Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-08


area now inclosed and constituting the
national cemetery is 40S Ia acres.
1.-The construction of the mansion
completed until after the war of 1912.
1t is said to have been modelled after
the Temple of Paestum, near Naples.
1t was the residence of Robert e. Lee
until 1851. When he resigned his COM
mission in the United States Army to
join the rebellion and afterward be-
came it's most conspicuous military
leader. The main buildings of the
premises have been preserved in their
original appearance and condition. The
six columns at the two northern gate
ways on the east front of the tceme=
terry were a part OF the north portico
of the old War Department at Wash
ington removed ON it's demolition in
1879. and the stone pillars and en-
tablature of the Temple of Fame. just
south of the mansion, were removed
from the corridors of the patent Of
flee upon the restoration of that build
ing after it's partial destruction by fire
September ~, 1877.
within the addition in the south
eastern section of the Enclosure is the
site of Fort Mcpherson, one of the
chain of Notifications constructed dur
ing the war of the rebellion for the
defense of Washington. 1t has been
restored as far as practicable to it's
original condition.
THE burials in this cemetery are
mainly of those who died in the hos
pitfalls in the city of Washington and
vicinity. but include also the remains
gathered from the battlefelds of Bull
Run, Manassas Bristow Station, Chan
tilly and Aide, from numerous camps
and fields between the Potomac and
the Rappahannock and removals from,
Point Lookout Md, and from aban-
doned cemeteries in the District of
Columbia The number of interments
in the cemetery at this date (Decem-
Der |. 1880, is 1920.
This abridged history of the Ar
nngton house estate and the Airing
ton national cemetery is set forth
upon these tablets for the information
of visitors by the quartermaster's de-
partment, L. S. A. under the direction
of the Secretary of War
* X
The number of interments at Ar
lington on June 81, 1917, was 25,0O6,
and of this number 4,71O were Gun
known" being the remains of men
gathered up from the civil war battle
fields near Washington.
Acres of graves are dug at Arling-
ton each year and in 1920, when the
work of bringing back the dead from
France, wide fields yet untouched by
the spade will be given over to new
graves.
The tract which John Alexander took
over from Robert Howsen for six
hogsheads of tobacco he named t'Pres-
ton" 1t is not now easy to locate the
bounds of this tract, but on it are
built all the towns and villages be-
tween the, Aqueduct and Highway
bridges and the city of Alexandria and
scores of villages west of the ridge
on which Arlington stands. The rail-
road tracks in the great freight yards
called the Potomac yards are laid on
lands That were close around the house
which John Alexander built. The site
OF the house was near Four-mile run
between the railroad and the river
and it is likely that some new tracks
laid there cover the site of the house
The family graveyard of the Alexan-
ders of Preston and their descendants
was within few rods of the eastern
most of the railroad tracks and a year
or so ago arrangements were made for
the removal to the cemtery of Pohick
: Church of the tombstones and such
remains as might be found there. The
first house on the tract was of logs
and was built by John Alexander about
the year 1870. His son, Charles. is
thought to have built fine mansion
on or close to the site of the log house.
This was succeeded after its destruc-
ton by fire by another house which
came to be known rs the Swami house,
after the name of n family which in
herited through the AleXanders a large
: extent of the Preston property.
Preston passed from Charles Alex
ander, descendant of Charles, the
son OF John Alexander, to his youngest
son, Lee Massey Alexander, and on his
death to his sister. Frances Alexan-
der, who was the wife of william
Thomas Swami, A son of that mar