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Sample Itinerary - Military History and Landmark
Tour
All aboard Tourmobile at Arlington National
Cemetery. Welcome to the tour designed for military history
buffs! On 612 acres of beautiful, wooded, rolling hills, Arlington
National Cemetery is the final resting place for
many of America's patriots - from foot soldiers to Presidents,
from the well-known to the unknown. Sanctioned by the National
Park Service, Tourmobile Sightseeing offers the only riding
tour available. From its ownership by the Custis and Lee
families to the present, a trained narrator/guide relays
the history of Arlington National Cemetery and offers accounts
of heroism and personal sacrifice.
At the Tomb of the Unknowns,
in which three unidentified soldiers represent all those lost
during WWI, WWII, and the Korean War conflicts, witness
the magnificent Changing of the Guard Ceremony. The Mast
of the Battleship Maine stands vigilant as a reminder of
the casualties of the Spanish-American War. Ponder the loss
to the nation while surveying the Civil War section where
one third of the soldiers were never identified. Take comfort
at the Confederate Memorial, the symbol of peace between
the North and the South. Spectacular views of our Nation's
Capital await at Arlington House, the memorial
to Robert E. Lee. On to the Lincoln Memorial with
plenty of time to experience the Korean Veterans'
Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.
Lobby Senators and Representatives at the next table during
a delighfful lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill -- Washington's oldest
bar established in 1856 -- just two blocks from the White
House Ellipse stop.
Strengthened by a delicious lunch, the choices
for the afternoon could include a tour of the White House
or the U.S. Capitol, where the Union troops were housed.
Alternatively, rent paddle boats at the Tidal Basin for the
most exciting and memorable way to see the Jefferson
Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Tourmobile's policy of free reboarding all day at any of
our stops permits visits to: National Gallery of
Art, Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum or
any of the Smithsonian Institutions, including:
the Natural History Museum, Museum
of American History, Arts and Industries
Museum, National Air and Space Museum.
Sample Itinerary - Civil War History Tour
Ride Through HistorySM on Tourmobile at Arlington National Cemetery. Welcome to the tour designed for Civil War history buffs as we commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War.
On over 600 acres of beautiful, wooded, rolling hills, Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for many of America's patriots - from foot soldiers to Presidents, from the well-known to the unknown. Sanctioned by the National Park Service, Tourmobile Sightseeing offers the only riding tour available. From its ownership by the Custis and Lee families to the present, a trained narrator / guide relays the history of Arlington National Cemetery and offers accounts of heroism and personal sacrifice.
Located near the Kennedy Family Gravesites, the first stop on our tour rests Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., a civil war veteran, and an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Many prominent military figures are also buried nearby including Major General George Crook, General Philip Sheridan, Captain Robert Todd Lincoln (son of the President), and many more.
Near our second stop on the tour, the Tomb of the Unknowns, is the Civil War Section of Arlington where many soldiers from this tragic war are buried including members of the U.S. Colored Troops. Take comfort at the Confederate Memorial the symbolic reconciliation between the North and the South.
Spectacular views of our Nation's Capital await visitors at Arlington House, our third and final stop on the tour and the memorial to Robert E. Lee. Near Arlington House the Tomb of the Unknown Civil War Dead. This monument contains the remains of 1,800 Bull Run casualties and was among the first monument to the Union dead erected under Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs’ orders. Meigs suggested to President Abraham Lincoln that the Robert E. Lee family property be used as a national cemetery and is buried near the Arlington House.
Upon your return to the Visitors Center, walk over to Section 27 to visit Private William Christman, the first official military serviceman buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Reflect on the loss to the nation while surveying where some soldiers from the Civil War were never identified. It is also the burial site of more than 3,800 former slaves and residents of Freedman’s Village.
Within the confines of Arlington National Cemetery, there are 45 roads and walkways stretching more than 15 miles. These arteries are named in honor of well-known American military figures and include the following:
- Grant Drive: in honor of Civil War General and President Ulysses S. Grant
- McKinley Drive: in honor of Civil War Major and President William McKinley
- Garfield Drive: in honor of Civil War Brigadier General and President James Abram Garfield.
- Meigs Drive: in honor of Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs
- Lee Drive: in honor Confederate War General Robert E. Lee
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