Last month, Arlington Cemetery’s Confederate Memorial was removed, one step in resolving ever-persistent discussions about Arlington’s history and connections with race.
The cemetery has a complex history with race — even down to the land it rests on, which was once the plantation of George Washington Parke Custis and, later, Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The Arlington House at the top of the hill was home to at least 100 slaves prior to the Civil War, and for some 80 years after its founding Arlington remained segregated.
But, at the same time, during the Civil War, the southern part of the cemetery was converted into a Freedman’s Village, a locale intended to provide shelter for freed slaves. The area lasted for around 30 years. President Harry Truman desegregated Arlington in 1948. And today, African-American history is present throughout the cemetery via the burial sites of storied military and entertainment figures.
Joe Louis
Among Arlington Cemetery’s most famous residents — though not necessarily for his military service — is Joe Louis. Louis picked up boxing at 11 years old in 1925, and rapidly rose through the ranks of the boxing world, at one point winning 27 professional fights in a row.
But Louis’ success streak was suddenly snapped in 1936, when he lost a fight to Max Schmeling, the pride of Germany. Louis, though, wasn’t willing to call it quits there — two years later, he again took on Schmeling.
The conditions of this fight were different from the last. Europe was on the brink of World War 2, as fascism began to grip the continent and especially Germany. Louis became a symbol of democracy, with even President Franklin Roosevelt encouraging him to take on Schmeling.
In the end, the fight wasn’t even a contest — Louis took Schmeling down in two minutes.
That success, though, isn’t why Louis is in Arlington. In 1942, the storied boxer enlisted in the military, receiving the Legion of Merit for his work entertaining the troops three years later.
Now, Louis is buried in Arlington, with one of the cemetery’s grandest markers — an emblem engraving on the back displays the heavyweight champion in his boxing stance.
Roscoe Robinson
Just a few rows in front of Louis is the marker for Roscoe Robinson, the first African-American four star general in U.S. Army history. Robinson was a true career military member, starting out his professional life by attending West Point before serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He received a Bronze Star in Korea and a Silver Star in Vietnam.
Robinson spent the next thirty or so years bouncing around to various military command posts, from Hawaii to Okinawa to North Carolina — all told, not too bad as far as places to be stationed go. His career culminated in 1982, when he received his promotion to four star general, before retiring from the military three years later.
Matthew A. Henson
It might’ve been a cold winter in D.C. this year, but I can promise you Matthew A. Henson experienced colder ones. Henson, a DMV native who grew up in Maryland before working in D.C., was side-by-side with fellow explorer Robert E. Peary when the duo discovered the North Pole in 1909.
Henson first started working with Peary in 1888 on a trip to Nicaragua. The duo made seven total trips together to the Arctic in the years that followed, before their eventual discovery of the North Pole — sadly, with no discovery of Santa’s workshop to go along with it. Henson pivoted to civil service after his northern days were over, clerking in a U.S. Customs House.
The explorer passed in 1955 and was buried in New York, while Peary was laid to rest in Arlington. But in 1987, Henson expert Dr. S Allen Counter requested that the cemetery’s burial requirements be waived so Henson could be buried next to Peary. The president relented, and the duo of explorers were allowed to be reunited within Arlington.
Henson’s marker is covered in golden designs, including two globes and the discoverer of the North Pole starring stoically out at visitors.
To learn more about Henson, Robinson, Louis and the rest of Arlington’s history, be sure to book one of our Arlington National Cemetery tours.
(Top image credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakindeacon/6084353232, commercial & other licenses)
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