Prior to the Civil War, a rail line ran from Nashville to Kingston Springs. After the federal seizure of Nashville in 1862, work began to extend the line westward from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville, providing another supply line for the federal armies. The 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry regiments guarded the trestles, bridges, and blockhouses along the railroad they had constructed. Such structures were prime targets of Confederate raiders and guerrilla parties. Blockhouses and field fortifications were constructed at vulnerable trestles and bridges for protection. At this site, the original stone piers of the bridge are still present, although the course of the railroad has shifted to the south. A stockade existed on a ridge just beyond the bridge, and soldiers are buried in a cemetery nearby.