Germanna Ford, a natural crossing of the Rapidan River, made this area an important transportation corridor for centuries. A ferry and road were established here in the 1720s. During the Civil War, portions of the Union Army of the Potomac moved southward across the ford in April 1863, just before the Battle of Chancellorsville, and again in November 1863 during the Mine Run Campaign. Union troops also crossed here on 4-5 May 1864 to open the Overland Campaign. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia blocked their path about four miles south of here, resulting in the Battle of the Wilderness on 5-7 May.