6th Grade American History Research: Arlington

This historic cemetery bears witness to American heritage and the military service and sacrifice of men and women in uniform throughout American history.

When Jim Parks died in August of 1929, he left behind one of the few slave accounts on record from which Arlington House was restored. His testimony provides a more complete record of the people who inhabited the plantation: the slaves and the Custis-Lee family. The only person buried in Arlington Cemetery who was born on the old plantation, Jim Parks was laid to rest with full military honors: a fitting tribute to a man whose life linked Arlington's past and present.

One of the creators of the Arlington National Cemetery. "Under Meigs’ direction, the Union Army took control of Arlington House and surveyed and laid out the land. One of his first acts was to create the mass grave of 2,111 Union casualties from the battles of Bull Run in Mrs. Lee’s rose garden. He was disappointed that the first burials (Section 1) were located far behind the house. If you look at a map you'll see Section 2 almost encroaches up to the front porch. He said he wanted the bodies “buried so close to the house that they can never live there again.” (American Society of Landscape Architects)

Describes the details related to the recent expansion of the Arlington National Cemetery.

A memorial for cremated remains at Arlington National Cemetery.

Robert E. Lee was the son-in-law of George Washington Parke Custis.

In November 1853, emancipated Arlington slaves William and Rosabella Burke and their four children sailed to Liberia (Africa) on the Banshee which left Baltimore with 261 immigrants.

A 2017 article written by historian Eric Foner for the New York Times.

A historical report on the history of slavery in relation to the Lee family and their plantation, Stratford.

Charles Syphax oversaw the dining room at Arlington House and was the unofficial leader of the Arlington slave community. The son of a free black itinerant Alexandria street preacher and a Mount Vernon slave, Syphax was one of the fifty-seven slaves who came to Arlington from Mount Vernon with George Washington Parke Custis in 1802.

This inventory enumerates furniture, household accessories, prints and paintings at Arlington House at the time of its confiscation during the case of U.S. v. All the Rights, Titles, of Robert E. Lee.

This website gives public access to primary sources related to the architectural firm: Carrere & Hastings. Thomas Hastings was the architect of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.