Wayne was home to two Confederate colonels during the Civil War: Colonel James Corns of the 8th Virginia Cavalry and Colonel Milton J. Ferguson of the 16th Virginia Cavalry. In August 1861, a four day skirmish erupted around the courthouse when Union soldiers from Ceredo attempted to remove the county records. Local militia tried to stop them, gunfire raged in the streets as women and children hid in houses, a handful of Rebels and perhaps one Union man were killed, and the Union force ultimately returned to Ceredo. Wayne was raided several more times during the war.