During the Civil War, Prater’s Mill and its surrounding area in Whitfield County were tied to secession, military movements, and local support for the Confederacy. Georgia seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861, and the first Confederate troops arrived in Whitfield County in October 1862. From 1826 to 1864, Benjamin Franklin Prater sold corn, hay, fodder, bacon, split rails, and planks to the Confederacy for $1,591.17 Confederate dollars. On February 23, 1864, Union forces under Colonel Eli Long camped at Prater’s Mill with 350 mounted infantry, 250 cavalry, and 12 prisoners, and on April 13, 1864, Confederate General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry camped there. On May 9, 1864, at the Battle of Varnell’s Station, Wheeler, with 900 men, routed 5,000 Federals under Brigadier General Edward McCook; ten Confederates and 150 Federals were killed, and Wheeler captured more than 100 prisoners. During that battle, Ben Prater’s slaves were gathered on the porch of the mill and could hear gunfire in the distance. In May 1865, after the war ended, Ben Prater’s seventeen slaves were freed and lived at Stockburger Crossing. On some Civil War maps, Prater’s Mill appears as Barrett’s or Russell’s Mill, reflecting a former owner and a Prater relative who worked as the miller.