Camp Nelson Refugee Camp
Jessamine County, Jessamine County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Camp Nelson Refugee Camp. Established in 1863 to house families of African American soldiers, Camp Nelson became the chief center issuing emancipation papers to former slaves. Army's withdrawal from camp in 1866 exposed refugees to violence of white "regulators," who were opposed to presence of freed African Americans. See over. (Reverse) Conditions at Refugee Camp - Many women and children died from disease and exposure to weather in make-shift camp. Brutal expulsion of refugees from camp in winter of 1864 was fatal to many. Only efforts by Rev. John G. Fee and other humanitarian workers improved conditions. A school, a hospital, and permanent housing later served up to 3,000 African Americans in their transition to freedom. Over.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
Established in 1863, Camp Nelson housed the families of African American soldiers and became the chief center issuing emancipation papers to the formerly enslaved. Conditions in the makeshift camp were deadly—many women and children died of disease and exposure, and a brutal winter expulsion in 1864 killed many more—until the Reverend John G. Fee and other humanitarian workers won improvements. A school, hospital, and permanent housing eventually served up to 3,000 people in their transition to freedom, though the Army's 1866 withdrawal left refugees exposed to violent white "regulators."
Why it matters
Camp Nelson stands among the most important sites of Black emancipation and military service in the Civil War, embodying both the promise of freedom and the suffering and violence that accompanied it.
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Related people
- · John G. Fee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First USCT Recruits at Camp Nelson
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On May 23, 1864, nearly 250 Black men—most of them enslaved—left Boyle County to march to Camp Nelson and enlist in the Union army, enduring stones and gunfire from hostile onlookers along the way. When they arrived, a Union colonel at first refused them because no policy yet permitted the enlistment of enslaved men. Their acceptance helped force a change in policy, opening the army to able-bodied African American men and setting the stage for more than 5,000 troops to be recruited at Camp Nelson.
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