Camp Nelson Photographic Collection, 1864, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center City of RefugeeFor much of 1864, enslaved African American women and other civilians seeking freedom at Camp Nelson faced uncertainty and apprehension concerning their fate. The lack of a national refugee policy regarding Black refugees meant that at Camp Nelson, some military officers turned women and children away and supported the periodic expulsion of them from the US Army base, while other officials granted permission for self-emancipating civilians to live in the camp. Following the infamous Expulsion of November 1864 and the 102 refugee lives lost, military officials at Camp Nelson were instructed to provide care in the form of food, shelter, and clothing to African American civilians looking for refugee.The Home for Colored Refugees at Camp Nelson was the result. 
National Archives and Records Adminstration Refugees and Realities"Down through the streets of the City of Refuge we went, the scene presented being a beautiful one. Every door ws open, and in each of them stood some one with a torch in hand to light us on our way." -Sgt. Elijah P. Marrs, 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery The Federal government established the Home for Colored Refugees at Camp Nelson in January 1865. The refugee site initially consisted of four barracks, a mess hall, a school, and an administration building. Due to overcrowding, 97 duplex cottages were quickly constructed to house the Black civilians in family units of eight to twelve people. The population of the Home quickly grew, rising from 800 in February 1865 to more than 1,500 in April 1865. As the Home continued to expand, a housing shortage occurred. The Army provided hospital tents, while some refugees built their own huts. By the late summer of 1865, more than 3,000 Black women and other civilians lived in the refugee camp at Camp Nelson. |
Last updated: April 25, 2024