On November 5, 1863, Union Gen. William W. Averell established his command post and camp on the Little Levels while leading a combined infantry and cavalry raid on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and seeking to cut off and defeat Confederate Col. William L. Jackson’s 750-man force in the area. After a skirmish at Mill Point three miles north, Jackson and his men fell back through here to the summit of Droop Mountain and began constructing defensive works as Averell pushed south on the Lewisburg road to this point. Confederate Gen. John Echols then arrived on the mountain with reinforcements and took command. While camped here, Averell developed his attack plan, and on November 6, under cover of artillery fire, he sent one column to climb the northern flank of Droop Mountain and demonstrate against the Confederate center while the rest of his force moved along a little-known route west of Hillsboro to strike the flank. After an hour and a half of fighting, the Confederate line collapsed and the men fled down the south slope of Droop Mountain. The Union victory broke the Confederates’ hold on the area, ended any significant Confederate campaign there, and made Federal railroad raids into Virginia and the railroad more likely.