At the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant ordered Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's Federal II Corps to trap receding Confederate troops who were heading to Fredericksburg.

Unbeknownst to General Grant, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee heard of this and ordered Richard S. Ewell and the rest of the surviving Confederate Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia to ambush Hancock's troops at the Harris Farm.

Ewell made camp near the Harris Farm and waited for the Hancock's troops to come near.

Early in the battle Ewell had the upper hand until Hancock's superior numbers soon gained the control.

Grant and Hancock claimed victory, as they had forced a retreat of the enemy and officially ended the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.