Arlington National Cemetery

This passage talks about the creation of a special cemetery for soldiers called Arlington National Cemetary.

Lexile Level: 540L

Categories: History People & Places

The graves of many famous people are at Arlington National Cemetery. It did not start out that way. In 1861, a Confederate general and his wife owned the house and the land. That general was Robert E. Lee. His house was across the river from Washington, D.C. The Union Army took over the land at the start of the Civil War. Union soldiers that were killed in the war were buried near the house. These soldiers were poor. Their families could not pay for them to be buried. Arlington was called a "potter's field." A potter's field is a place where poor or unknown people are buried. After the war, something odd started to happen. Union officers asked to be buried at Arlington. They wanted to be near those men who had been in the war with them. Americans saw that Arlington was a special place. Now many people visit it each year. They go to honor the known and the unknown soldiers.