During the Civil War, Union and Confederate armies fought along major transportation corridors, and Williamsburg Road was one of them. During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's defensive earthworks blocked the road east of here. On 31 May, Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill's division marched past here to attack the Federal position, and later that day part of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's division joined Hill. During the Seven Days' Battles under Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder's three divisions moved east on this road on 29 June to attack McClellan's rear guard at Savage's Station.
