A TRIBUTE FROM THE DOMINION OF CANADA On November 11, 1927, the Canadian Government unveiled this memorial in honor of the citizens of the United States who served in the Canadian Army and gave their lives in the World War. The design for each private monument erected over a grave in Arlington, except the regulation marble headstones furnished by the Government, must first be submitted to the Quartermaster General's Office for approval, and its dimensions must conform to prescribed regulations, according to the rank of the officer. No flowers or vines are now permitted to be planted on the graves. stricken with camp fever and was hurried to the home of Colonel Bassett, at Eltham, near Yorktown, where he died November 5, 1781, at the age of 28, leaving a young widow, Eleanor, daughter of Benedict Calvert, of Mount Airy, Maryland, a descendant of Lord Baltimore. Two of Custis's four small children General Washington at once adopted and took to Mount Vernon to live with him and their grandmother, Martha Washing ton. They were George PRICELESS FURNISH- To this large and splendid home he brought his Virginia bride, Mary Lee Fitzhugh; she was not yet out of her teens. With their many slaves they lived in splendor. Mary Ann Randolph Custis, their only child who lived to maturity, was born here in 1808. To Arlington House came most of the priceless relics from Mount Vernon upon the death of Martha Washington-pictures, silver, china, furniture, Washington's tent, the bed in which he died. A few miles away, at Fairfax Courthouse, the General's last will and testament, written in his own hand, was filed, and there it is to-day, where any visitor may see it. Life flowed on in elegance and ease at Arlington for more than half a century, until October, 1857, when the master was laid to rest beneath his own lofty trees, beside his wife, who had died four years previously. At Arlington House, on a stormy evening. in June, 1831, Mary Ann Randolph Custis became Mrs. Robert E. Lee. At the death of her father she became the life tenant of Arlington plantation. In October, 1859, at Harpers Ferry, farther up the Potomac, John Brown began his tragic assault upon the United States arsenal, and Colonel Lee was suddenly called away from his wife and children at Arlington to take comImand of the United States troops and suppress the outbreak. Whenever Robert E. Lee could find time from his arduous duties as a soldier, he was at Arlington with his family, caring for the great plantation. He was a good manager and Arlington lost nothing in value under his care. With the opening days of the great Civil War drama, in 1861, it was manifest that Virginia would secede from the Union. In Washington Colonel Lee was sounded to Photograph by Charles Martin IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE "MAINE" One of the fighting tops of the ill-fated battleship Maine surmounts a granite pedestal over the graves of the victims of the disaster in Havana Harbor in 1898, which was a forerunner of the War with Spain. In December, 1899, 165 bodies were disinterred at Havana and brought to Arlington. The flag-draped coffins were all lowered into their graves at one time, in the presence of President McKinley and his Cabinet and other dignitaries. When the warship was finally raised, years later, the remains of 65 other victims were recovered and brought home in March, 1912, to be buried in Arlington. On the base of the monument are the names of those who lost their lives in this catastrophe. Rear Adm. Charles Sigsbee, who was captain of the Maine at the time, is buried in Arlington, but not in the Maine Section. see whether he would take command of the Union Army. He declined, and two days later, April 20, sent his resignation. to the Secretary of War. He was soon summoned to Richmond, where with great reluctance he drew his sword in defense of Virginia and the Southern Cause. And now came dark days at Arlington. The peace and quiet of former times were gone, never to return for Colonel and Mrs. Lee and their children. If the priceless things inherited from Mount Vernon were to be saved, there was no time to lose; the storm was gathering and might break any day. From Richmond, where he was organizing the army which later became EACH YEAR THE SILENT POPULATION OF FAME'S CAMPING GROUND IS RECORDED IN FLOWERS Just south of the Mansion is the "Temple of Fame," inscribed with the names of Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and Farragut on the circumference, those of McPherson, Sedgwick, Reynolds, Humphreys, Garfield, Mansfield, Thomas, and Meade on the columns. Up to August 31, 1928, 37,061 dead had been buried in Arlington, of which number 4.713 are unknown. In the right background, through the trees, can be seen the tomb of 2,111 unknown Civil War dead (see page 631). ARLINGTON'S FIRST PROPRIETOR IS BURIED HERE The obelisk at the left is over the grave of George Washington Parke Custis, "the child of Mount Vernon," born at Mount Airy, Maryland, April 30, 1781; died at Arlington House October 10, 1857. The monument to the right, beyond the tree, is that of Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, a descendant of the Fitzhughs and Randolphs of Virginia, who died at Arlington House April 23, 1853. The entire inclosure is carpeted with lilies of the valley. Photograph by Orren R. Louden THE FIRST TOMB FOR UNKNOWN DEAD IN ARLINGTON The inscription reads: "Beneath this stone repose the bones of two ADMIRAL PEARY AND AVIATOR FLOYD BENNETT REST ON THE SAME HILLSIDE The intrepid American naval officer who was the first to attain the North Pole sleeps beneath a granite globe which he designed and which was erected to his memory by the National Geographic Society. To the left is the grave of Floyd Bennett, who accompanied Comdr. Richard E. Byrd on the first conquest of the North Pole by air and later lost his life in attempting a rescue of fellow aviators. the Army of Northern Virginia, General Lee wrote almost frantic letters to his wife to make haste; but it was no easy task to dismantle a mansion the size of Arlington House and remove its priceless contents deeper into Virginia, where they would ultimately be behind the Confederate lines. Working with desperate haste, Mrs. Lee removed as many of the Mount Vernon furnishings as possible, but when, in the middle of May, she deemed it advisable to leave Arlington and seek refuge at Ravensworth, the home of relatives, near Fairfax Courthouse, her task was still unfinished. Some of the furnishings had to be left behind. The stately mansion was never again to shelter within its hospitable walls the Custises and Lees of Virginia. and their distinguished guests. THE UNITED STATES TAKES POSSESSION Gen. Winfield Scott ordered General Mansfield to seize and fortify these high hills on the Virginia side of the river, lest Confederate cannon should be planted there and raise havoc with the Federal City. On the night of May 23 columns of troops moved out of Washington, crossed the river under cover of darkness, and before noon the next day all these fair Virginia hills were in the hands of the Union forces. General McDowell took up his headquarters in Arlington House. Under orders from Secretary of War Stanton. the remaining family heirlooms that had come from Mount Vernon were packed and sent to Washington, where they were stored in the Patent Office. Many years later some of them were restored to Mount Vernon, while some went to the National Museum in Washington, where they still remain. Not for a day since May 24, 1861, have the armed forces of the Federal Government relinquished their possession of the fields and wooded slopes of Arlington plantation. Gone were the halcyon times of lavish entertainment; no more would picnic parties cross the Potomac to spend the day in |