Prince William militia opened a nearby road in preparation for the Yorktown Campaign of 1781. French and American cavalry, wagon trains, and cattle unable to use the ferry at Woodbridge traveled this road, fording the river at Wolf Run Shoals on the way to Dumfries. The same road was later used by Confederate and Union forces, and the 6th N.C. Infantry quartered near here during the winter of 1861–1862.