Despite of the opposing commanders, Fitzhugh Lee and William Averell were close friends at West Point

Although Fitzhugh Lee and William Averell were close friends at West Point, they opposed on the battlefield. During their time as West Point cadets in the 1850s, New Yorkers William Averell and Virginian Fitzhugh Lee remained close friends. Lee finished a year before Averell, who then joined the U.S. Mounted Rifles in the west. After earning his degree in 1856, Lee fought Comanches for three years in Texas before being hired as an instructor at the Academy. The two of them next ran into one another in 1863 on opposite banks of the Rappahannock.

Lee sent Averell a note in February after leading a raid into Union territory that said, "I wish you would put up your sword, leave my state, and go home. I ride a better horse than the one you ride. Return my visit and bring me a bag of coffee if you won't leave." After hearing the taunt, Averell was so furious that he begged for permission to cross the river and engage his old friend in a fight.