Garden to Graves

After three years of Civil War, the dead had filled all burial spaces in the area. In 1864, President Lincoln charged General Montgomery Meigs with finding a site for a new national cemetery. Arlington's high elevation and aesthetic beauty made it an ideal choice, and the Lees had abandoned their home by May 1861. Lee and Meigs had much in common: both were West Point graduates, and Meigs had worked under Lee in 1834 in St. Louis. Meigs had also visited Arlington House several times, but he could not forgive Lee for joining the Confederacy. On June 15, 1864, Meigs ordered that 200 acres surrounding the mansion be set aside as a cemetery, and he personally supervised the burial and placement of headstones for 22 soldiers in Mrs. Lee's flower garden.

Arlington, Virginia · United States