Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1883-06-28
ltrum our Correspondent. (
Washington Letter.

Although the weather is too warm to
make sight seeing all pleasure, have
spent the larger part Of the last two weeks
in visiting places Of interest in and around
the city.
went 10 Arlington on Decoration Day.
The place j., certainly beautiful enough to
merit all that has been written in its praise
/ The estate is situated ON Airing on Heights,
in Virginia, due west from the Capitol and in
/ pIaln view from ii. 1t was the property Of
/ Daniel Parhe Cu>tis, the first husband of
Mrs. George Washington. and descended
tii~t to his son John Parke Cu.tis, and then
To his grandson George Washington Parke
Cu,tis, by whom Arlington House was
built
Arlington House was designed from draw
ngs of Il temple near Naples and has a
frontage of one hundred and forty feet. with
porlIco ,iNtv feet long and twenty-five
deep. oruamrnled with eight Doric columns.
The situation is remarkably fine, beng on
the side of hiIl winch slopes gentl, to the
Potomac. Just across the river are Wash
ington's Monument and the National 90
>ervatory, while farther away are the clus-
tered roofs of the Capitol city. Arlington,
'.heto dc wan. was one of the paatial resi-
NttlNtN VI ttif tNuttI, DfIllS tUt NOME OI
Gen. Robert + Lee, who married the daugh-
ter of George Washington Parke CustIs
II i often SAID that Arlington was sold
under the confiscaton act but this is not
true as 1t was never the property Of Gen
Lee, but devised to his wife during her
lifetime, and then to her sons In 1864, on
account of the accumulation Of taxes upon
it, 1t ordered To be sold, and was bouuht
H..
hundred acres were set apart for a National
Cemetery, and over fifteen thousand Union
soldiers lie buried there, their white head
boards dotting the sward Of what was form
erly the home of the great Confederate
leader, while his house, far fane ed for its
sou hern hospitality is occupied by the War
den Of the cemetery and his assistants.
The principal entrance to the grounds is
on the east. Here, to form gateway are
four Of the six massive pillars that adorned
the old War Department. The other two
mark smaller gateway on another part of
the grounds. The colored soldiers are
buried north Of the house, and the white
soldiers on the west, while on the south
saddest of all-is The unknown tomb" in
which rest the remains of two thousand one
hundred and eleven unidentified soldiers
taken from the Bull Run battlefield, and the
line of march to the Rappahannock. This
tomb is of granite appropriately inscribed
On Decoration Day it was beautifully decor
ated with flags and flowers. The Marine
band halted there on their return from
decorating the graves and played a drge
while the audience stood with uncovered
heads.
An amphtheatre has heen erected near
the house in which memorial services are
held Oh Decoration Day. Several varieties
of vines have been planted which already
wreath Its pillars, and in few years will
cover the whole structure.
The Custis family burial lot is enclosed
by light fence. Some of the monuments
are very old and mark the resting place of
the proprietors of the estate who during
their lives were among the F. F. VS..