"If It Takes All Summer"

After the May 12 combat at the Bloody Angle marked the height of the fighting at Spotsylvania, the struggle continued for nine more days as the Army of the Potomac hovered around the village seeking chances to strike. With Lee heavily entrenched at Laurel Hill and the Muleshoe Salient, Grant began shifting his army across the Fredericksburg Road, and Lee responded by moving elements of his army across the road as well. The two sides then clashed three more times at Spotsylvania, at Myers Hill on May 14, at the Harrison house on May 18, and at Harris farm on May 19, each without decisive result. In an effort to locate Grant’s right flank, Lee sent his Second Corps on a reconnaissance toward the Fredericksburg Road on May 19, sparking the battle at Harris farm. On May 21, Grant gave up trying to drive Lee from Spotsylvania Court House and moved toward the North Anna River twenty miles south, where the next stage of the campaign unfolded.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States