Despite Camp Nelson’s brief existence (1863-66), the US Army based fueled military campaigns; provided shelter for refugees displaced by war and seeking freedom; influenced national policies; helped destroy the institution of slavery; and impacted the lives of thousands of people. Before the site was dismantled and abandoned in 1866, the army tasked photographers with capturing the military and civilian infrastructure that comprised one of the largest army bases in the country. Beneath the layers of Camp Nelson's pastoral landscape are the stories of people—individuals and groups—who experienced the trauma of a nation at war and the contested struggle to define its meaning. Camp Nelson’s story is nationally significant. The National Park Service (NPS) invites you to explore our “Then-And-Now” images that brings Camp Nelson back to life 160 years after the Civil War.
The White House
Left image
Historic photograph of the White House overlaid on the modern landscape.
Credit: Library of Congress
Right image
Present day color photograph of the White House of Camp Nelson.
Credit: NPS/ Millie German
The Oliver Perry House, known as the White House, is the most recognized historic feature at the park and the only surviving structure from the Civil War Era at Camp Nelson National Monument. The two-story frame Greek Revival house was constructed in 1855-56 by Oliver and Fannie Scott Perry on the land of Mary Scott, Fannie’s mother. When Camp Nelson was established in April 1863, the US Army occupied the house for miliary use.
The house served as the headquarters of Major General George L. Hartsuff, commander of the Twenty-third Corps, before the commencement of the East Tennessee Campaign in August 1863.The house was later occupied by Captain Hall and other army officers of the Quartermaster Department and returned to the Perry family after the Civil War.
This image captures the home during its use by the army during the Civil War. A mix of soldiers and civilians reveal the intersection of war and the home front.
The Ambulance Yard
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Present day color photograph of the historic ambulance yard's location as seen from Camp Nelson National Cemetery.
Credit: NPS/ Ava Goetz
Right image
Historic photograph of Camp Nelson's ambulance yard overlaid on the modern landscape.
Credit: Library of Congress
The US Army established Camp Nelson as a forwarded operating base, fortified supply depot, and hospital complex on April 29, 1863. The base’s rapid development and expansion was captured by an reporter writing for The Rutland Weekly Herald with the initials, "M.B.," who provided one of the most detailed description of the site on July 23, 1863:
The appearance of things at Camp Nelson resemble that of an incipient city. As Virgil would say, ‘fervet opus’ (a buzz and swirl of activity).Twenty-five buildings of oak material throughout, and of the average size of forty by one hundred feet, have already been erected, and others are in progress. One of these is a blacksmith shop, another a wagon maker's and the rest are for forage, commissary, and quartermaster's stores. It is enough to bewilder an ordinary mortal even to look at the quantities of everything already here. I counted two hundred boxes of horse shoe nails, holding perhaps a bushel a piece. A bakery containing three large ovens is constantly turning out the finest kind of bread. A never-failing spring from which runs a stream as big a man's arm, supplies the place with water. A reservoir of the capacity of four thousand barrels is nearly completed, of solid masonry, which will be kept full, and from which the water will be hauled to various places, wherever it is wanted...Roads and streets are being laid out and constructed, canals and yards are made, the underbrush of forest is cleaned up to give the range for stock. Baggage wagons by the score, each drawn by six mules, are constantly arriving and leaving. Infantry, cavalry and batteries are drilling and maneuvering.
At the end of the Civil War, Camp Nelson featured over 300 wooden buildings that employed thousands of soldiers, civilians, and refugees. The 4,000 military base was dotted with tent cities and huts that housed both soldiers and civilians.
The Prison
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Present day color photograph of the historic prison's location.
Credit: NPS/ Millie German
Right image
Historic photograph of the stockade wall and interior structure of Camp Nelson's prison overlaid on the modern landscape.
Credit: Library of Congress
Unlike traditional military encampments, Camp Nelson served as a semi-permanent military base for 3-years, and often contained a population larger than Lexington. To maintain order, the U.S. Army constructed a prison to house soldiers and civilians who violated military orders and laws. A few Confederates were temporarily incarcerated here enroute to northern prisons.
The prison consisted of a 100 ft. by 50 ft. log jail building within a 180 ft. by 120 ft. log stockade featuring 4 guard towers and other support buildings. Archeological excavations led by Dr. W. Stephen McBride have uncovered evidence of the former buildings and stockade, as well as artifacts that show reveal how prisoners and guards lived. The artifacts include military and personal items as well as foodways. Artifacts include pipes, glass marbles, ceramics, and animal bones.
This Then-and-Now photo offers a glimpse of where this US Army Prison once stood.
Hickman Bridge
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Present day color photograph of the historic location of Hickman Bridge including current Highway 27.
Credit: NPS/ Millie German
Right image
Historic photograph of Hickman Bridge overlaid on the modern landscape.
Credit: Library of Congress
The US Army officially established Camp Nelson on April 29, 1863, but the military installation appeared only on paper in the first month of its existence. US troops were assigned the critical duty of guarding the Kentucky River at Hickman Bridge—the only crossing of the river between Nicholasville and Frankfort, the state capital. There were also troops stationed at Camp Dick Robinson—the first US recruiting and training center founded by General William “Bull” Nelson” in August 1861—located about 8 miles south of the bridge in Garrard County.US forces successfully defended the bridge from a Confederate attack on March 28, 1863. The Hickman Covered Bridge, constructed in 1838, spanned the Kentucky River along the Lexington-Danville Turnpike. The wooden span was replaced by a steel bridge in the 1930s, but this historic image offers a look at the once important civilian and military passageway.
The Grain Shed
Left image
Present day color photograph of a grass field that is the historic location of a large grain shed within Camp Nelson.
Credit: NPS/ Millie German
Right image
Historic photograph of Camp Nelson's grain shed overlaid on the modern landscape.
Credit: Library of Congress
During the Civil War, horses and mules were crucial to military operations as they provided power to transport supplies, equipment, weapons, and men. Camp Nelson was no exception, with thousands of horses and mules needed to transport goods and supplies to the armies in the field and to equip the 15 regiments organized here. The base featured corrals for 12,000 animals, stables for another 2,000, and a horse rehabilitation center that nursed broken down animals back to health. To feed all the animals, Camp Nelson had grain and hay shipped in and stored in dozens of sheds.
This image features one of the Camp Nelson’s grain sheds that fueled army operations throughout the region. Behind the grain shed, you can see the Lexington-Danville Turnpike, which is recognizable by its distinctive split rail fence. The U.S. Army established Camp Nelson on this road. Dozens of buildings lined both sides of the road to efficiently transport soldiers and supplies.
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