Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-02-28

ment Of their places Of burial. In the
early days 1.-The dead buried its dead
indeed. There was no easy communi-
cation as nowadays between fighting
line and hearthstone, and bodies were
buried In trenches or graves on battle.
fields or in convenient cemeteries, and
no comprehensive records were kept
or made. Coming down to the civil
war, the records, so far as the Federal
army is concerned, are far from com,
plete, and in many of the cemeteries
the graves marked unknown greatly
outnumber the known.
Arlington, the best known of nation
al cemeteries and the subject of this
letter, has an interesting history, be-
ginning long before it was used as a
cemetery and interviewer with the
story of one of the best known families
of the nation. 1t was originally the
Arlington estate, but has sometimes
been spoken of as the Lee homestead.
In the back counties there is hazy
belief that 1t once belonged to George
Washington. This error is due to the
fact that on the death of John Parke
Custis, the owner of Arlington, Wash.
ington adopted two Of the children OF
the deceased. One of these, George
Washington Parke Oustis, by the law
of primogeniture then In force, inherit
ed tile estate. and upon the death Of
his grandmother, Mrs. Washington, il
1902, in whose family he had until
then resided. he built Arlington House.
Here he spent long and interesting
life, and upon his death. in 1857, he left
will devising the estate except 151k.
acres left his colored servant, Maria
Syphax) to his only daughter, Mary
Randolph Custis, the wife Of General
Robert e. Lee, and ut her death to her
eldest son, George Washington Custis
Lee. The estate was contiscated by
the government in January, 1864. The
legal complications and actions at
court which followed the close OF the
civil war make too long and complex
a story to tell here. Suffice 1t to say
that soon after the death OF Mrs. Lee
which occurred In 1873, suit was begun
to eject the representatives of the
United States government who were in
possession of the estate. The cemetery
had been laid out in 1868 and thou
sands of soldiers had already been
buried there by the government, so
that when George Washington Custis
Lee won his suit he found himself
owner In fee of very large burying
ground. His only redress would be a
long and expensive suit, and he accept
cd the offer Of the United States and
for $150,000 surrendered the home Of
his fathers to the myriad children of
the pale rider.
Arlington, which consists of about
1,100 acres, is situated in Fairfax couh-
ty, Va, on the south hank of the Poto-
mac, Just across the river from the
White House. The ground is high, and
the view from tho high points takes in
all the prominent features of the city
of Washington.
One Of the most attractive features
at Arlington is the old mansion which
stands upon the highest point In the
cemetery. The mansion is modelled
after the Temple Of Fame and bears
upon its frieze the names of Washing
ton, Grant, Farragut and Lincoln and
upon its columns Garfield, Thomas,
Meade, McPheyaon, Sedgwick. Reyn-
by Is the monument to "the unknown"
by is the monument TO 'The Unknown"
and just beyond It the beautiful amphi-
theater, 400 feet IN diameter, with
chaste Corinthlan rostrum and colon
made. A little way from the house to
the south are the graves of George
Washington Custis and his wife. In
gloomy place under the hill is the rest
ing place Of Mrs, Mary Randolph.
IL was In this beautiful and pictur-