Arlington Memorial Bridge spans the Potomac River, a boundary that once divided the United States. Built in 1932, the bridge connects Arlington House, the memorial to General Robert E. Lee, to the Lincoln Memorial. Lee and his family fled the mansion at the onset of the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history. In the years following the Confederacy's surrender, Lee wrote that it was the duty of every citizen to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony. Across the river, the grand statue of Abraham Lincoln extends an open hand, with malice toward none, with charity for all.