Camp Nelson National Monument

National Monument · KY · nps.gov page

A paved path leads to a gray wooden building with US Flag flying.
Camp Nelson National Monument Visitor Center and MuseumPhoto: NPS/A. Goetz

The US Army established Camp Nelson as a fortified supply depot in April 1863. Over the next 3 years, the site evolved into a massive recruitment and training center for United States Colored Troops and a refugee camp for their families. It served as a shelter for civilians fleeing war and for enslaved people hoping to secure their freedom and aid in the destruction of slavery.

Larger map

Photos

A stone obelisk in a grass field surrounded by luminary bags
4th Annual Luminaria and Memorial WalkPhoto: NPS/AG
NPS Directional Sign at Camp Nelson National Monument
NPS Directional Sign at Camp Nelson National MonumentPhoto: NPS/SP
Living historians portraying US soldiers in a grass field with a wagon.
160th Anniversary of the East Tennessee Campaign, August 2023Photo: NPS/BT
Open fields of green grass with trees during a colorful sunrise.
View of Camp Nelson's pastoral landscape looking northeast near the Visitor Center.Photo: NPS/SP
A row of rough, wooden bunk beds in the soldiers' barrack house.
Visit the barracks to imagine life at Camp Nelson during the Civil War.Photo: NPS/ A. Goetz
A white, 2 story farm house with a Civil War cannon sitting in front of it
The Perry House at Camp NelsonPhoto: NPS Photo
2 cannons at an earthen fort
Replica cannons at Fort PutnamPhoto: NPS/SP
Living historians firing cannons in a grass field.
Living historians firing cannons in a grass field.Photo: NPS

Park information and photos come from the National Park Service. This is not an official NPS site.