The Hidden History of Arlington Cemetery

 

Arlington House

Mary and Robert E. Lee lived in Arlington House until 1861 when Virginia seceded from the Union and Lee went south to join the Confederate army. Union troops moved into an subsequently took possession of the estate which became a national cemetery.

 Neither Robert E. Lee nor his wife ever set foot in Arlington House again. After the death of his parents, George Washington Custis Lee claimed that the house and land had been illegally confiscated and that, according to his grandfather's will, he was the legal owner.

 In December 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, returned the property to George Washington Custis Lee, stating that it had been confiscated without due process.

Would the dead have to be transferred to a new site?  General Lee's son diffused the crisis by selling the house and land to the government for its’ fair market value.

Suggested Reading:

On Hallowed Ground: TheStory of Arlington National Cemetery

A definitive, deeply researched history of Arlington National Cemetery. This book guides readers from the estate’s Civil War origins to its role as America’s most sacred military burial ground. Perfect for anyone wanting the full story behind the land, the legends, and the legacy.

Section 27 and Freedman’s Village in Arlington National Cemetery

A powerful exploration of the cemetery’s lesser‑known African American history. This book uncovers the stories of Freedman’s Village and Section 27, offering essential context for readers interested in Arlington’s hidden past and the lives of formerly enslaved people who lived there.

Arlington National Cemetery: A Guided Tour Through History A concise, visitor‑friendly guide that blends narrative history with practical touring insights. Ideal for readers planning a visit or wanting a structured overview of Arlington’s evolution from plantation to national shrine.

Arlington NationalCemetery (Images of America Series)

A rich photographic history capturing Arlington’s transformation across decades. This visual collection is perfect for readers who want to see the cemetery’s past through archival images and rare historical photographs.

Arlington NationalCemetery: The History of America’s Most Famous Military Cemetery

A broad, accessible overview of Arlington’s founding, Civil War roots, and national significance. Excellent for general readers seeking a clear, engaging introduction to the cemetery’s place in American memory.

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

Virginia Legends and Lore

Civil War: Notable Hispanics

 

Luis F. Emilio

Augusto Rodríguez

Son of a Spanish immigrant, Luis F. Emilio lied about his age to enlist young and became a captain (later acting commander) in the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first African American regiments. He fought in the brutal assault on Fort Wagner and later chronicled the regiment’s history.

A Puerto Rican immigrant and Union lieutenant in the 15th Connecticut Regiment, Augusto Rodríguez helped defend Washington, D.C., and fought at Fredericksburg. A West Point attendee or graduate in some accounts, he exemplified immigrant service and continued public service as a firefighter after the war.

There were two notable Latino Medal of Honor recipients in the Union Navy: John Ortega (Spanish-born) served on the USS Saratoga enforcing the blockade, while Philip Bazaar (Chilean) distinguished himself in the assault on Fort Fisher.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

Civil War: Mastermind of the Petersburg Crater

 

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to an American father and Spanish mother, Henry Clay Pleasants was a mining engineer who rose to brevet brigadier general in the Union Army. He masterminded the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg by designing a massive mine tunnel under Confederate lines (though the follow-up assault failed). His engineering innovation highlighted Latino contributions to tactical ingenuity.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

Civil War: Hispanic American Medal of Honor Recipient

 

Latinos played significant but often overlooked roles in the American Civil War. Estimates suggest around 10,000–20,000 served.

A Union soldier of Hispanic descent serving with the 19th Massachusetts Infantry, Joseph H. De Castro became the first Hispanic American to receive the Medal of Honor. At Gettysburg during Pickett’s Charge, he seized a Confederate flag in hand-to-hand combat, helping defend Cemetery Ridge.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

Highest-Ranking Mexican-American in the Confederate Army

 

Latinos played significant but often overlooked roles in the American Civil War. Estimates suggest around 10,000–20,000 served.

The highest-ranking Mexican-American in the Confederate Army, Colonel Santos Benavides commanded the 33rd Texas Cavalry. From Laredo, Texas, he and his brothers defended the Rio Grande border, repelled Union forces at Brownsville, and protected Confederate cotton trade. He is widely regarded as a hero in Texas Confederate history.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

Civil War Hispanics: David Farragut

 

Hispanics played significant but often overlooked roles in the American Civil War. Estimates suggest around 10,000–20,000 served.

The most prominent Hispanic figure in the war, David  Farragut was a Union Navy admiral of Spanish descent (son of a Spanish-born captain). He led the capture of New Orleans in 1862 and achieved a stunning victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, famously ordering, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” He became the first full admiral in U.S. Navy history and remains one of the most celebrated naval commanders in American history.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

General “Fighting Joe” Wheeler: From Gray to Blue

 

Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler served with distinction in both the Confederate and United States armies, bridging the divide of the Civil War through his later service.

Born in Augusta, Georgia, to New England parents, Wheeler graduated from West Point near the bottom of his class in 1859. He served briefly in the U.S. Army's Mounted Rifles in the New Mexico Territory, where he earned his nickname "Fighting Joe" in skirmishes against Native American forces.

When the Civil War came, Wheeler resigned his U.S. commission and joined the Confederacy. By late 1862, he became chief of cavalry for the Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg.

Wheeler participated in nearly every major campaign in the Western Theater.  Known for aggressive raids, screening advances, and covering retreats, he was promoted to major general at age 26 and later lieutenant general.

After the war, Wheeler settled in Alabama, studied law, became a planter, and served multiple terms as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from 1881 to 1900.

In 1898, at age 61, President William McKinley appointed him a major general of U.S. Volunteers to help reunite the nation. Wheeler commanded a cavalry division in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Famously, at the Battle of San Juan Hill, the Wheeler excitedly shouted, “We’ve got the Yankees on the run!”—momentarily forgetting he was now fighting for the United States.

He later served in the Philippine-American War before retiring as a brigadier general in the Regular Army in 1900.

Wheeler died in 1906 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. His unique career symbolized both the scars of the Civil War and the reconciliation of a reunited nation.

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

Civil War Eccentrics: General Dan Sickles

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

Union Major General Daniel Sickles stands out as perhaps the most outrageous. Before the war, as a Congressman, he murdered his wife's lover (Philip Barton Key, son of the Star-Spangled Banner writer) in broad daylight in 1859. He was acquitted using the first successful "temporary insanity" defense in U.S. history.

At Gettysburg (1863), he famously disobeyed orders by advancing his corps to the Peach Orchard, which some blame for nearly collapsing the Union line — yet he lost his right leg in the fighting and later received the Medal of Honor. He had the amputated leg bones preserved in a small coffin-shaped box and donated them to the Army Medical Museum (now National Museum of Health and Medicine). He reportedly visited "his leg" on the anniversary of the amputation for years.

Sickles was a notorious womanizer who once brought a brothel madam as his date to meet Queen Victoria.

Alexandria, 1861-1865

The Great Northern Rebellion of 1860

Civil War Eccentrics: “Stonewall” Jackson

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was a brilliant tactician but famously eccentric. He believed one side of his body was heavier than the other, so he frequently rode or walked with one arm raised high to "balance the blood flow." He was a hypochondriac who sucked on lemons (or peaches, depending on the account), stood for long periods to keep his organs in place, and had intense religious habits.

Alexandria, 1861-1865

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

Civil War Eccentrics: “Fighting Joe” Hooker

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

UnionMaj. Gen. Joseph Hooker earned a reputation for hard-drinking and loose living. His headquarters during the winter of 1862–63 was described by a cavalry officer as "a combination of a bar-room and a brothel." This led to rumors (partly exaggerated) that prostitutes following his army became known as "hookers."

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

The Great Northern Rebellion of 1860 (alternate history)

Civil War Eccentrics: General Richard Ewell

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell was often called the "oddest, most eccentric genius in the Confederate Army." He had a bald head, a long nose, and bright eyes, and he frequently tilted his head sideways like a bird when listening or giving orders. His mannerisms were so peculiar that subordinates found him almost comical.

Ewell was a hypochondriac who carried around a variety of medicines and was known for explosive verbal orders that no one could fully understand when he was excited.

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

War and Reconstruction in Mississippi 1861-1875: A Portrait

Civil War Eccentrics: “Beast Butler”

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most controversial and detested figures of the war. Nicknamed the "Beast of New Orleans" for his harsh occupation of the city in 1862, he issued the infamous "Woman Order": any woman who insulted Union soldiers would be treated as a "woman of the town" (i.e., a prostitute). This outraged the South, and Jefferson Davis declared him an outlaw.

He was also called "Spoons Butler" for allegedly stealing silverware and other valuables from Southern homes. Southerners made chamber pots with his face on the bottom. Physically, he was described as ugly with a walleye, and his military competence was widely questioned but he was a shrewd politician.

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

CIVIL WAR CIVILIAN LIFE: MANASSAS, VIRGINIA (Battle of Bull Run)

                                                                                 

Civil War Eccentrics: “Kill-Cavalry” Kilpatrick

 

Many  Civil War generals were deeply eccentric, had wild personal lives, or engaged in bizarre behaviors that would seem unthinkable for modern military leaders.

Union Brig. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick earned the nickname "Kill-Cavalry" for his reckless tactics that got many of his own men killed in ill-advised charges. He was ambitious, brash, and politically savvy, often prioritizing glory over sound strategy (famously at Gettysburg, where he pushed a disastrous charge).

He was known for disorderly camps filled with prostitutes and once famously fled in his underwear during a surprise Confederate attack at Monroe's Crossroads. Kilpatrick was a glory-seeker who exaggerated successes and survived multiple wounds and scandals.

  

Treasure Legends of the Civil War

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

The Youngest Confederate General

 

William Paul Roberts (1841–1910) earned the distinction of becoming the youngest general officer in the Confederate States Army. Born in Gates County, North Carolina, he enlisted as a private in the 15th North Carolina Infantry at age 19. His bravery and leadership shone through in battles like Fredericksburg and Brandy Station.

Rising rapidly through the ranks, Roberts commanded cavalry units. On February 23, 1865, at just 23 years old, he was promoted to brigadier general, leading a cavalry brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia during the war’s final campaigns.

After Appomattox, he returned to civilian life as a farmer, legislator, and state auditor.

Alexandria, 1861-1865 (Images of America: Virginia)

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

Civil War Soldiers: Sarah Rosetta Wakeman

 

Historians estimate that between 400 and 1,000 women—on both Union and Confederate sides—disguised themselves as men to enlist and fight in the American Civil War.

Many served undetected for months or years, participating in major battles, enduring camp life, and facing the same risks as their male comrades.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (1843 to1864) enlisted in 1862 as Private Lyons Wakeman in the 153rd New York Infantry. She served nearly two years, participating in the Red River Campaign. Her letters home—discovered decades later—provide rare primary insight into a female soldier's experiences, including pride in her service and hopes for family support.

Wakeman died of dysentery in a New Orleans hospital in 1864 and was buried under her male name in Chalmette National Cemetery. Her sex remained undiscovered during her service.

Women Doctors in the Civil War

The Civil War Wedding

Civil War Soldiers: Frances Clayton

 

Historians estimate that between 400 and 1,000 women—on both Union and Confederate sides—disguised themselves as men to enlist and fight in the American Civil War.

Many served undetected for months or years, participating in major battles, enduring camp life, and facing the same risks as their male comrades.

Frances Clayton enlisted with her husband in a Missouri Union unit as Jack Williams. She reportedly fought in 18 battles, including Fort Donelson (where she was wounded), Shiloh, and Stones River (where her husband was reportedly killed in front of her). She continued fighting afterward.

The Confederate Woman: Soldier and Spy

Women Doctors in the Civil War

Women Soldiers in the Civil War: Jennie Hodgers

 

Historians estimate that between 400 and 1,000 women—on both Union and Confederate sides—disguised themselves as men to enlist and fight in the American Civil War.

Many served undetected for months or years, participating in major battles, enduring camp life, and facing the same risks as their male comrades.

Jennie Hodgers (1843 to 1915), an Irish immigrant, enlisted in 1862 as Albert D.J. Cashier in the 95th Illinois Infantry. She fought in approximately 40 engagements, including the Siege of Vicksburg, and served until the war's end without detection.

Cashier continued living as a man postwar, working as a laborer and drawing a pension. Her identity was only revealed in 1913 during a medical examination for dementia.

The Confederate Woman: Soldier and Spy

The Civil War Wedding