This 28 acre memorial, located in Arlington, Virginia protects and interprets the elegant antebellum home known known as Arlington House, which was completed in 1817 and owned by the Curtis and Lee families. Robert E. Lee lived in this house for 30 years, before the outbreak of the Civil War. On April 17, 1861, Virginia seceded from the Union; on April 20, Lee resigned from the U.S. Army; on April 22, he was appointed commander of the state’s military forces; and in May, Virginia and Lee’s forces joined the Confederacy. On April 1865, the war ended when Lee surrendered his army’s weapons to Union Commander, Ulysses S. Grant, at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. In 1955, Arlington House was designated as a memorial to Robert E. Lee, a man who had gained respect of Americans in both the North and South.

Visitors touring Arlington House enter by the impressive marbled-columned, front portico and continue through rooms on the first and second floors. The house, which is located adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, is open daily except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Access from Washington D.C. is a short walk or drive across the Potomac River by way of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, to the Arlington Memorial Cemetery visitor center parking area, and a short walk up the hill to the mansion. From within Virginia, the area is reached by the George Washington Memorial Parkway. A shuttle service and the Metro subway’s Blue Line stop at Arlington Cemetery.

Address:
George Washington Memorial Parkway

Turkey Run Park

McClean, VA 22101-0001

703-557-0613

Website:

http://www.nps.gov/arho/

The visitor center in the reconstructed county court house provides interpretive exhibits, audiovisual programs, and publications. Living history programs are presented during the summer, and a walking tour of the reconstructed buildings is offered. Access is by the way of the Appomattox exit of U.S. Route 460 (about 20 miles east of Lynchburg), and just north of State Route 24.

Address:

PO Box 218

Appomattox, VA 24522-0218

Website:

http://www.nps.gov/apco/