Robert E. Lee once described Arlington House as "the place where my affections and attachments are more strongly placed than any other place in the world." In 1831, Lee married Mary Custis, the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, at Arlington. The Lees considered Arlington their home for the next thirty years. It was there on April 20, 1861, that Lee resigned his commission in the U. S. Army, a decision that cost the family their beloved home. Today the restored mansion known as Arlington House The Robert E. Lee Memorial is administered by the National Park Service.