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.
Arlington Memorial Amphitheater
An Easter sunrise service has been held at Memorial Amphitheater every year since 1931. The first such service was held in 1931 and organized by the Knights Templar, a group of Freemasons. Music was provided by the United States Marine Band. President Herbert Hoover attended the service, along with several thousand people. Along with Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, it is one of the annual and most well-attended events in the amphitheater.