United States v. Lee (1882)
With local cemeteries in Alexandria County and Alexandria filling rapidly with war dead, Quartermaster General of the United States Army Montgomery C. Meigs proposed using of the Arlington estate as a cemetery. The first burial there was made on May 13, 1864. United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton approved the establishment of a military cemetery on June 15, 1864, creating Arlington National Cemetery. By the end of the war in April 1865, more than 16,000 people had been buried at Arlington. In September 1866, a memorial and a burial vault (containing the remains of 2,111 U.S. and Confederate soldiers who died at the First Battle of Bull Run, Second Battle of Bull Run, and along the Rappahannock River) were buried in Lee's former wildflower garden on the mansion's east side beneath the Civil War Unknowns Monument, a memorial to honor unknown soldiers who had died during the American Civil War.
USS Maine Mast Memorial
In January 1913, the Corps of Engineers reported that enough funds were left over from salvage of the "Maine" to permit construction of the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial. The following month, shortly before the commemoration ceremonies at the "Maine" Memorial at Arlington, President Taft announced his preference for the establishment of the memorial in the field of the "Maine" dead rather than another location in the cemetery. Secretary of War Lindley Miller Garrison then placed the design project on hold to allow the CFA to consider placement of the memorial in relation to three other projects also approved for construction: The Arlington Memorial Bridge (which included a new drive to a new ceremonial gateway to the cemetery), Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, and a receiving vault and chapel. After discussions about the proposed location for the memorial, Wyeth submitted three designs to the CFA. In executive session, the commission made a recommendation to the Secretary of War. Acting Quartermaster General Henry Granville Sharpe recommended that Secretary of War Garrison accept Wyeth's design, and he did by June 30, 1913.