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ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, May 13, 2014) -- Exactly 150
years ago on May 13, 1864, Pvt. William Henry Christman became the
first Soldier to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Christman's family members, visitors and Soldiers from "The Old
Guard" were at his gravesite today to pay tribute to him and to the
cemetery's sesquicentennial.
The ceremony began a month of
anniversary observances at Arlington National Cemetery, which will
culminate June 16, with a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Also attending today's ceremony, were representatives from the
area around Pocono Lake, Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, Pa.,
where Christman hailed from.
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Exactly 150 years ago, on May 13, 1864, Pvt. William Henry Christman became the first Soldier to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
Image left - Lauren Christman, great-great grand niece (left); James Christman, great-grand nephew; and Barbara Christman Page, great-grand niece, honored their ancestor by laying a wreath at his grave. Image
Right - A stone from outside Christman's home, which still stands
today, was placed on top of his marker by Rick Bodenschatz, a
representative from the Tobyhanna Township (Pa.) Historical
Association. The wreath above Christman's tombstone and next to the
one from his family the was placed there by an Arlington National
Cemetery employee. (U.S. Army photos by David Vergun were combined
by USA Patriotism!)
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James Christman, great-grand nephew, Lauren Christman,
great-great grand niece and Barbara Christman Page,
great-grand niece, honored their ancestor with a wreath.
A stone from outside
Christman's home, which still stands today, was placed on
top of his marker by Rick Bodenschatz, a representative from
the Tobyhanna Township Historical Association.
On
March 25, at the age of 20, Christman enlisted in the 67th
Pennsylvania Infantry. Less than two months later he died of
measles.
Christman's brother Barnabas was killed
during the Battle of Glendale, which took place June 30,
1862, in Henrico County, Va.
"That's what spurred
William to join," said Page. "He also wanted to help out his
family" by joining, as he was a laborer and didn't make a
lot of money.
Page, who spoke to reporters after the
ceremony, said her father served in the Army and was in the
Battle of the Bulge.
"We're so honored to be here,"
she said. "It's just amazing and overwhelming, and there are
not many of us left."
"It feels great that a family
member answered the call," said James Christman, who also
spoke following the ceremony. "Unfortunately, his time in
the Army was short. But it's nice that the Army didn't
forget him."
It's also nice that his marker is the
same as everyone else's and not special because he was
first, said James Christman, pointing out the other plain
and diminutive markers, including one to the immediate right
of Christman's marker, that of Pvt. William B. Blatt.
Blatt was the first battle casualty of the Civil War to
be buried in Arlington National Cemeter, just a day after
Christman. His marker bears the number "18," designating its
location.
After Christman's burial -- marked by a
simple wood marker that was the custom at the time -- more
than 15,000 other Civil War veterans, including several
hundred Confederate troops, were buried in the cemetery.
Tens of thousands of other veterans followed from subsequent
conflicts and periods of peacetime.
In the latter
part of the 19th century, the wood markers were replaced by
stone markers, including Christman's. The "19" on his marker
designates its location in Section 27, on a small hill
within sight of the Netherlands Carillon, near the U.S.
Marine Corps War Memorial.
Although Christman was the
first to be buried at Arlington -- not including members of
the original estate before it became a national cemetery --
several dozen Soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War
and War of 1812, are also buried in the cemetery, albeit at
a date later than Christman.
Last year, five Civil
War veterans were interred with full honors; two Soldiers
who were brothers and three Sailors from the iron-clad ship,
the USS Monitor.
Following the ceremony, Dr. Stephen
Carney, Arlington National Cemetery command historian, gave
a lecture about the history of the cemetery at the Women In
Military Service for America Memorial.
He pointed out
that the Custis family owned the 1,100-acre estate, from
about 1750 until the Civil War. The commander of the
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee,
was married to Mary Anna Custis Lee at the time, and was
executor of the estate.
However, Carney said there's
no document proving that the Army of the Potomac seized the
property on May 24, 1861, in retribution. While not
discounting possible retribution, he credits three factors
for the Union Army taking the land.
First, much of
the cemetery sits on high ground overlooking Washington,
D.C. He said fortifications were erected there mainly to
prevent Confederates from taking that land. If the South had
control of Arlington Heights, it could have lobbed
cannonballs almost anywhere in the nation's capital.
Second, a lot of freed slaves from the South were moving
north and land was needed for them to settle. So, on May 5,
1863, Freedman's Village was settled using some of the land.
Third, the land was needed to bury the mounting war
casualties.
Carney then provided some items of
interest, including: more than 7,000 funerals and 3,000
ceremonies a year take place at Arlington National Cemetery,
which has about 3.5 million visitors annually.
The
cemetery received a lot of attention following the burial of
President John F. Kennedy, Nov. 25, 1963. Requests for
burials there tripled afterward, he noted, and despite some
expansion programs underway, Carney believes the cemetery
will run out of burial spots by around 2055, and will no
longer be considered an "active" cemetery.
By David Vergun
Army News Service
Copyright 2014
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