Last stop in old history
During my
trip I have been searching for the old American history from the founding
fathers to the Civil War history. Hence I figured my last stop should be deeply
rooted in the history of the
The
cemetery is located around the old Arlington House which used to George
Washington Parke Curtis the grandson of Martha Washington. Later the house was
deeded to Robert E Lee's wife with Lee acting as the executer of the will.
Hence the
One of
Lee's former friend General Meigs from 
Lee was
never able to return to his magnificent house on top of the hill with a superb
view out across the National Mall and down towards the Capitol Hill. After the
war Lee's son George Washington Custis Lee took the matter to the Supreme Court
wanting compensation and was awarded a compensation of 150.000 dollars for the
estate.
I went to
go for the usual tour of the ground but I was in a bit of a hurry hence I only
had time to quickly pass by the most famous of all the graves at the sight -
the final resting place of John F Kennedy and his family. Then I went to the
top of the hill to have a quick look at the Arlington House - which currently
has no furniture on display because of ongoing restoration.
After my
quick visit I had to get going to the airport - I sort of hoped there would not
be too much traffic because that could kind of mess up my plans about getting
on a certain airplane to go home. Fortunately there really wasn't much traffic
going to the airport so I made it with plenty of time to spare.
At the end of the Civil War 16.000 soldier were buried at the site and it could never again be used as a private residence. Instead it was used as a national cemetery and is well know for this till this day. The most notable of the graves is probably the grave of John F Kennedy which is situated a bit up the hill towards the Arlington House.
On the hill you will see many graves of ordinary soldiers as well as high ranking officers. And on top of the hill is the Arlington House which you can also visit on your trip to Arlington Cemetery. The main house is the old home of Robert E Lee and should have furniture as well. But the furniture is currently missing because of ongoing restorations of the house. Along with the house are some old slave quarters where you can see a bit about the history of the slaves at the estate.
From the house you will be able to have possibly the best view of the National Mall in all of Washington when you look down along the Mall with the Lincoln Memorial down to the Washington Memorial and then finally at the end of the Mall the Capitol Hill.
