During the American Civil War, Falmouth was occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863, and Northern commanders located their headquarters southeast of the town during the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville campaigns. In May 1864, Union wounded and Confederate prisoners from the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House were transported through the area to the wharves at Belle Plain on Potomac Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, located east of Falmouth.