Arlington National Cemetery is next to Washington D.C. It is on land that used to belong to Robert E. Lee’s wife. Lee and his wife lived there until the Civil War. General Lee led the army of the South in that war. That made the North mad.

The government took over Lee’s land and house. Some of the land was given to freed slaves. The army buried dead soldiers in the garden. That way, the Lees would not want to come back.

Later, the land was returned to Lee’s son. He sold it back to the government to use as a cemetery.

Now there are more than 300,000 people buried there. They are from every war the United States has been in. The first soldier buried there was William Henry Christman in 1864.

The cemetery has many rules about who can be buried there. The person must have served some active-duty in the military. A spouse of a person missing in action may be buried there. The President of the United States may be buried there.

There are several memorials in Arlington. One is for the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Another is for the victims of the September 11 attack on the Pentagon.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is a popular spot to visit. It has unidentified remains of people from many wars. The Eternal Flame is also popular. It is on President Kennedy’s grave.