<P> The national cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House , which had been the estate of Confederate general Robert E. Lee 's wife Mary Anna ( Custis ) Lee ( a great - granddaughter of Martha Washington ) . The Cemetery , along with Arlington House , Memorial Drive , the Hemicycle , and the Arlington Memorial Bridge , form the Arlington National Cemetery Historic District , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2014 . </P>
<P> The national cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House , which had been the estate of Confederate general Robert E. Lee 's wife Mary Anna ( Custis ) Lee ( a great - granddaughter of Martha Washington ) . The Cemetery , along with Arlington House , Memorial Drive , the Hemicycle , and the Arlington Memorial Bridge , form the Arlington National Cemetery Historic District , listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2014 . </P>
who owned arlington national cemetery before it was a cemetery
who owned arlington national cemetery before it was a cemetery
Confederate general Robert E. Lee 's wife Mary Anna ( Custis ) Lee ( a great - granddaughter of Martha Washington )
Confederate general Robert E. Lee 's wife Mary Anna ( Custis ) Lee ( a great - granddaughter of Martha Washington )