Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-05-23

| OF business can DC sent Dy telephone.
| Entersd at the Postofice Alexandris, Virgin
| is, as second-class matter.
ARLINGToN'S FIRST GRAVE.
The custom of decorating the graves
of the soldier dead originated with the
women of the South. Directly after
the close of the war, the women of the
South went out in the springtime and
scattered flowers on the graves of then
dead who lay in the national cemete.
ries. In some places they placed flow
ers on the graves of their former enc.
mics. The news was telegraphed to
the North and published widely in
northern newspapers. 1t touched re.
sponsive chord IN the hearts Of thou
sands of men and women whose dead
were lying in unknown graves in the
South. The custom was established
then throughout the North, rather
by common consent than by any form
of agreement, and the 30th of May was
selected as the day for its observance.
The Grand Army of the Republic took
| charge of the ceremonies, and now the
preparations are chiefly in the hands of
the Women's Relief Corps, that auxil-
ary of the Grand Army, composed Of
the widows and daughters of veterans.
There are a few national cemeteries
at which there is no OBJ ervance of Dec
Grafton Day. Some of the cemeteries
are small and are seldom visited. They
are kept in good condition by the War
Department, though. And this is
no small item Of the War De-
partment's expenses. 1t costs the
government 100000 annually to
maintain in good condition the
S3 national cemeteries of which
the quartermaster-g has charge
This is in addition to the SCI, $50 paid
to the superintendent, 73 in number.
Arlington Cemetery is the most con-
spicuous of the cemeterie because more
Of the soldier dead are buried there,
snd because it holds more of the dis
tinguished dead than any of the other
cemeteries. And there are historic
memories associated with Arlington
which makes it place of pilgrimage to
Americans from the south as we'll as
from the northern States. 1t was the
home of George Washington Parke
Gusts, the adopted son Of George
Washington, and when it was seized by
the government for use as national
cemetery, it had been for many years
the property of the family of General
Robert E. Lee, the revered leader of the
Confederate army.
It might be yet the home of the Lee
family if the War Department had not
undertaken to bury the soldier dead
there; for the Supreme Court of the
United States held long after the war
that the seizure of the property was
illegal, and compelled the government
to make restitution to Robert E. Lees
son, George Washington Custis Lee, to
whom the estate had been willed by
his grandfather, George Washington
Parke Gusts. The story of Arlington's
dedication to cemetery uses is interest
ing.
The estate passed into possession OF
the United States government under
proceedings to collect the special direct
tax of $4,000, 600, provided for in the
law of August 6, 1861. The direct tax
law had been supplemented by all act
passed June Z, 1862, providing for the
collection of the tax in the insurrection.
ary States. This act gave authority to
apportion the tax among the property
holders where it could not be collected
through the State authorities, and to
sell the property for unpaid taxes; and
it was provided that the property could
be bought in for the government, If
needed. Under this Law the Arlington
estate was advertised November 81,
1863, to be sold January II, 1864. AT
this time the estate was occupied by
two forts, with full garrisohs, and the
Secretary of War recommended that 1t
be bought in. This was done; and the
| price paid for the property was S26, 100
The assessed value of the property the
year before the war was S34, 100.
On the 18th of May, 1864, Gen. NJ. G.
Meigs, the quartermaster-general of
the army, was passing the White
House, when President Lincoln
hailed him and asked him to
drive to Arlington. On the way there
they discussed the crowded condition
of the cemeteries near Washington,
already filled with the soldier dead.
Meigs had been an associate of Gen.
Lee in the regular army, and he had a
bitter feeling of hatred for the man
who, he believed, had betrayed his
country. He had q feeling that the
government title to Arlington was none
too secure. Besides, the conflict between
north and south was in doubt. A
thought was suggested to him by the
difficulties growing out of the crowding
of the cemetaries. "Lee shall never
| return to Arlington" he said to the
President.
Some old soldiers passed carrying
the davis dead on stretchers. Gen.
Meigs stopped them and instructed the
| captain in command to order out a
squad to bury the dead in Arlington.
He pointed to spot and said: "Bury
them there.n Within a few minutes
the first body was committed to the
dust. Oddly enough, it was the body
of L. Reinhardt, of the Twenty-third
North Carolina, q captive and prisoner
of war, who had died in the federal
| hospital. The second interment was
that of Edwin Fisher, sergeant of Com
pany D, Fortieth New York Infantry.
! To-day there are more than 1900
soldiers buried in Arlington Cemetery.
In all of the national cemeteries there
are now 1S2, ,632 known and l49, ,932 un-
known dead. Arlington is the most