Arlington National Cemetery : Most Americans have heard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery. But did you know there is a Tomb of the Unknown Civil War Soldier just west of this location? Near the Arlington House (original home of Robert E. Lee) stands a monument dedicated to the unknown soldiers who died in the Civil War. The monument, dedicated in September 1866, stands atop a masonry vault containing the remains of 2,111 soldiers gathered from the fields of Bull Run Creek (Manassas) and the route to the Rappahannock. The remains were found scattered across the battlefields or in trenches and brought here. This monument was the first memorial at Arlington to be dedicated to soldiers who had died in battle, and who later could not be identified. Because in some instances only a few bones or a skull were recovered, it is assumed that the vault contains the remains of Confederate soldiers as well as Union troops.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:30:53 +0000
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