First USCT Recruits at Camp Nelson
Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
First USCT Recruits at Camp Nelson. May 23, 1864, nearly 250 black men, most of them slaves, left Boyle Co. to march to Camp Nelson in Jessamine Co. to enlist in the Union army. On the way, some Danville citizens threw stones and shot pistols at the recruits. When they reached camp, Union Col. Andrew Clark initially refused to accept them because no policy allowed for the recruitment of slaves. (Reverse) Although a few local slave owners tried to reclaim some of the men, the recruits were accepted into the army, causing a Union policy change that allowed able-bodied African American men, including slaves, to enlist. Over 5,000 U.S. Colored Troops were eventually recruited at Camp Nelson, with some of the first coming From Boyle County.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
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.
Why it matters
This march helped transform Camp Nelson into one of the nation's largest recruiting and emancipation centers, where enlistment became a path to freedom for thousands of Kentucky's enslaved people.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related events
- · American Civil War
- · Camp Nelson recruitment
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Camp Nelson Refugee Camp
Jessamine County, KY
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."
African American Business District
Danville, KY
For more than a century this Danville block was home to a thriving African American business district—restaurants, barber and beauty shops, medical and dental offices, and retail stores that drew customers from Boyle and neighboring counties—until it was razed by urban renewal in 1973. At its heart stood Doric Lodge No. 18 (F. & A.M.–P.H.A.), founded in 1888 and moved to this site in 1920, where ten members each contributed $1,000 to secure a construction loan. For half a century the lodge served as a cultural and social center of the county's Black community.
Rosenwald School
Lebanon, KY
This Rosenwald School, operating from 1931 to 1961, was one of 158 built in Kentucky during a remarkable partnership between African American communities and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. Initiated by Black families themselves and matched with outside funding, these schools brought quality education to children long denied it under segregation. Across the South, the Rosenwald program educated more than half a million students.
Bishop John Lancaster Spalding
Lebanon, KY
John Lancaster Spalding was born in this Marion County community in 1840 and rose to become one of the most influential Catholic thinkers of 19th-century America. A precocious scholar who finished college at sixteen and was ordained in Belgium, he served in Louisville before being named the first Bishop of Peoria in 1877. He is remembered above all as a champion of Catholic higher education and a founder of the movement that led to The Catholic University of America.