During the Civil War, Confederate forces guarded this Blackwater River crossing as part of the Blackwater defensive line. On 14 Nov. 1862, Col. Charles C. Dodge of the 1st Battalion New York Mounted Rifles led his troops in a skirmish against elements of W. C. Claiborne's Confederate cavalry. The Federals drove the Confederates away from the bridge, captured their supplies, and left the bridge standing. The same forces fought another skirmish on 9 March 1863 with the same outcome, and the Federals also captured four Confederates.