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.
McClellan Gate
In February 1867, Congress passed a national cemeteries bill which required that all military cemeteries be surrounded by a fence. Arlington was already enclosed by a picket fence, painted white. Construction soon began on a fence composed of sandstone taken from Seneca Quarry in Maryland. Five years later, all the Arlington Estate land not encompassed by the cemetery was declared to belong to Fort Whipple (now Fort Myer). Enclosure of Arlington National Cemetery was complete by 1891. (Due to expansion into the area formerly occupied by Freedmen's Village, the fence was enlarged. This enlargement was completed in 1897.)