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Arlington National Cemetery, United States federal burial ground in northeastern Virginia, administered by the Department of the Army. The site, on the Potomac River across from Washington, D.C., occupies 253 hectares (624 acres) and contains the remains of more than 260,000 veterans, their dependents, and political leaders. Most of those buried in Arlington National Cemetery served in the U.S. armed forces, and many were killed during battle. Among the monuments on the grounds are the Tomb of the Unknowns (also called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, and Arlington House, the former mansion of Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his wife, Mary Anna Randolph Lee.

In 1864 the mansion and grounds were confiscated during the American Civil War from the owner, Mary Lee, by the Union government, and 81 hectares (200 acres) were set aside as a cemetery for Union dead. After the war, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the house was the property of George Washington Custis Lee, son of Robert E. Lee. He accepted $150,000 for the property in 1882. Beginning in 1863, portions of the estate served as Freedman's Village, a settlement of former slaves. Freedman's Village remained for more than 30 years.

Persons eligible for burial in Arlington National Cemetery are those who died while on active duty in the U.S. armed forces; those having at least 20 years' active duty or active reserve service, or those retired for disability; veterans honorably discharged for 30 percent (or more) disability before October 1, 1949; recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Cross, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, or Purple Heart; the spouse or unmarried child under 21 years of age of any of the above; and prisoners of war.

Famous Americans buried in the cemetery include the political leader and editor William Jennings Bryan; Presidents William H. Taft and John F. Kennedy; the political leader Robert F. Kennedy; generals Philip H. Sheridan, John J. Pershing, and Omar N. Bradley; the army surgeon and bacteriologist Major Walter Reed; the explorers Admiral Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson; and the American boxer Joe Louis.


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