160th Camp Nelson Anniversary Commemoration

 

Living historians portraying the 21st Massachusetts Infantry at the 160th Anniversary of the Knoxville Campaign at Camp Nelson National Monument on August 12, 2023.

NPS

Camp Nelson 1866

The US Army established Camp Nelson on April 29, 1863. Over the next three years, the site served as a fortified supply depot, hospital, recruitment and training center, and refugee camp. The National Park Service (NPS) commemorates the 160th Camp Nelson (2023-26) with a series of special events, programs, and multi-media presentations!

All programs are free and open to the public.

 

Camp Nelson National Monument 3rd Annual Summer Ranger Series

Library of Congress and University of Kentucky

2026 Spring & Summer

Join the NPS for special programs this spring and summer at Camp Nelson National Monument! The calendar features a diverse array of events, featuring the 2nd Annual Freedom Day Festival and 4th Annual Summer Ranger Series, and the conflusion of the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson (1866).

All events are free and open to the public.

6th Annual Park Day (American Battlefield Trust)
Saturday, April 25, 2026
9:30 am - 12:00 pm

Join the NPS for the 6th Annual Park Day at Camp Nelson National Monument! Since 1996, the American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has sponsored Park Day as an annual preservation event for Civil War and Revolutionary War sites throughout the country. Park staff and volunteers work together on much-needed maintenance and preservation projects.

We’re calling for volunteers to assist with a few projects around the park, including painting the cannons on display at Fort Putnam, painting the free library book, and cleaning waysides and the memorial obelisk at Graveyard No. 1.

Volunteers should wear clothes for painting and bring a water bottle. Meet NPS staff at the Visitor Center.

If you're interested in participating, please RSVP by emailing the park at [e-mail]

4th Annual Summer Ranger Series

We'll share more details about the programs in the coming weeks and months.

Wreath Laying at US Colored Troops Monument at Green Hill Cemetery
Saturday, May 30, 2026
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

The NPS in partnership with the 12^th US Colored Heavy Artillery, descendants, and community members invite you to a special dedication at Green Hill Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 30, 2026.

The cemetery was established in 1865 and honors Frankfort’s rich African American history and heritage, including US Colored Troops [USCT] who served during the Civil War. The burials include soldiers who served in USCT regiments organized a Camp Nelson.

NPS staff and special guests will be dedication a wreath at the USCT Monument.

The program is free and open to the public.

Green Hill Cemetery
East Main Street (U.S. 60) and Versailles Road (U.S. 421)
Frankfort, KY, 40601


2nd Annual Freedom Day Festival at Camp Nelson National Monument
Saturday, June 20, 2026
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

The NPS in partnership with the Camp Nelson Foundation, Huntertown Community Interpretive Park, National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations, Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Jessamine County Public Library, Visit Jessamine, Huntertown Community Interpretive Park, and the Kentucky Historical Society invites you to the 2nd Annual Freedom Day Festival from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

The special event commemorates Freedom 250 by marking the Independence Day celebration organized by African American soldiers and refugees at Camp Nelson on July 4, 1865, and the Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor—the 170-mile route from Camp Nelson National Monument in Jessamine County to Mays Lick—and concludes at the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Wilberforce, Ohio.

The festival features live music featuring The Marshall Law Band, food, arts and crafts, children’s activities, guided talks and walks, and cultural demonstrations. It's free and open to the public!


From Citizen Soldiers to Veterans: Civil War Tour at Camp Nelson National Cemetery
June 27, 2026
11:00 am - 12:30 pm

The NPS, in partnership with the Department of Veteran Affairs, is organizing a guided tour of Camp Nelson National Cemetery. This program details the stories of the US Army veterans interred in the years after the Civil War, including soldiers who served in regiments organized and trained at Camp Nelson.The program is free and open to the public.

Meet NPS staff outside the cemetery caretaker lodge and visitor center

Camp Nelson National Cemetery
6980 Danville Road
Nicholasville, KY 4035


160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson
Civil War for Civil Rights Symposium: “Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit”
July 18, 2026
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

The event marks the nation's 250th Anniversary and the conclusion of the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson (2023-26). This special commemoration details the closing of Camp Nelson in 1865-66, the post-war experience of people who sought freedom and refuge here during the Civil War pursuing the ideals outlined during our nation’s founding in 1776, and the living legacy of Camp Nelson in Kentucky and around the country today.

The anniversary features special presentations by scholars, NPS staff, and community partners. The full lineup will be released soon.

5th Annual History at Sunset Programs
Join the NPS for the 5th Annual History at Sunset series at Camp Nelson National Monument! The series features 3 programs starting at 7:00 pm. All programs are free and open to the public.

June 12, 2026: Camp Nelson’s Military Machine of War (Campfire Program)

Thousands of civilians, both free and enslaved, were tasked with constructing, operating, and maintaining Camp Nelson, a massive supply center and recruiting depot for the US Army during the Civil War. By war’s end, the base extended to over 3,000 acres and featured 300 buildings to supply miliary campaigns and 16 regiments organized here.

Who were these people? What were their roles and duties? Learn more on June 12th!

Other Programs:

• July 17th at Camp Nelson National Monument
• August 8th at Huntertown Community Interpretive Park (Woodford County, KY)

September 2026

• September 4th: Night Sky Program (Weather Date: September 11th)
• September 19th: Family Archeology Day
• September 26th: National Public Lands Day

Camp Nelson National Monument
6614 Danville Road Loop 2
Nicholasville, KY 40356

For more information, please contact the park at 859-881-5716 or you can e-mail us.

 

107th US Colored Infantry, organized at Louisville, Kentucky in 1864, stand in front of a guardhouse at Fort Corcoran in Northern Virginia (Defenses of Washington).

Library of Congress

The Unchartered Road to Freedom

After the Army of the Ohio’s successful liberation of East Tennessee, the US Army nearly abandoned Camp Nelson as fortified supply depot in March 1864. However, the army’s controversial decision to organize, recruit, and train US Colored Troops [USCT] at Camp Nelson and other centers in Kentucky sparked the destruction of slavery in the Bluegrass State.

Learn more about USCT HERE and African American Refugees HERE.

 

US Sanitary Commission Soldiers' Home at Camp Nelson during the Civil War.

National Archives and Records Administration

Army of Liberation

Click here to learn about the formation of the Army of the Ohio and its operations in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee over the course of 1863. The new army was organized to liberate Unionists in East Tennessee from Confederate occupation and it would ultimately achieve that objective, but it would require marching far and fighting hard. The 21st Massachusetts Infantry was only one of many regiments in the Army of the Ohio, but the experiences of its members reveal both the hardships and triumphs of the 1863 campaign.

 

Oliver Perry House (White House) at Camp Nelson National Monument.

NPS

Civil War 160th in 60

The National Park Service (NPS) commemorates the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson (2023-26) in a brand-new video series: Civil War 160th in 60!

The special presentations take viewers to battlefields and historic sites across the National Park Service System to highlight the stories and individuals connected to Camp Nelson during the Civil War. The short 1-2 minutes videos will premiere on the Camp Nelson National Monument Facebook page and will be featured here!