Arlington National Cemetery: Landscape of Remembrance Walking Tour

Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s most sacred resting place, where more than 400,000 servicemen and women are buried among rolling hills and sweeping views of Washington, DC. Every American war is represented here—from the Revolution to the present day. Two U.S. Presidents, thirteen Supreme Court justices, and countless others whose lives shaped the nation are buried in these hallowed grounds. Arlington is not only a collection of graves; it is a carefully composed memorial landscape. Its tree-lined avenues, symmetrical rows of headstones, and monumental memorials embody evolving ideas about honor, sacrifice, and national identity. On this guided walk, we’ll explore how history and design converge to make Arlington a living memorial. Please let me know if you have a personal connection to the cemetery. I would be honored to help locate a specific grave or memorial.

We start with Arlington's origin story: once the estate of George Washington Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, and later home of Robert E. Lee. During the Civil War, the Union seized the plantation and transformed it into a cemetery. Arlington served as a pointed message to the Lee family, with Union soldiers at their doorstep, broad vistas toward the Capitol, and a layout conveying discipline, unity, and permanence. Arlington House is perched on the hill, and the nearby grave of city planner Pierre L’Enfant commands a vista across the city he envisioned, though this was not his original resting place. The Kennedy family gravesites and eternal flame are at the foot of the hill. Section One features some of the oldest and most intriguing graves. Our walk culminates at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where white marble and the solemn Changing of the Guard create one of America’s most powerful symbolic spaces.