Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-08-30
ARLINGTON.
a PEACEFUL SPOT WHERE RE.
POSE OVER 10000 SOLDIERS.
The Place Consccratcd to The Past.
The Mansion of Robert T.. Lee
An Estate Beloved Of Nature
Faithful Old Slaves.

H"'iiSntiUl TIuc Oh tnfcc miles. through
historic Georgetown. past old buildings
in Which George Washington dined
under the shadow oil the famous college,
over Aqueduct Bridge and the beautiful
Potomac, past Fort Meyer, where the
signal service representations are trained
with military precision and discipline,
md we are at the gates of Arlington, SAWS
correspondent. 1t is like entering II
new world. Behind lie commerce. wealth,
ambition. politics. tine present, the future.
Once i'll Arlington you live in the past.
and the pas, alouc. The road winds
among the oaks, elias, nipples, nr,.;noins.
many kinds ol cvcrgrecns, aibor vita and
thousands Of ilo"crnG shrubs. Tie nil.
IS laden with the perfume of flowers, the
Sward is green and rc-;luI. the shade
cooling. But the marvellous beauties of
nature, here -preal with lavish hand. are
as nothing compared 10 ;he real Airing
ton. THESE natural attractions are but
the fair and graceful body. Arlington
possesses Il soul.
Under line sward rcposc the remains Of
1880 soldiers. Four thousand four
hundred and forty-nine OF these are I'M
known. VAST as arc these figures, one
can easily believe them true, for on either
side the long, regularly formed rows OF
small, white hcadstoncs extend, peyspcc-
lives OF green between lines of white as
far as vision can reach. The grounds are
perfectly kept. There is 40 grave that
has become Sunkcn, and none is marked
by an elevation Of the ground. Smooth
md ..v.u * In. .,,rr.,c,. .,,.n.,,,.t,.. W.T..
among these stones and in ten minutes
one may see such typical American names
rs Sherman, Whittier, Spiul,ling, Jack
son, Lee, Buchanan, Lawrence, Sheridan,
Grant, Randolph, Allen.
One of the Jacksons bears the initials
gu. :. G." and near by, oddly enough,
is an "Andrew Grant, Not far away is
"Georgc Washington, and within Il
stones throw two other Washiugtons-
ga" and 81 Plenty of good Irish
names may be seen, too, aud German MS
well, significant of the valiant par; borne
III the struggle by the sons of these
countries. Silent witnesses of wars
havoc are all these stones, but more cs.
pccially the ONES occasionally come upon
marked 81 luT," or San ARM" A few
Of these unidentified members were
honored with separate burial but in one
great phi were thrown the bones of Pill
unknown soldiers. gathered after war
from the fields OF Bull Run and the route
to the Rappahannock. Over them is 8.
cannon surmountcd monument BEARING
the inscription:
"Ticir remains could not bc idcnti-
lied, but their names and deaths are re-
corded i'll the archives of their country,
and its grateful citizens honor them as of
their noble army OF martyrs. May they
rest in peace"
Frequently one notes the name of a
woman, and on inquiry is surprised 10
learn that the remains of several hundred
women rcposc here in honor Bat in
his there is nothing inappropriate, and
Oh the records all so down rs '.soldiers, !"
:oT they were the wives OF officers who
'cll III battle, or nurses in the field hos
1iials. Surely these women who kent
lie homes and comfo:tcd the wounded
ind dying may iitingly be included with
| those OF whom the roadside tablet sings {:
On flames eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread
Aud Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac Of the dead.
Driving through the cemetery these
ron tablets with raised letters of white
ire seen by the way. Hundreds of thou
'andS OF visitors have seen and admired
:hem-neyer did poet have = better set =
ing for his vcrscs-bu: few know the
origin Of the lines. They were written
oy Theodore OHara, gifted Irish
hentuckian soldier and scholar, and read
BY him on the occasion of the unvcilin9
II monument to the dead of the Next
IAN war ut Frankfort, Ky, many wears
100. As one enters Arlington by the
wcst gate nearly the whole Of this beau
ful poem is shown him. verse by verse,
IS he drives along
by the roadside stand many pretty
monuments of officers and heroes. But
81 greater interests than any other object
within the tract of 1l3O acres is Airing
ton House, Il massive structure with Il
great portico of doric columns. Here
Robert l.. Lee WAS wed in 1881 to Mrs.
Curtis, granddaughter OF George Wash
mgtoiI, and here he lived, when not away
| - '''' N'N'AiN SSiN loi tnlltN NtaFS.
The old house stands Just as il stood
'evcnty-tive years ago. Though stripped
of its antique furniture and invaluable
;clics of Washington lis precious mem
orics still cling to it-mcmories which
Ill the fortunes Of war and tragedies OF
late canno; take away from it, a year
or two ago its outer walls had become
much faded, but have recently been
painted their old yellow co.or.
The servants quarters, tine detached
kitchen a"d other outbuildings arc pre-
served intact. In Il part OF the houses
aow lives the family Of the officer in
charge OF the cemetery, and the hall and
southern parlors are given up 10 The use
Of the public. a register is kept, in
which 10, 000 visitors record their names
each year, and on the walls hang map.
Of the cemetery, the diagram SHOWING
every grave and the names of all the
known dead.
\ magnificent estate was This OF
General Lee. Step out Oh the porticc
lnd behold the panorama In the fore.
ground Il sharp deciivity; at lis brow, but
few yards from the house, the grave
and new monument of Sheridan. The,