It was named in honor of General Charles Ferguson Smith, who died from a leg infection that was aggravated by dysentery on April 25, 1862.

Smith initially began construction under the supervision of the Confederate States of America, who occupied the city between September 1861 and February 1862.

The city of Bowling Green served as an important military stronghold for both Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War.

On September 18, 1861, General Simon Bolivar Buckner occupied Bowling Green with 4,500 troops and began constructing a series of eight earthen fortifications on hills surrounding the town, including what would become Fort C.F.

Smith was completed in 1862 under the supervision of General Ormsby M. Mitchel and Colonel Benjamin Harrison, future 23rd President of the United States.