Designed to protect the Choctaw Agency at Plymouth Bluff, Fort Smith was built by Colonel John McKee in the fall of 1813 and utilized as a base of operations for American military activities in the region. It was presumably named after an officer in McKee's command. The fort is sometimes referred to as Fort Pitchlynn, in honor of U.S. Interpreter to the Choctaws John Pitchlynn.

The fort was located near the site of the Mississippi University for Women's Plymouth Bluff Center on Old West Point Road in Columbus, Mississippi. It is unmarked. The Plymouth Bluff Center does have some have an exhibit on area history that interprets the fort. Nearby nature trails wind through the area near where the fort once stood.