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.

Corridor of Freedom: Brigadier General Charles Young Birthplace Cabin Commemoration
Saturday, April 18, 2026
11:00 am - 3:00 pm

The NPS at Camp Nelson National Monument and Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, in partnership with sites and organizations in Kentucky and Ohio, including the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Brigadier General Charles Young Foundation, Kentucky African American Heritage Trail, Brigadier General Charles Young Memorial Historical Corridor, Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, City of Maysville, Visit Maysville, Mason County Fiscal Court, John Rankin House, John P. Parker House invite you to celebrate the life and legacy of Brigadier General Charles Young and the Young family.The event commemorates the 160^th Anniversary of the Gabriel Young's discharge after serving in the 5^th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery during the Civil War and the establishment of the Black Regular regiments in the U.S. Army, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

The program features presentations by guests and historians, informational tents, children's activities, and a food truck.

Location:
Brigadier General Charles Young Birthplace Cabin
6319 Helena Rd, May's Lick, KY 41055


6th Annual Park Day (American Battlefield Trust)
Saturday, April 25, 2026
9:30 am - 12:30 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 us with completing the Camp Nelson Cannon Project. Prior to Park Day, NPS staff will place 8 new cannons along the Northern Fortification Line. On April 25, 2026, we’ll finish painting the cannon carriages and formally dedicate the new additions to the park with a short ceremony.

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 (SAVE THE DATES)

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
Nicholasville, KY

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


5th Annual History at Sunset Programs
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

• June 12th at Camp Nelson National Monument
• 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!