Early years Camp Nelson was established as a supply depot for Union advances into Tennessee. It was named for Major General
William "Bull" Nelson, who had recently been murdered. It was placed near Hickman Bridge, the only bridge across the
Kentucky River upriver from the state capital (
Frankfort, Kentucky). The site was selected to protect the bridge, to have a base of operations in central Kentucky, and to prepare to secure the
Cumberland Gap and eastern Tennessee. The camp was also used to train new soldiers for the Union army. The Kentucky River and Hickman Creek steep
palisades contributed to the selection of the site. Only the northern side needed fortifications against
Confederate attack since three sides have 400–500 feet almost vertical steep cliffs . Camp Nelson may have been the choice for a central Kentucky depot, but it had disadvantages. When Union Major General
Ambrose Burnside attacked the Cumberland Gap and
Knoxville, Tennessee, Camp Nelson's distance from the Gap and Knoxville, combined with lack of railroads and the weather, hampered the Union advance. Its drawbacks as a well situated supply depot led General
William Tecumseh Sherman to prioritize Camp Nelson to take a major role in training 10,000 black soldiers who volunteered there for the U.S. Colored Troops. He advocated this role in response to overall Union commander
Ulysses S. Grant who visited Camp Nelson in January 1864. Grant had observed the inadequacies in the overland supply routes employed and leaned toward abandoning it entirely. Despite Grant's misgivings, Camp Nelson continued supplying major battles in 1864 such as Saltville VA I and Saltville VA II, as well as Atlanta for which the site provided 10,000 horses. Recognizing that the Camp Nelson supply depot and the nearby Hickman Bridge were valuable targets for Confederate raider General
John Hunt Morgan, Union forces geared up for attacks in July 1863 and June 1864. The most serious threat was mid-June 1864, whereupon Brig. General
Speed S. Fry called upon volunteers from among civilian employees. Six hundred were armed and performed guard duty at the northern fortifications around the clock for 6 days. Major C. E. Compton said that due to these civilians, “the depot was saved from capture and destruction.” Nonetheless, the Union Army in the state began impressing thousands of enslaved men, initially only the disloyal or those who had already fled into Union camps. In the case of disloyal or unknown slave holders, wages and subsistence were paid to the enslaved person. Loyal slaveholders were compensated. Specific to Camp Nelson August 1863, Brig. General
Jeremiah Boyle, authorized Commander Speed S. Fry to impress enslaved males, ages 16–45 within 14 counties of Central Kentucky, up to one-third of the enslaver's workforce. Just as the military contracted to buy food and livestock, likewise it contracted with slave owning Union loyalists to procure enslaved men to labor at Camp Nelson. An example is agent George Denny who impressed Gabriel Burdett from nearby farm of Hiram Burdett. Compensation of $30 per month for each impressed worker went to slave owners. By 1864, some like Gabriel Burdett would eventually enlist in the U.S. Colored Troops.
in 1863. President Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 freed the enslaved only in the rebellious 11 states in the
Confederacy. The War Department then publicly authorized the recruitment and training of African Americans in these states. Though a slave holding state, Kentucky was not in rebellion, so the proclamation and the military authorization did not apply. Upon enlistment African Americans were emancipated from slavery in exchange for service in the Union Army. Kentucky recruited and trained more than 23,000 of the approximate 200,000
U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), making it the second largest contributor of any state. Camp Nelson was the largest site in Kentucky with more than 10,000 recruits. Eight regiments were founded at Camp Nelson and five others were stationed there during the war. In May, 1864, the first large group arrived, 250 recruits from Danville, a distance of 16 miles. These groups and others en route to Camp Nelson were subject to harassment and violence. For example, the Danville group “was assailed with stones and the content of revolvers,” reported Thomas Butler, superintendent of the
United States Sanitary Commission. Since these orders were ineffective, on November 22–25, 1864, District Commander
Speed S. Fry, native of Danville, KY, under pressure from slave-owners, resorted to violence. This blow to slavery caused the population of the Home to peak at 3,060 by July 1865. Also included were two barracks that became the refugee hospital. Infectious disease was prevalent and some 1300 refugees died at Camp Nelson.
Notable engagements of Camp Nelson Colored Troops Among notable engagements of the 5th and 6th USCC are the
Battle of Saltville I and the
Battle of Saltville II in southwestern Virginia. Brig. General
Stephen G. Burbridge lead the Ill-fated Saltville I, the objective of which was to destroy the Confederate saltworks, which had been fortified by impressed enslaved workers whose owners were compensated. Though Saltville I in October 1864 was a defeat, Colonel
James Sanks Brisbin reported his admiration for the bravery and tenacity of the 400 soldiers, noting that he'd been in 27 battles with the white troops and seen none more courageous. Of the colored troops, 10 were killed in action and 37 wounded. Post battle, a scene of criminal violence was unleashed. Soldiers in the 5th USCC and in two companies of the 6th USCC were murdered, some in a hospital, totaling 47. Leading these attacks was
Champ Ferguson, who after the war was tried in Nashville, TN for
War crimes, sentenced to death, and hanged in October 1865. In December 1864, in the successful second assault on Saltville were the 5th and 6th USCC, units which included survivors of the first battle. General
George Stoneman and Burbridge engaged General
John C. Breckinridge, a Kentuckian and former vice president, in nearby Marion, VA, outnumbering their opponents by four to one. Breckinridge retreated after two days. Union troops destroyed the saltworks, and considerably damaged neighboring lead mines and railroads. The USCC troops continued to add to their hard-won reputation. The 6th USCC and the 114th and 116th Colored Infantry were active in General Grant's
Appomattox Campaign, March to April 1864. These units took part in both the
siege of Petersburg, Virginia and of
Richmond, Virginia, the capitol and seat of government of the Confederacy. These soldiers were engaged in the pursuit of Confederate
General Robert E. Lee to the
Appomattox Courthouse where they witnessed the surrender of the Confederate Army.Though Tennessee was officially a state in rebellion, loyalty to the Confederacy was weak in its eastern
Appalachian section. This may be attributable to the comparably low rate of enslaved population, which ranged from 3.5 to 11% as opposed to the 40% to 50% in the western part of the state. View this on an
1860 U.S. Census map, which shows this rate for all counties in slave-holding states. Thousands of the destitute from this area came in a constant steam seeking succor at Camp Nelson. Thomas D. Butler, a superintendent of the United States Sanitary Commission, who had as his responsibility their care, described the situation of one refugee family with six children, “...the rebels had driven her and her children from their home, and destroyed their property...for many weeks...wandered, homeless, hungry and sick, through cold and stormy weather, to reach Camp Nelson.” The husband was a discharged Union soldier who was captured en route with the family. He escaped and journeyed to Camp Nelson where the family was reunited.
Post War After the war, Camp Nelson was a center for giving ex-slaves their emancipation papers. Many have considered the camp as their "cradle of freedom". Later he was ordained a Methodist Episcopal minister and held pastorates in several states and served as chaplain to the
Illinois State Senate.
Elijah P. Marrs led 27 others from to Louisville from neighboring Simpsonville, Ky. to join the USCT. Marrs, another sergeant with the 12th US Colored Heavy Artillery, trained at Camp Nelson where he also taught reading. After the war, Marrs taught school and was ordained a Baptist minister. In 1879, he and his brother founded Baptist Normal and Theological Institute in Louisville, which became
Simmons Bible College. Marrs was active with the Republican party in Kentucky. at Miami University in Ohio where he worked
Peter Bruner wrote with his daughter his autobiography,
A Slave’s Adventure Toward Freedom, Not Fiction, but the True Story of a Struggle, also included in the UNC's Documenting the American South. He recounts his frequently made unsuccessful escape attempts and subsequent severe punishments. Another member of the 12th, he enlisted with 16 other men, walking 41 miles from Irvine, Ky. Post war, Bruner moved to Oxford, Ohio and became the first African American to work at
Miami University where he also enrolled. In addition to his work as a custodian and messenger, he served as a ceremonial greeter wearing a top hat and tails. He raised five children with his wife Frances Proctor. He is listed on plaque B-26 at the
African American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC. His ceremonial top hat is on display at the McGuffey House and Museum of Miami University.
Gabriel Burdette while enslaved in neighboring Garrard County became active in the ministry serving at the Forks Dix River Church. Having been among the 1863 impressed workers, he enlisted July 1864 in the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry. He served as a teacher, nurse, and minister, leading in the development of education, housing, and aid for the refugees. He began a 12-year association with John Fee and the American Missionary Association. After serving in both Tennessee and Texas, Burdett returned and was instrumental in establishing Ariel Academy. He became the first African American on the
Berea College Board of Trustees, serving 12 years. Involved in the Republican Party, the same party of President Lincoln, he campaigned in the 1872 presidential for the reelection of former Union General Grant. He served as a voting member at both the
1872 and
1876 Republican National Conventions. The violence associated with the
1876 presidential election convinced Burdett to join the
Exodusters Movement to the West and emigrate with his family to Kansas. The path of his life is followed in some detail in this account of African Americans’ struggle for freedom during and post Civil War. ==Recent times==