Tour Overview
This tour contains three types of stops: HONOR stops mark the gravesites of specific individuals. REMEMBER stops commemorate events, ideas, or groups of people. EXPLORE stops invite you to discover what this history means to you.
Introduction
Arlington National Cemetery was born out of the Civil War. The start of the war in April 1861 split the nation in half. Virginia joined the rebelling Confederate States of America, while Washington, D.C., just across the Potomac River, remained the capital of the United States of America.When the war broke out, Mary Custis Lee (married to U.S. Army general Robert E. Lee) owned the land that is now Arlington National Cemetery. After Virginia seceded, Lee joined the Confederate Army, and the Lee family left their estate and fled to Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy. On the morning of May 24, 1861, the U.S. Army seized the property — strategically located on high ground just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. — and built three fortifications on the property to help defend the nation’s capital. In 1863, the government also established a Freedman’s Village, one of numerous settlements created to house and provide social services for newly freed African Americans.During the Civil War, both U.S. and Confederate ill or wounded soldiers were often transported to hospitals in the Washington, D.C. area. By the third year of the war, the increasing number of fatalities was outpacing the burial capacity of local cemeteries. To meet the demand for burial space, on May 13, 1864, the U.S. Army designated a section of the Arlington plantation for military burials — forever changing its landscape.Arlington officially became a national cemetery on June 15, 1864, by order of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The original cemetery was 200 acres, and it has since grown to 639 acres (as of 2023). Once it became a national cemetery, Arlington was racially segregated, like all national cemeteries at the time. Officers and enlisted service members were also separated in different sections (with some Black officers buried in sections with white officers). It remained racially segregated until 1948, when President Harry S Truman desegregated the military.The history of the Civil War is imprinted onto the landscape of Arlington National Cemetery. Thousands of headstones mark the resting places of known and unknown service members who served and sacrificed in the war. The headstones in Section 27 (one of the cemetery’s oldest sections) tell stories of honorable service and sacrifice, as well as struggles for freedom and equality. The steady incline up to Arlington House explains why the U.S. Army first occupied this land in 1861, and the house itself serves as a reminder of the enslaved people who worked and lived on this land. The cemetery also contains numerous Civil War-era monuments and memorials, including the Tomb of the Civil War Unknowns and Tanner Amphitheater, where early Decoration Day celebrations took place. Explore these stories and more on this tour.
Section 27
On May 13, 1864, the first military burial was conducted on the Arlington property. Brigadier General Montgomery Meigs (Stop 8) — Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, who was responsible for the burial of soldiers — ordered that the Arlington Plantation should be used as a cemetery. The U.S. Army had occupied the property since 1861, but it had not yet been used for military burials. The first burials were located on the northern edge of the property, hidden from the view of Arlington House (which the Army used for its headquarters and officers’ housing). The existing D.C.-area national cemeteries, Soldiers’ Home and Alexandria National Cemeteries, had run out of space by 1864; both closed on the day that burials began at Arlington.
Reading Headstones
As you look around Section 27, you’ll notice that the headstones are not uniform. When Arlington National Cemetery was founded in 1864, graves were initially marked with wooden boards. Because these boards deteriorated quickly, the War Department soon began to experiment with more durable materials such as metal and stone. In 1873, the War Department began to replace wooden grave markers with permanent headstones at all national cemeteries. Since 1873, the design of government-provided headstones has changed several times.
U.S.C.T in Section 27
Approximately 1,500 U.S.C.T. are interred in Section 27. The U.S.C.T. regiments were composed primarily of African American soldiers and white officers who fought in the Civil War. These regiments suffered heavy casualties, and members captured as prisoners of war often endured serious abuse by their Confederate captors. Black U.S.C.T. soldiers and Navy sailors are also buried in Section 23.Two Civil War U.S.C.T. Medal of Honor recipients, along with one Black Medal of Honor recipient from the U.S. Navy, are also interred in Section 27:
Freedpeople in Section 27
More than 3,800 African American “freedpeople” are interred in Section 27. Their graves are marked “citizen” or “civilian.” During the Civil War era, freedpeople included both formerly enslaved people who escaped from the South and free African Americans. Thousands of freedpeople lived in the national capital region during and after the Civil War. Many lived in settlements managed by the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency established by the War Department in 1865 to assist formerly enslaved people. The Freedmen’s Bureau offered help in many ways, including providing burial assistance as needed. Freedpeople who lived in and around Washington, D.C. and were too poor to afford a proper burial could be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside many U.S. soldiers who had fought to free them.
Ord & Weitzel Gate
As you leave Section 27, you will walk along Custis Walk, which begins at the Ord and Weitzel Gate. Originally built in 1879, the gate was named for two Civil War generals, Gen. Edward O.C. Ord and Gen. Godfrey Weitzel. Their names are inscribed on the gate’s columns. Ord and Weitzel Gate stood at the northeast entrance to the cemetery until 1979, when it was disassembled because it was too narrow for modern vehicles. After extensive restoration, and with a change in location, the gate reopened in November 2022.
Captain Robert Todd Lincoln
Oldest son of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was Secretary of War from 1881-1885. During this time, he oversaw the U.S. government's official purchase of the Arlington property.
White Oak
Around 250 years old, this white oak is one of the oldest trees in the cemetery. It dates to the time of the American Revolutionary War. When the U.S. Army occupied the Arlington Plantation during the Civil War, it used the Arlington House as a headquarters and officers’ housing, and soldiers camped around the property. The Army cut down many acres of forest to build forts and encampments on the land. Although the Army cut down most of the large trees near Arlington House to provide space for soldiers to camp and to create clear sightlines for artillery, it kept some trees to provide shade for soldiers — crucial in Virginia summers. This white oak, around 100 years old at the time of the Civil War, is one of the trees that the Army kept.
Section 2 Officers
Section 2 is one of Arlington National Cemetery’s first officer-only sections. Unlike Sections 27 and 13 (Stops 1 and 11), most of the people buried here survived the war and later chose to be buried in the cemetery, an indication of Arlington’s increasing national prominence.Continue reading for a sampling of the many Civil War veterans honored in Section 2.
View From Arlington House
Not only can you see many major landmarks of Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, you can see nearly the entire city, especially in winter when there is little tree cover. Today, you can spot the Washington Monument, the White House, the Capitol, the Old Post Office building, and more. In 1861, you could spot the important sites of the day, including many federal offices and headquarters.When the Civil War broke out, the U.S. Army knew that whoever controlled the high ground of Arlington Plantation could potentially control Washington, D.C. If the Confederate Army gained control of the property, they could easily fire on the city’s defenses and the capital city itself. Arlington House, only three miles from the White House and with sightlines over the entire capital city, took on an immediate strategic importance.
Tomb of the Civil War Unknowns
Near Arlington House, in what was once part of the estate's famous rose garden, stands a monument dedicated to the unknown service members who died in the Civil War. This Tomb contains the partial and commingled remains of 2,111 unknown soldiers, mostly found in and around the fields of Manassas (Bull Run), Virginia. Two major Civil War battles were fought at Bull Run/Manassas, in July 1861 and August 1862. In both bloody battles, the U.S. Army suffered serious and unexpected defeats and was forced to quickly retreat, leaving behind its dead. Nearly 1,800 remains buried in the Tomb of the Civil War Unknowns came from Bull Run; the rest were found at other battlefields within an approximately 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C.
Explore: Evolution of a Civil War Cemetery
By the end of April 1868, uniform rows of white-washed wooden headboards, each representing the gravesite of a fallen Civil War service member, lined the hills of Arlington National Cemetery. The property’s prominent ridgeline, marked by Arlington House, offered stunning views of Washington, D.C. However, little else distinguished this national cemetery as remarkable or different from other Civil War national cemeteries. While ANC contained the graves of some 16,000 individuals and spanned 200 acres, it was only one of approximately 74 national cemeteries established during the Civil War.
James R. Tanner Amphitheater
By the end of the war in 1865, nearly 650,000 soldiers had died, much of the nation’s land and infrastructure was destroyed, and the country was reeling from four years of brutal conflict. The newly reunited United States needed to heal. Americans wanted to unify the broken nation and commemorate its fallen. In the aftermath of the war, communities in the North, South, and West began decorating military graves with flowers, as a way to honor and remember those who had served and sacrificed. Soon, informal “Decoration Day” rituals took place in towns throughout the country.The first such event of this type may have occurred as early as May 1, 1865. That day, a group of African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, along with local supporters and U.S. troops, took part in a procession to the graves of U.S. prisoners of war located at a former racetrack that the Confederacy had converted into a prison. There, the group decorated these graves with flowers.
Major General Montgomery C. Meigs
Meigs served as Quartermaster General of the Army during the Civil War. He organized much of the early development of Arlington National Cemetery.
Jeannette Waite Van Deusen
As a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, Van Deusen lead service projects to preserve the memory of those who served in the Civil War.
Section 1 Officers
One of the oldest sections in the cemetery, Section 1 functioned as one of the first “officer” sections. After Decoration Day celebrations increased the prominence of Arlington National Cemetery, Civil War officers who had survived the war began requesting burial at the cemetery. In response, Arlington created three new officer-only sections — today’s Sections 1, 2, and 3.Section 1 contains the gravesites of many Civil War officers, and you could spend days exploring the stories of the people laid to rest here. Here is a small sampling:
Section 13
Section 13 was once called the “Field of the Dead” because of the rows and rows of mostly identical headstones in every direction. Now, of course, identical government-issued headstones dominate most ANC sections. At the time of the Civil War, however, the officer’s sections (such as Section 1) mostly featured private markers of every size and shape, while government markers dominated Section 13, the primary burial ground for enlisted white soldiers and unknown service members.
James Parks
Parks was born as a slave on the Arlington Plantation, and spent his life working on the plantation and then as a groundskeeper at Arlington National Cemetery He was a crucial resource for preserving the history of the Arlington property He is the only person buried at the cemetery who was also born on the property
Anna Etheridge Hooks
Etheridge served as a nurse and vivandiere during the Civil War She is one of only two women to be decorated with the Kearny Cross, in recognition of her service and bravery
Nursing in the Civil War
The battlefield wasn’t the only place that female nurses were needed. While some women, like Anna Etheridge Hooks, provided care on the front lines, others, like Louisa May Alcott, nursed at temporary field hospitals or in hospitals farther from the fighting. There were also variations in other aspects of women’s nursing service. Some nurses, such as Etheridge or Susie King Taylor, received no wages or compensation. While others, such as Ann Bradford Stokes, were paid at the time of their service and later drew a military pension. Some women pursued employment in the medical field before or after their service while others returned to non-medical pursuits. However, some experiences were more universal, starting with the fact that female nurses were generally unwanted at the beginning of the war. When fighting began, both the Union and Confederate medical departments expected to rely on male nurses. But, as convalescing soldiers were ordered to act as nurses to their fellow patients, it quickly became clear that the demand for nurses far outstripped the male nurse supply.
Sergeant Major Milton Holland
Holland was a former slave who served in the United States Colored Troops He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of New Market Heights
USS Monitor
While most Civil War battles took place on land, some were waged at sea on naval ships — such as the USS Monitor, one of the United States’ first ironclad ships. The U.S. Navy built it at the start of the war in response to the threat of a Confederate ironclad, the CSS Virginia.The USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia met for battle on March 9, 1862, off the shore of Hampton Roads, Virginia. This engagement marked the start of a new naval era — an era defined by iron, steam, and engineering prowess. The battle ended in a draw and the Monitor withdrew to Washington Navy Yard for repairs.By December 1862, the Monitor was back in action. On Christmas Eve, its crew received orders to travel to Beaufort, North Carolina and await further instruction. Although the passage was initially calm, conditions deteriorated dramatically as the Monitor proceeded south. Just past midnight on December 31, 1862, approximately 16 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the ironclad succumbed to the waves and sank – taking four officers and twelve crew members to the bottom of the Atlantic as survivors watched in horror.
Conclusion
You've reached the end of the Civil War Tour. We hope you enjoyed your time exploring the cemetery and learning about the lives of those who contributed during the American Civil War. You can explore additional content and resources on the Arlington National Cemetery Education Program website, or find more tours through Arlington National Cemetery's STQRY.
