Civil War Unknowns Monument

Last updated
Civil War Unknowns Monument
United States
Civil War Unknowns Memorial - E side - Arlington National Cemetery - 2011.JPG
West face of the Civil War Unknowns Monument
For the unknown dead of the American Civil War
Unveiled1865;158 years ago (1865)
Location 38°52′49″N77°04′23″W / 38.880416°N 77.073183°W / 38.880416; -77.073183 Coordinates: 38°52′49″N77°04′23″W / 38.880416°N 77.073183°W / 38.880416; -77.073183
near 

The Civil War Unknowns Monument is a burial vault and memorial honoring unidentified dead from the American Civil War. It is located in the grounds of Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. It was designed by Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs and constructed in 1865.

Contents

Many sources often incorrectly state that the monument was constructed in the middle of the Lee flower garden (often mischaracterized as a "rose garden"). However, the monument is just west of the flower garden, in what was once a grove of oak and elm trees. [1]

History of the site

Construction of Arlington House and "the Grove"

In 1778, John Parke Custis purchased an 1,100-acre (450 ha) tract of forested land on the Potomac River north of the town of Alexandria, Virginia. This land became the Arlington Estate. John Custis died in September 1781, and in 1799 his son, George Washington Parke Custis ("G.W.P.")—step-grandson of George Washington—inherited the site. G.W.P Custis and his wife, Mary, moved onto the estate, and between 1802 and 1814 they constructed Arlington House. The Custises extensively developed the site. Much of the steep slope to the east of the house became a cultivated English landscape park, while a large flower garden with an arbor was constructed and planted south of the house.

To the west of Arlington House, tall grass and low native plants led down a slope into a natural area of close-growing trees the Custises called "the Grove." [2] About 60 feet (18 m) to the west of the flower garden, "the Grove" contained tall elm and oak trees which formed a canopy. An informal flower garden was planted beneath the trees and maintained by the Custis daughters. [3] It is not clear when "the Grove" began to be developed, but it was under way by at least 1853. [3]

G.W.P.'s daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Robert E. Lee, an impoverished lieutenant in the United States Army, in June 1831. The Lees took up residence at Arlington House. Mary Custis died in 1853, and Mary Custis Lee had her buried in "the Grove". [4] G.W.P. Custis died in October 1857, and he was buried next to his wife in Arlington Forest near "the Grove". [4]

Cemetery

Map of the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery as they existed between 1865 and 1880. The location of the Civil War Unknowns Monument can be seen west of (not within) the Lee flower garden. Cultural history map of the grounds of Arlington House - Arlington National Cemetery - 1865 to 1880.jpg
Map of the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery as they existed between 1865 and 1880. The location of the Civil War Unknowns Monument can be seen west of (not within) the Lee flower garden.

Arlington Estate's history changed forever with the outbreak of the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee resigned from the United States Army on April 20, 1861, and took command of Virginia's armed forces on April 23. [5] Armed forces loyal to the United States ("Union" forces) realized that artillery placed on the heights of the estate would be able to shell the city of Washington at will. [6] Realizing Union forces were likely to seize her home, Mary Custis Lee packed up most of her belongings and fled to her family estate at Ravensworth on May 17. [7] On May 24, Union troops occupied Arlington Estate and Arlington House. [8]

On July 16, 1862, the United States Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for military dead, and put the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in charge of this program. [9] The Soldiers' Home in nearby Washington, D.C., and the Alexandria Cemetery were the primary burying grounds for war dead in the D.C. area, but by late 1863 both cemeteries were full. [9] In May 1864, large numbers of Union forces died in the Battle of the Wilderness. Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs ordered that an examination of eligible sites be made for the establishment for a large new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area. [9] The property was high and free from floods (which might unearth graves), it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of the leader of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America, and denying Robert E. Lee use of his home after the war was a valuable political consideration. [10] Although the first military burial at Arlington had been made on May 13, [11] Meigs did not authorize establishment of burials until June 15, 1864. [12]

Although most burials initially occurred near the freedmen's cemetery in the northeast corner of the estate, Meigs ordered in mid-June 1864 that burials commence immediately on the grounds of Arlington House. [11] The first officer burial had occurred next to the main flower garden on May 17, but with Meigs' order another 44 officers were buried along the southern and eastern sides of this area within a month. [11] In December 1865, Robert E. Lee's brother, Sydney Smith Lee, visited Arlington House and observed that the house could be made livable again if the graves around the flower garden were removed. [13] Meigs hated Lee for betraying the Union, [14] and ordered that more burials occur near the house in order to make it politically impossible for disinterment to occur. [15]

Design and construction of the memorial

The Civil War Unknowns Monument c. 1866, shortly after it was constructed. The white picket fence in the rear marks the western boundary of the Lee flower garden. Civil War Unknowns Memorial - Arlington National Cemetery - c 1866.jpg
The Civil War Unknowns Monument c. 1866, shortly after it was constructed. The white picket fence in the rear marks the western boundary of the Lee flower garden.

By 1865, most of "the Grove" had been lost. Its flower beds and paths had been trampled out of existence by troops and pack animals, and some of its trees had been cut down. [1] That year, Meigs decided to build a monument to Civil War dead in the center of "the Grove". [1] U.S. Army troops were dispatched to investigate every battlefield within a 35-mile (56 km) radius of the city of Washington, D.C. The bodies of 2,111 Union and Confederate dead were collected, most of them from the battlefields of First and Second Bull Run as well as the Union army's retreat along the Rappahannock River (which occurred after both battles). Some of the dead had been interred on the battlefield, but most were full or partial remains discovered unburied on the field of battle. None were identifiable. Although Meigs had not intended to collect the remains of Confederate war dead, the inability to identify remains meant that both Union and Confederate dead were interred below the cenotaph. [16]

U.S. Army engineers chopped down the trees in eastern half of "the Grove", leaving only a small copse to the west. They dug a circular pit about 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep into the earth. [17] The walls and floor were lined with brick, and it was segmented it into compartments with mortared brick walls. [1] Into each compartment were placed a different body part: skulls, legs, arms, ribs, etc. [18] The vault was half full by the time it was ready for sealing in September 1866. The vault was sealed with concrete and soil. [1] Meigs designed [17] a 6-foot (1.8 m) tall, 12-foot (3.7 m) long, 4-foot (1.2 m) wide grey granite and concrete cenotaph to rest on top of the burial vault. The cenotaph consisted of two long light grey granite slabs, with the shorter ends formed by sandwiching a smaller slab between the longer two. On the west face was an inscription describing the number of dead in the vault below, and honoring the "unknowns of the Civil War". [1]

Originally, a Rodman gun was placed on each corner, and a pyramid of shot adorned the center of the lid. A circular walk, centered 45 feet (14 m) from the center of the memorial, provided access. A walk led east to the flower garden, and another west to a road. Sod was laid around the memorial, and planting beds filled with annual plants emplaced. [1]

Changes to the memorial since 1865

The Civil War Unknowns Monument c. 1900, showing the new decorative lid, the changed position of the Rodman guns, and the new location of the shot pyramids. Civil War Unknowns Monument - Arlington National Cemetery - c 1900.jpg
The Civil War Unknowns Monument c. 1900, showing the new decorative lid, the changed position of the Rodman guns, and the new location of the shot pyramids.

By 1893, [19] the original monument had been radically changed. The plain sarcophagus walls were replaced with more ornate ones, although the inscription had been retained. [17] The lid was replaced by one modeled after the Ark of the Covenant described in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. The Rodman guns were placed muzzle-down into the earth, and the large pyramid of shot removed from the lid. [17] Four small pyramids of shot were placed on either side of the east and west pathways leading to the memorial. The memorial was also raised off the earth onto a slightly larger base of rough-hewn dark grey granite blocks mortared together. This base is three stones high, or about 3 feet (0.91 m). A second base of large light grey granite slabs about 1 foot (0.30 m) high was placed on top of the first base. A third base, consisting of a single light grey granite slab, was installed above the second base. This third base was slightly smaller than the first two, but slightly larger than the memorial itself. Four light grey granite sections about 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) high sat atop the original sides, decorated with pilasters. Like the walls of the sarcophagus, these consisted of two long, unbroken sections with smaller sections inserted between them at the ends. These sections were mortised, so that all four sections appear to meet at the corners. A slightly larger light grey granite base flared out above the pilaster section. Unlike the lower section, longer sections were sandwiched between the end sections. (This enables friction to help tie the monument together.) The new cover of the sarcophagus consisted of a single large light grey granite slab. Twenty-two bas-relief stars inside circles were added above the lip of the lid. Four stylized, partial fleur-de-lis faced outward at each corner. The top of the lid was rounded. The entire monument was about 12-foot (3.7 m) high at the uppermost portion of the lid.

The Civil War Unknowns Monument was the inspiration for Montgomery Meigs' own tomb, also located at Arlington National Cemetery. Meigs erected the sarcophagus over the grave of his wife, and he himself was buried there in 1892. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cemetery</span> Place of burial

A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word cemetery implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs. The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington National Cemetery</span> Military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US

Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Saturday. The other Army cemetery is in Washington, D.C. and is called the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. All other national cemeteries are run by the National Cemetery System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Auburn Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waverley Cemetery</span> Cemetery in New South Wales, Australia

The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins and P. Beddie, the cemetery is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. It is regularly cited as being one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson. Also known as General Cemetery Waverley, it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 October 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington Custis Lee</span> Confederate Army general

George Washington Custis Lee, also known as Custis Lee, was the eldest son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. His grandfather George Washington Custis was the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington and grandson of Martha Custis Washington. He served as a Confederate general in the American Civil War, primarily as an aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis, and succeeded his father as president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery C. Meigs</span> Union Army general

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War. Meigs strongly opposed secession and supported the Union; his record as Quartermaster General was regarded as outstanding, both in effectiveness and in ethical probity, and Secretary of State William H. Seward viewed it as a key factor in the Union victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington Memorial Amphitheater</span> Historic site in Arlington County, Virginia

Memorial Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, exhibit hall, and nonsectarian chapel located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Designed in 1913 as a replacement for the older, wooden amphitheater near Arlington House, ground was broken for its construction in March 1915 and it was dedicated in May 1920. In the center of its eastern steps is the Tomb of the Unknowns, dedicated in 1921. It has served as the site for numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day services, as well as for memorial services and funerals for many individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial</span> Historic estate in Virginia operated by the U.S. National Park Service

Arlington House is the historic family residence of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, and a national memorial in his honor serving as a museum, located in Arlington, Virginia. It is situated in the middle of Arlington National Cemetery, overlooking the Potomac River and the National Mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington Parke Custis</span> Adopted grandson of George Washington (1781–1857)

George Washington Parke Custis was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew up at Mount Vernon and in the Washington presidential household.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Anna Custis Lee</span> Wife of Robert E. Lee (1807–1873)

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee was the wife of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee and the last private owner of Arlington Estate. She was the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis who was the grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, the wife of George Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brothers' Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Riga, Latvia

Brothers' Cemetery or Cemetery of the Brethren, also sometimes referred to in English as the Common Graves or simply as the Military Cemetery, is a military cemetery and national monument in Riga, capital of Latvia.

United States v. Lee, 106 U.S. 196 (1882), is a 5-to-4 ruling by the United States Supreme Court which held that the Constitution's prohibition on lawsuits against the federal government did not extend to officers of the government themselves. The case involved the heir of Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Confederate States of America General Robert E. Lee, who sued to regain control of Arlington House and its grounds. Arlington had been seized by the United States government in 1861 and eventually converted into Arlington National Cemetery. The estate had been sold to pay outstanding taxes, but the lawsuit contested the tax sale as improper. A jury found in favor of the Lees. The Supreme Court, too, concluded that the tax sale was illegal. In stripping the federal officers of their sovereign immunity, the Supreme Court agreed that suit against them was proper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grave of Robert F. Kennedy</span> Historic gravesite

The grave of Robert F. Kennedy is a historic grave site and memorial to assassinated United States Senator and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy located in section 45 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. It was dedicated on December 6, 1971, and replaced a temporary grave in which Kennedy was originally buried on June 8, 1968. It is adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame.

Arlington Ridge Road is a street through residential areas and business districts in Arlington County, Virginia in the United States. South Arlington Ridge Road is roughly 1.5 miles in length and extends from Prospect Hill Park/Army-Navy Drive in the north to Glebe Road and Four Mile Run creek in the south. As it crosses the creek it turns into Mount Vernon Avenue. Arlington Ridge Road was first constructed in 1840, and formerly extended north through Arlington National Cemetery to Rosslyn, Virginia near Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Potomac River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClellan Gate</span>

The McClellan Gate is a memorial to Major General George B. McClellan located inside Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Constructed about 1871 on Arlington Ridge Road, it served as a main gate until about 1879 when the Sheridan Gate was constructed. The McClellan Gate became nonfunctional in 1966 when the road closed, and expansion of the cemetery eastward in 1971 left the gate deep inside Arlington. It is the only gate constructed on the cemetery's eastern boundary in the 1800s that survives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish–American War Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)</span> War memorial in Virginia, USA

The Spanish–American War Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those American military personnel who died in the Spanish–American War. Constructed by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and dedicated on May 21, 1902, the memorial consists of a granite column in the center of a small grass-covered plaza. A granite sphere and bronze eagle with outstretched wings stand atop the shaft. The memorial faces west; to its rear across Lawton Avenue is a flagstone terrace on which are placed four cannon, aimed east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Riders Memorial</span> Memorial in Virginia, USA

The Rough Riders Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those members of the "Rough Riders" who died in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The grey granite shaft was erected by surviving members of the Rough Riders and their friends and supporters. Although Arlington National Cemetery, a number of secondary sources, and even the bronze plaque on the memorial say the monument was dedicated in 1906 and one source says 1905, contemporary newspaper accounts show the memorial was dedicated on April 12, 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)</span> Monument in Arlington National Cemetery built in 1914

The Confederate Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States, that commemorates members of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America who died during the American Civil War. Authorized in March 1906, former Confederate soldier and sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in November 1910 to design the memorial. It was unveiled by President Woodrow Wilson on June 4, 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanner Amphitheater</span>

The James Tanner Amphitheater is a historic wood and brick amphitheater located at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The amphitheater, which was originally unnamed, was constructed in 1873 and served as the cemetery's main public meeting space until the completion of Memorial Amphitheater in 1920. The amphitheater was informally called the Old Amphitheater from 1920 to May 2014, when it was renamed the James R. Tanner Amphitheater in honor of James R. Tanner, a disabled American Civil War veteran and influential veterans' organization leader.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cultural Landscape Program, p. 96. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  2. Cultural Landscape Program, p. 54. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  3. 1 2 Cultural Landscape Program, p. 59. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  4. 1 2 Cultural Landscape Program, p. 60. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  5. "Arlington National Cemetery," 2009, p. 77.
  6. Chase, 1930, p. 173.
  7. McCaslin, 2004, pp. 79–80; Atkinson, 2007, p. 25.
  8. Chase, 1930, p. 176.
  9. 1 2 3 Cultural Landscape Program, p. 84. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  10. Cultural Landscape Program, p. 88. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  11. 1 2 3 Cultural Landscape Program, p. 86. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  12. Cultural Landscape Program, p. 85. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  13. Cultural Landscape Program, p. 87. Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Accessed 2012-04-29.
  14. Peters, p. 142.
  15. Poole, Robert M. "How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be." Smithsonian Magazine. November 2009. Accessed 2012-04-29.
  16. Heidler, Heidler, and Coles, p. 78.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Poole, Robert M. (2009). On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery. New York: Walker & Co., pp. 86–87, 100–101. ISBN   978-0802715487
  18. Bigler, p. 30.
  19. See the image contained in Cleaveland and Campbell, p. 90. Accessed 2012-04-29.

Bibliography