Caroline County, with an area of 529 square miles, was formed in 1727 from Essex, King and Queen, and King William and was named for Queen Caroline, wife of King George II. George Rogers Clark, conqueror of the Northwest, passed his youth in this county. Spotsylvania County, with an area of 413 square miles, was formed in 1720 from Essex, King and Queen, and King William and was named for Alexander Spotswood, governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. The battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness in part, and Spotsylvania were fought in this county.