Tag: may 13

Private William Henry Christman Laid to Rest

 

Today in History, May 13, 1864:

Private William Christman of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry, US Army, became the first soldier laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.  He was laid to rest in the Lee’s rose garden near the Custis-Lee Mansion, or Arlington House.

Private Christman’s brother had preceded him in service to his country, leaving William to manage the family farm.  William volunteered himself in part to help provide for his family.  He became ill and died in a DC military hospital.

The mansion and the plantation it was on had belonged to George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, step-grandson of President Washington.  He willed the property to his daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis.  She in turn married a young US Army Lieutenant and West Point graduate, Robert E. Lee.

Lee served in the Mexican-American War and was respected as one of the best officers in the US Army.  In fact he was offered command of the forces around Washington at the outset of the Civil War.  He turned this offer down and instead left the Custis-Lee Mansion to go further south into Virginia and command Confederate forces.

As the war progressed the mansion was used as a Union Headquarters.  A camp to assist former slaves was set up on the property.  And finally, faced with mounting casualties in the war, the Union assumed the property as a cemetery for Union war dead.

It was actually after Private Christman was interred that the property was designated the Arlington National Cemetery.  Today American soldiers from every war fought by the United States are buried and memorialized at Arlington, including the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

arlingtoncemetery.mil

Vengeance is Mine, Saith Edwin Stanton

541968_2731686990141_322840196_n

Today in History, May 13: 1864 – A Union soldier is buried on the grounds of the Custis-Lee House, otherwise known as Arlington House. The adopted son of George Washington and Martha Custis-Washington had built the mansion in 1802. In 1831 his daughter, Mary Anna Custis married Lt. Robert E. Lee, and they lived in the home until 1861, when West Point graduate Lee resigned from the US Army and accepted the command of the Confederate Army.

1864 Secretary of War Edwin Stanton authorized the Lee’s property to become Arlington National Cemetery, so that Lee and his family could never again occupy the mansion. You can look out the front window of the mansion and see the major landmarks of Washington DC across the Potomac…it’s that close. Today, over 320,000 service men and women have been laid to rest at Arlington, including many of our nation’s most famous heroes from every war from the Revolution to Afghanistan. By the way, I took the photo I used…touring Arlington was a truly inspiring experience. To see the final resting place of so many of my heroes was an experience I’ll cherish forever.

The King is Gone

Today in History, May 13, 1975:  James had been born in 1905 on a farm near Kosse, Texas.  His father was an accomplished fiddle player and taught his son early…James mastered the instrument by age 10. 

Like many of his generation, James Robert Wills left home at 16 and began working odd jobs around the region. He got together with fellow musicians and made money playing at parties and dance clubs. 

By the 1930’s he had formed his now famous group, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. He incorporated a combination of jazz and swing into his country music during the big band era. With the exposure from playing in several Hollywood movies, the fast moving music he created gained national popularity, crossing genres. Some of his most popular hits were used in movies. 

In the late sixties Bob Wills was admitted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in recognition of how he had influenced the music industry. 

He passed on this day in 1975 after suffering a series of strokes.