The James Tanner Amphitheater is a historic wood and brick amphitheater located at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The amphitheater, which was originally unnamed, was constructed in 1873 and served as the cemetery's main public meeting space until the completion of Memorial Amphitheater in 1920. The amphitheater was informally called the Old Amphitheater from 1920 to May 2014, when it was renamed the James R. Tanner Amphitheater in honor of James R. Tanner, a disabled American Civil War veteran and influential veterans' organization leader.
History of the site
Construction of Arlington House and "the Grove" In 1778, John Parke Custis purchased an tract of forested land on the Potomac River north of the town of Alexandria, Virginia. This land became the Arlington Estate. John Custis died in September 1781, and in 1799 his son, George Washington Parke Custis ("G.W.P.")—foster-grandson of George Washington—inherited the site. G.W.P Custis moved onto the estate in 1802, and between 1802 and 1818 constructed Arlington House. Custis also extensively developed the estate grounds. Much of the steep slope to the east of the house became a cultivated English landscape park, while a large flower garden with an arbor was constructed and planted south of the house.
To the west of Arlington House, tall grass and low native plants led down a slope into a natural area of close-growing trees the Custises called "the Grove." Located about west of the flower garden, "the Grove" contained tall elm and oak trees which formed a canopy. An informal flower garden was planted beneath the trees and maintained by the Custis daughters. It is not clear when "the Grove" began to be developed, but it was under way by at least 1853.
G.W.P.'s daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Robert E. Lee, an impoverished lieutenant in the United States Army, in June 1831. The Lees took up residence at Arlington House. Mary Custis died in 1853, and Mary Custis Lee had her buried in "the Grove". G.W.P. Custis died in October 1857, and he was buried next to his wife in "the Grove".
Cemetery
Arlington Estate's history changed forever with the outbreak of the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee resigned from the United States Army on April 20, 1861, and took command of Virginia's armed forces on April 23. Armed forces loyal to the United States ("Union" forces) realized that artillery placed on the heights of the estate would be able to shell the city of Washington at will. Aware that Union forces were likely to seize her home, Mary Custis Lee packed up most of her belongings and fled to her family estate at Ravensworth in Fairfax County, Virginia, on May 17. Union troops occupied Arlington Estate and Arlington House on May 24.
On July 16, 1862, the United States Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for military dead, and put the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in charge of this program. At this time, the Soldiers' Home in nearby Washington, D.C., and the Alexandria Cemetery were the primary burying grounds for war dead in the D.C. area, but by late 1863 both cemeteries were full. In May 1864, large numbers of Union forces died in the Battle of the Wilderness. Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs ordered that an examination of eligible sites be made for the establishment for a large new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area. The estate was high and free from floods (which might unearth graves), it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of the leader of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America, and denying Robert E. Lee use of his home after the war was a valuable political consideration. Although the first military burial at Arlington was made on May 13, Meigs did not authorize establishment of burials until June 15, 1864.
Most burials initially occurred near the freedmen's cemetery in the northeast corner of the estate. But in mid-June 1864 Meigs ordered that burials commence immediately on the grounds adjacent to Arlington House. The first officer burial had occurred next to the flower garden on May 17, but with Meigs' order another 44 officers were buried along the southern and eastern sides of this area within a month. In December 1865, Robert E. Lee's brother, Sydney Smith Lee, visited Arlington House and observed that the house could be made livable again if the graves around the flower garden were removed. Meigs hated Lee for betraying the Union, and ordered that more burials occur near the house in order to make it politically impossible for disinterment to occur.
The large number of Union troops, their need for firewood and animal fodder, and the need to construct extensive fortifications led to extensive degradation of Arlington Estate during the Civil War. By 1865, most of "the Grove" had been lost. Its flower beds and paths had been trampled out of existence by troops and pack animals, and some of its trees had been cut down.
Design and construction of the amphitheater
Decoration Day and the need for an amphitheater
The popularity of Arlington as a site for patriotic meetings and Civil War remembrance events soared after the establishment of Decoration Day (later known as Memorial Day). Spontaneous decoration of Civil War graves and the maintenance of cemeteries had occurred since the early days of the war in both the North and the South since the earliest days of the war. John A. Logan, a former major general in the Union Army, had been elected "Commander in Chief" of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Union Civil War veterans. Aware of the growing acceptance of Decoration Day as a holiday, Logan issued a statement on May 5, 1868, calling for "Decoration Day" to be observed nationwide on an annual basis. Logan set the date for May 30, because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle.
The establishment of Decoration Day as an official government holiday (by proclamation, not by law) swiftly occurred, and the holiday was almost immediately a popular one. At Arlington cemetery, the number of people attending the annual event swiftly overwhelmed the limited facilities. The first Decoration Day event was held in front of Arlington House. James A. Garfield, a former Major General in the Union Army (and future President of the United States), addressed a "large crowd" from the mansion's back steps. The following year, President Ulysses S. Grant closed the federal government for the holiday, and most businesses followed, which greatly contributed to attendance at the cemetery. A dais seating 400 people was erected in what remained of "the Grove" at the rear of Arlington House to accommodate speakers and dignitaries—which, for the first time, included President Grant. The Civil War Unknowns Monument, which was located south-southwest of Arlington House, was covered by a canopy. Several American flags hung from the canopy, red-white-and-blue bunting was draped along the monument's top, and numerous floral tributes were laid against it. An estimated 25,000 people attended the event throughout the day. Two sites for ceremonies were used in 1870. A very large speakers' dais was erected near the Sheridan Gate and McClellan Gate on the cemetery's east side, and used for speeches throughout the day. For the more important speakers, a second dais seating 200 was erected at the rear of Arlington House (although not with "the Grove"). A stand, permitting the seating of 500, was built nearby for a grand chorus (which sang for the crowd). Again, the Civil War Unknowns Monument was canopied and decorated. About 20,000 people attended the event that year, with rain keeping the numbers low. In 1871, the speakers' dais moved back to "the Grove" and expanded to accommodate 300 people. Frederick Douglass, the former African American slave and abolitionist, was the featured speaker that year. "Hundreds" of people attended his address, including President Grant. The dais moved again in 1872, this time to a location a few yards to the south of the Civil War Unknowns Monument. The dais was slightly reduced in size so that it only sat 200, but it now included a thrust on which stood a speaker's podium. More than 5,000 people attended the 1872 event.
Building the amphitheater
Due to the growing importance of the cemetery as well as the much larger crowds attending Memorial Day observances, General Meigs decided a large, formal amphitheater was needed at the cemetery. The site chosen was what remained of "the Grove". It was both beautiful and had spectacular panoramic views of Washington, D.C., which appealed to planners for its solemnity and inspirational qualities. The last trees of "the Grove" were cut down, and an amphitheater constructed on the cleared space.
Construction on the amphitheater began on May 2, 1873, and was complete by May 29.
The Arlington cemetery amphitheater was designed by Meigs, who in addition to being Quartermaster General was also an excellent engineer and architect. The enclosing structure was a pergola, a popular structure in American gardens in the 1800s. Why Meigs chose a pergola is not clear. According to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), "There is no substantial evidence as to Meigs' intentions regarding the amphitheater." Nonetheless, HABS argues, Meigs undoubtedly was influenced by garden cemetery movement, and the pergola fit with this design aesthetic.
Rushed into construction, a work group consisting of 23 carpenters, 12 bricklayers, and 30 general laborers built the amphitheater in just 28 days. A "Colonel Curtis" oversaw the work, under the supervision of General William Myers (the quartermaster in charge of the Washington, D.C., quartermaster's depot). A bowl was dug in the earth and the removed soil used to create a high berm on which the pergola was erected. Excavation work was accomplished by contractor Harvey Bell. Bricklaying was done by the firm of Carroll & Shaw, and the carpentry work by contractor D.J. McCarty. Plastering, stuccoing, and painting of the pergola columns was done by contractor Joseph Beckert, while painting of the wooden trellis was accomplished by James Hudson. Sod was provided by Harvey Bell. At the time of its completion, no shrubs, trees, or vines had yet been planted at the amphitheater. A dais in the northern side of the amphitheater provided a platform for speakers and guests. The dais supported 12 round, smooth columns. To reinforce the dais and the trellis above it, the A. Schneider firm made and affixed metal braces. The dais columns were topped by Ionic capitals. The double base consisted of a two-stepped, round base with egg-and-dart decoration, below which was a simple square plinth. The capitals and bases were made of cast iron, and manufactured by James Hudson.
History of the amphitheater The amphitheater was first used on May 30, 1873, for Decoration Day ceremonies. Present for the amphitheater's inauguration were President Grant, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, Secretary of War William W. Belknap, Secretary of the Treasury William Adams Richardson, Attorney General George Henry Williams, and Frederick Douglass. The Reverend Thomas De Witt Talmage, D.D., one of the great public orators of the day, addressed the crowd. That same year, Meigs hired trained landscape gardener David H. Rhodes to oversee the beautification of the cemetery with plants. Rhodes quickly planted wisteria vines and leafy green shrubs around the columns of the pergola and wisteria below the columns of the dais. By May 1876, the wisteria covered almost the entire structure.