 106-65; 113 Stat. 879) is amended by striking "three parcels of real property consisting of approximately 36 acres" and inserting "four parcels of real property consisting of approximately 40 acres.
^abcRuane, Michael E. (7 October 2007)."For Warriors Past and Future".The Washington Post.Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved31 December 2012.The Millennium expansion has involved, among other things, the sensitive transfer of 12 acres within the cemetery from the National Park Service's historic Arlington House, the onetime home of Robert E. Lee. The Park Service has lamented the likely loss of woodland and the cemetery's encroachment on the majestic hilltop home, which dates to 1802. The project, which focuses on the northwest edge of the cemetery, includes expansion into about 10 acres taken from the Army's adjacent Fort Myer and four acres of cemetery maintenance property inside the boundaries, officials said. The extra space would provide room for 14,000 ground burials and 22,000 inurnments in a large columbarium complex, officials said. The project comes on the heels of extensive work underway to utilize 40 acres of unused space in the cemetery, creating room for 26,000 more graves and 5,000 inurnments. And there are plans for further outside expansion in the years ahead.
^Vogel, Steve (11 August 1998)."Arlington Cemetery Proposal Put on Hold; Officials Say Plan to Transfer Land From Navy Annex, Fort Myer Needs Review".The Washington Post. p. B3.ProQuest408384852.Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved29 July 2014.A congressional proposal to expand Arlington National Cemetery onto land now occupied by the Navy Annex and Fort Myer has been at least temporarily put on hold, but officials predicted that in the long term, at least some of the property may be turned into grave sites. Members of a House–Senate conference committee said yesterday they have agreed to remove language from a Defense Department appropriations bill that would have transferred the land to the cemetery, which is approaching full capacity. (Bob) Stump's proposal, attached to a bill that cleared the House earlier this summer, would have transferred 36.5 acres from the Navy Annex and eight acres from Fort Myer to Arlington Cemetery. The move would create sufficient burial sites to last until 2040, officials said. The proposal has sparked anxiety in Arlington County, where community leaders complained that they had not been consulted about such a major decision.
^Irons, Elie L. "Letter to Ms. Susan L. Conner, RE: Arlington National Cemetery Millennium Project: Federal Consistency Determination (DEQ-12-203F) and Environmental Assessment (DEQ-12-225F) Date: January 10, 2013 (6. Forest Resources, p. 15)". InAppendix F: Comments to Draft Millennium EA (2013), p. 259.
^"Division B: Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017: Title XXVIII – Military Construction General Provisions: Subtitle C – Land Conveyances: Sec. 2829A. Land Acquisitions, Arlington County, Virginia"(PDF).Public Law 114-328:National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. Washington, D.C.:United States Government Printing Office. pp. 130 Stat. 2728–130 Stat. 2730. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 19 July 2017. Retrieved18 July 2017.Sec. 2829A. Land Acquisitions, Arlington County, Virginia. (a) Acquisition Authorized. (1) In General. The Secretary of the Army may acquire by purchase, exchange, donation, or by other means, including condemnation, which the Secretary determines is sufficient for the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery for purposes of ensuring maximization of interment sites and compatible use of adjacent properties, including any appropriate cemetery or memorial parking, all right, title, and interest in and to land (A) from Arlington County (in this section referred to as the "County"), one or more parcels of real property in the area known as the Southgate Road right-of-way, Columbia Pike right-of-way, and South Joyce Street right-of-way located in Arlington County, Virginia; and (B) from the Commonwealth of Virginia (in this section referred to as the "Commonwealth"), one or more parcels of property in the area known as the Columbia Pike right-of-way, including the Washington Boulevard-Columbia Pike interchange, but excluding the Virginia Department of Transportation Maintenance and Operations Facility. ....
^"Old Amphitheatre". Arlington National Cemetery. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved29 July 2011.
^"The Changing of the Guard". Arlington County, Virginia: Arlington National Cemetery. Archived fromthe original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved21 January 2012.
^Juell, Rod. "50-cent Arlington Amphitheater", Arago: people, postage & the post, National Postal Museum online, viewed March 12, 2014.
^McLeroy, Carrie (2 June 2014)."There's a lot you don't know about Arlington National Cemetery". United States Army.Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved23 June 2014.There are only two equestrian monuments at Arlington National Cemetery. The first is for Maj. Gen. Philip Kearney, located in Section 2. The second is Field Marshall Sir John Dill in Section 32.
^(1)Department of the Army, Department of Defense (26 September 2016)."81 FR 65875: Final rule: Amendments to 32 CFR 553.33 (Visitors rules for Army National Military Cemeteries)".Federal Register.81:65875–65888. Archived fromthe original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved17 July 2017.(c) ... Specifically, no person shall: .... (8) Ride a bicycle or similar conveyance in an Army National Military Cemetery, except with a proper pass issued by the Executive Director to visit a gravesite or niche. An individual visiting a relative's gravesite or niche may be issued a temporary pass by the Executive Director to proceed directly to and from the gravesite or niche on a bicycle or similar vehicle or conveyance. (2)Wentling, Nikki (18 October 2016)."Arlington National Cemetery to impose bicycle ban".Stars and Stripes. Archived fromthe original on 17 July 2017.Bicyclists will no longer be allowed to ride through the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery under a new policy that's set to start next week despite protest from local officials and bicycle groups. Bicyclists disrupt funeral services, affect other visitors' experiences and pose safety concerns, the Army said in an announcement of the new rule, which goes into effect Oct. 26. But the Arlington County Board and bicycle advocacy organizations in Arlington and nearby Fairfax County argued cyclists using the cemetery do so respectfully.
Atkinson, Rick (2007).Where Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.ISBN978-1426200892.
Chase, Enoch Aquila (1930). "The Arlington Case: George Washington Custis Lee against the United States of America".Records of the Columbia Historical Society.31 (32).
Bontrager, Shannon (2020).Death at the Edges of Empire: Fallen Soldiers, Cultural Memory, and the Making of an American Nation, 1863–1921. University of Nebraska Press. Memories of American war dead.online summary by author
Archive of ArlingtonCemetery.net An unofficial website listing interments, has researched information from a civilian non-employee, current site no longer maintained.
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