ARLINGTON, Va. — Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their family members. The land was originally the family estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, but his family was forced to give it up during the Civil War.
Ultimately, the U.S. government purchased the property and set aside land to use as a cemetery for the thousands who were dying in the war — including William Christman, the first person buried there, whose descendents attended today’s ceremony marking the cemetery’s 150th year.
Published in conjunction with 