Event
160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson: The American Awakening Symposium: "Conflict, Courage, and Contradictions"
Fee:
Free.Location:
Camp Nelson National Monument 6614 Danville Road Loop 2 Nicholasville, KY 40356Dates & Times
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Type of Event
160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson commences on Friday, July 12th with History at Sunset starting at 7:00 pm. Saturday, July 13th features a full day of programs and activities. The anniversary weekend concludes on Sunday, July 14th with a special ceremony at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm.
Description
In 1864, the US Army authorized the recruitment, enlistment, and training of African American soldiers at 8 centers in Kentucky. Camp Nelson became the largest US Colored Troops [USCT] recruiting center in the state and the third largest in the country, and a site of refugee for freedom seekers escaping slavery. Black enlistment set in motion’s Camp Nelson’s dramatic evolution from supply depot to “Birthplace of Liberty to Kentucky.”
The American Awakening Symposium: "Conflict, Courage, and Contradictions" marks the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson in 1864. The special commemoration features history presentations by scholars, NPS staff, and descendants, and is keynoted by the Slave Dwelling Project; guided tours; immersive living history demonstrations; and children's activities. All programs are free and open to the public.
Friday, July 12th
History at Sunset: “Unpromised Freedom: African American Refugees and Camp Nelson”
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson begins with History at Sunset featuring a walking tour from the Visitor Center to the site of the original African American refugee encampment formed near the US Army Bakery at Camp Nelson in June-July 1864. The special program includes a wreath laying and libation ceremony honoring African American freedom seekers and their descendants. NPS staff will be joined by Dr. W. Stephen McBride and the Slave Dwelling Project to conduct the tour and ceremony.
This tour will cover 1.5 miles over grassy trails. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes and are encouraged to bring water, insect repellent and sunscreen.
Saturday, July 13th
Welcome and Introduction: The American Awakening at Camp Nelson National Monument
9:15 am - 9:30 pm
Superintendent Ernie Price welcomes all participants and guests by examining Camp Nelson through the lens of “Courage, Conflict, and Contract.” The NPS will recognize our philanthropic partner, the Camp Nelson Preservation and Education Foundation, and descendants, community partners, and stakeholders.
Location: Large Tent
A Living Legacy: NPS Recognition of 12th US Colored Heavy Artillery (Reactivated)
9:40 am - 10:00 am
NPS staff will recognize the service and living legacy of the 12th U.S. Heavy Artillery (Reactivated) Living History group with a special ceremony in the Reconstructed Barracks. The 12th USCHA Reactivated has served as the educational arm for Camp Nelson since 2001.
Location: Barracks
Sleeping with the Ancestors: Slave Dwelling Project (Keynote)
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project and co-author of Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footsteps of Slavery, delivery’s the keynote presentation of the 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson by sharing the project’s mission and role in connecting the public to sites of enslavement across the country.
Location: Large Tent
Ancestry and Art: African American Poetry and Camp Nelson
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Frank X. Walker, Kentucky Poet Laureate and Professor of English at the University of Kentucky, presents on his latest work, Load in Nine Times: Poems on U.S. Colored Troops, that will be published on October 1, 2024, and features works highlighting the individual and collective experience of African American soldiers during the Civil War.
Location: Barracks
Living History Drop-In: Slave Dwelling Project
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Historians Cheyney McKnight and Tammy Gibson will interpret the experience of African American women at Camp Nelson through first-person living history demonstrations inside the Barracks and at the Living History encampment. The Living History “Drop Ins” amplify the voices of Black women at Camp Nelson and other sites of enslavement and liberation during the Civil War.
Location: Barracks (Cheyney McKnight) and Encampment (Tammy Gibson)
"They Will Make Good Soldiers”: General Ulysses S. Grant and United States Colored Troops
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Nick Sacco, Historian and Curator at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, in St. Louis, MO, presents on Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his evolving views towards U.S. Colored Troops in his ranks. He'll examine how Grant viewed race and slavery at the beginning of the war and how those attitudes evolved as emancipation became a war aim in 1863.
Location: Large Tent
Veteran Reserve Corps, Union Veterans, Freedmen's Bureau, Citizenship, and Grand Army of the Republic
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Virtual Presentation)
Stephen A. Goldman, M.D., a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, has decades of experience in patient care, academia, public health, and medical product safety. Dr. Goldman recently published One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause, a groundbreaking book on Union veterans’ landmark political activism, and their powerful warrior identity.
Location: Barracks
They Calling: My Coming to Camp Nelson
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Michael E. Crutcher, Sr., historian and distinguished scholar of Frederick Douglass, presents on his personal and professional journey to Camp Nelson as a descendant of Private Daniel Gilcrest, who served in Co. C, 13th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery—the largest of eight USCT regiments organized at Camp Nelson—and as the former president of the Camp Nelson Preservation and Education Foundation.
Location: Large Tent
Campfire Program: Slave Dwelling Project
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project and co-author of Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footsteps of Slavery, leads a campfire discussion about sites of enslavement. The program features audience centered conversations about slavery, freedom, liberation, memory, and relevance.
Location: Encampment Area
All Day Activities
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
NPS Education Tent: Children's Activities, including Junior Ranger Booklet.
Location: NPS Tent near Visitor Center
Living History Encampment: U.S. Army, Camp Life, African American Soldiers and Refugees
Location: Encampment Area near Visitor Center
Sunday, July 14
Refugees and Realities: Graveyard No. 1
9:00 am - 9:45 am
NPS staff together with the Slave Dwelling Project—Joseph McGill, Cheyney McKnight, and Tammy Gibson—will acknowledge the plight of refugees at Camp Nelson with a wreath laying and libation ceremony at Graveyard No. 1.
The program features a .5-mile guided walk from the Visitor Center to Graveyard No. 1 on cut grass trails. Participants should wear comfortable shoes and bring water.
Reel History: Emancipation in Civil War Cinema
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Perhaps no force is more powerful in the telling of history than Hollywood. Over the past century, filmmakers have conveyed a wide range of themes in their interpretations of emancipation during the Civil War Era. Dr. Jared Frederick, host of Reel History, will present a vibrant multimedia lecture that blends then and now. Frederick is an Assistant Teaching Professor of History at Penn State Altoona and is the author of ten books.
Location: Barracks
Freedom by the Sword: USCT and the Richmond and Petersburg Campaigns
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tim Talbott, Historian and Chief Administrative Office at Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and a leading authority of US Colored Troops and the Civil War, will deliver a presentation on the military campaigns involving USCT regiments at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, including the 114th and 116th US Colored Infantry regiments, both organized at Camp Nelson in the summer of 1864.
Location: Large Tent
Living History Drop-In: Slave Dwelling Project
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Historians Cheyney McKnight and Tammy Gibson will interpret the experience of African American women at Camp Nelson through first-person living history demonstrations inside the Barracks and at the Living History encampment. The Living History “Drop Ins” amplify the voices of Black women at Camp Nelson and other sites of enslavement and liberation during the Civil War.
Location: Barracks (Cheney McKnight) and Encampment (Tammy Gibson)
From Camp to Community: Refuge, Roots, and Relevance Panel Discussion
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Family genealogy and history are deeply rooted at cultural sites, including Camp Nelson National Monument. A panel of historians, genealogists, and descendants will discuss research, ancestry, and living legacy of the African American experience at Camp Nelson and other sites in Kentucky.
The panel features Yvonne Giles (African Cemetery No. 2); Denyce Peyton (African American Genealogy Group of Kentucky); Sioux Finney (Huntertown Community Interpretive Park); Bob Bell (12th USCHA), Michael Crutcher (13th USCHA and Frederick Douglass)
Location: Barracks
Battling for the Bluegrass: USCT Actions in Kentucky
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Taylor Bishop, Historian and Student Conservation Association Intern, will present on the numerous and unknown battles, skirmishes, raids, and expeditions involving U.S. Colored Troops, particularly units organized at Camp Nelson, in Kentucky during the Civil War.
Location: Large Tent
These Honored Dead: Camp Nelson National Cemetery
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
The 160th Anniversary of Camp Nelson concludes at Camp Nelson National Cemetery. NPS staff together with the Slave Dwelling Project—Joseph McGill and Cheyney McKnight—and Dr. W. Stephen McBride will deliver a few remarks at the Union Veterans’ Monument at the cemetery. The cemetery, known as Graveyard No 2, served as a final resting place for soldiers and civilians who perished at Camp Nelson during the Civil War. In 1866, it was designated as Camp Nelson National Cemetery. 2,452 burials date to the war, including 837 United States Colored Troops, and dozens of civilian employees, U.S. soldiers from several regiments organized at Camp Nelson are interred here.
The program features a with a wreath laying and libation ceremony at the Union Veterans Monument, located at the historic section of the cemetery east of the lodge and restroom.
Location:
Camp Nelson National Cemetery
6980 Danville Road, Nicholasville, KY 40356
All Day Activities
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
NPS Education Tent: Children's Activities, including Junior Ranger Booklet.
Location: NPS Tent near Visitor Center
Living History Encampment: U.S. Army, Camp Life, African American Soldiers and Refugees
Location: Encampment Area near Visitor Center