Insight Guides: Pocket Washington D.C. by Insight Guides

Insight Guides: Pocket Washington D.C. by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, USA
Publisher: APA
Published: 2016-03-29T16:00:00+00:00


Arlington ( [map]

The busy Arlington Memorial Bridge, ornamented with massive gilded sculptures, crosses the Potomac into Virginia. On this side of the river you’ll find the Arlington National Cemetery (Welcome Center daily 8am–5pm, until 7pm Apr–Sept; www.arlingtoncemetery.mil; free) best accessed via its Metro stop (for more information, click here).

Solemn rows at Arlington National Cemetery

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The green slopes of Arlington are still as lovely as in the early days when Martha Washington’s grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, chose the hilltop site for his mansion, Arlington House (built 1802–1817, when the massive Doric portico was finished). His daughter Mary married Robert E. Lee in 1831 and together they lived here for 30 years, whenever army life permitted. It was in this house that Lee made his decision to refuse the offer of command of Union forces at the outset of the Civil War. Although he supported the Union and opposed slavery, he could not bring himself to fight against his own state. He rode south to Richmond, never to return.

The estate was confiscated and the grounds began to be used for the burial of war dead; out of this grew Arlington National Cemetery. Lee’s eldest son fought for the return of his property all the way to the Supreme Court, where he won the case, but now that graves covered the hillsides around the house, he accepted compensation instead of coming back here to live. Painstaking restoration and a search for original or similar pre-Civil War furniture now gives an idea of the house in the Lees’ day. Also, the guides are dressed up in period costume. Look for the paintings by Custis in the hall and the morning room – he was an accomplished artist.

The vista from the portico was called “the finest in the world” by Lafayette before much of the Washington planned by his compatriot, Pierre L’Enfant, was realized. Today L’Enfant, dismissed amid acrimony at the time, has his tomb just in front of the house, with a perfect view of the city. The granite slab is engraved with his prophetic map.

For many years, all members of the US armed forces and their immediate families could be buried in the cemetery, but the rate at which space was being used made it necessary to restrict that right, despite the vast area.

Near the entrance stands the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, dedicated in 1997, which honors the more than 1.8 million women who have served in the United States Armed Forces, from the American Revolution to the present. The complex incorporates an education center, set into the hillside just behind the memorial (there’s a spectacular view of the city and its monuments from up here). The center details the history of women in the military and houses a database of servicewomen. Its glass roof is etched with sayings from famous men and women who served their country.

Walk south on Roosevelt Drive from the memorial to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Broad steps climb to a 50-ton block of white marble.



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