During September 1861, Camp Henry C. Burnett was established 2 miles west of Clinton, Kentucky, to serve as a Confederate recruiting post and training camp. The 7th Confederate Kentucky Infantry, comprising some 1,200 men, was raised and trained at the camp. The facility was abandoned on November 7, 1862, as the 7th rushed to Columbus, 8 miles away, hoping to participate in the Battle of Belmont. Although arriving too late to take part in the battle, the 7th was mounted later in the war, becoming part of the forces under Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The facility was named in honor of Henry C. Burnett who had represented the area in the U.S. Congresss before the Civil War. Expelled for treason, Burnett was commissioned a colonel in the 8th Confederate Kentucky Infantry and became an important orgainzer of the secessionist forces in the state as well as one of its senators in the Confederate Congress.

This site has local significance because it is assocaited with military activities and events that achieved or affected important local objectives of the Vicksburg campaign.