On the evening of May 4, 1863, this area became the focal point of fighting between the North and South. In less than two hours of fighting at Smith Run, nearly 1,000 men were killed or injured.
The Smith Run story has been largely overshadowed by intense fighting that took place during the Battle of Chancellorsville the previous three days. Nearly 30,000 men died or were wounded in that clash off what is today State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County.
Chancellorsville may have proved an important victory for Lee's army, but at Smith Run Union troops held their ground.
Confederate soldiers launched a three-pronged attack on a wing of the Union's VI Corps commanded by Gen. John Sedgwick. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was trying to crush the federals before they retreated across the Rappahannock River.
The fighting there came the day after Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was killed by friendly fire at Chancellorsville. Lee got word that Union troops in the city had taken Marye's Heights and were heading west.
Lee swung his troops back toward Fredericksburg, thwarting an advance at Salem Church on Route 3.
Finding his soldiers in a superior position, Lee struck hard. But it was a failed bid.
Difficult terrain around Smith Run, and the tenacious effort of a Vermont unit that Lee didn't expect, bought Union troops time to slip back across the river.
Four soldiers were later awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery here.