The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, took place on March 25, 1865, during the closing stages of the American Civil War. In an effort to break the Siege of Petersburg, Confederate forces led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon launched a surprise pre-dawn assault on a Union fortification near Petersburg, Virginia. Initially, Gordon's troops experienced success, capturing parts of the fort and creating a breach nearly 1,000 feet wide in the Union defenses. However, Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen. John G. Parke quickly responded, sealing the breach and repelling the Confederate attack.

As the battle progressed, the initial Confederate advantage waned. Brevet Brig. Gen. Napoleon B. McLaughlen, responsible for the Union's Fort Stedman sector, took swift action to counter the Confederate advance. Despite being captured himself, his actions and the strategic response of Maj. Gen. John G. Parke's IX Corps, effectively contained and then rolled back the Confederate gains. By 7:45 a.m., Union forces, strategically positioned, launched a successful counterattack which led to the recapture of the lost fortifications and inflicted heavy casualties on the Confederate side.

The aftermath of the Battle of Fort Stedman was telling. The Union forces suffered casualties numbering 1,044, while the Confederate forces faced a much steeper loss of 4,000. More significantly, the Confederate positions were weakened, and they lost a substantial number of irreplaceable soldiers. The battle marked the last major offensive by the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee's army was now in a precarious position, and this paved the way for the Union's breakthrough attack a week later. This momentum would lead to the final surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, essentially sealing the fate of the Confederacy.