The unfinished Manassas Gap Railroad roadbed lay in this immediate area and crossed Indian Run creek in Poe Terrace Park, where the stone bridge abutments are still visible. Financial problems halted work on the railroad in 1857, but during the Civil War the roadbed served as a route used by both Federal and Confederate armies. Where it crossed Little River Turnpike, approximately 200 Confederate cavalrymen overran a barricade defended by the 45th New York Volunteers on 2 December 1861. The skirmish ended when reinforcing troops from the 32nd New York Regiment joined the fight and the Confederates retreated west toward Centreville.