Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)
Arlington National Cemetery was established in June 1864 as a cemetery for Union (United States of America) Civil War dead. The first military burial at Arlington (a white soldier, William Henry Christman) was made on May 13, 1864, close to what is now the northeast gate in Section 27. However, formal authorization for burials was not given by Major General Montgomery C. Meigs (Quartermaster General of the United States Army) until June 15, 1864.
Abbey Mausoleum (Arlington County, Virginia)
Abbey Mausoleum was built in 1924 by the U.S. Mausoleum Company. The land was owned by the Syphax family. Maria Custis Syphax, the matriarch of the family, was the mulatto daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington and founder of the Arlington Estate on the banks of the Potomac River (later the home of Robert E. Lee). The Spyhax family sold the land to John Dormoyle in 1901, who then sold it to Frederick Rice in 1924. Rice subdivided the property into two lots, and sold one lot to the U.S. Mausoleum Corporation the same year. The lot was rectangular in shape and located next to the Hobson Gate.