Liberia was visited during the Civil War by both Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln. After watching the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, Davis came to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard's headquarters there to meet with him and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston before returning to Richmond on July 23. Lincoln came on June 19, 1862, to visit Gen. Irvin McDowell as he recovered after his horse fell on him, and ice cream, a scarce and expensive treat, may have been served on the back porch. Restoration work later revealed numerous signatures on the upstairs walls, left by soldiers in Union regiments stationed there, reflecting a desire to be remembered in the face of constant danger on the battlefield. The place also extends beyond its Civil War history: a family was raised there, enslaved people were held in bondage there, and a beer baron from Alexandria operated a dairy farm on the property.