Camp Nelson Refugee Camp
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Historical Marker # 1965 in Jessamine County notes the location of the Camp Nelson refugee camp, which housed the families of hundreds of African American soldiers.
Camp Nelson was established in 1863 as a recruiting station and quartermaster supply base for military operations into East Tennessee. In the spring of 1864, when African American soldiers were finally allowed to be recruited and trained in Kentucky, Camp Nelson became the largest center for United States Colored Troops in the state.
As thousands of enslaved and free Black men flocked to Camp Nelson to enlist and train for the army, many of the soldiers' families came, too. Refugees first arrived at the camp to find work and protection even before black soldiers were accepted into the Union army. When African American recruitment formally opened, however, a flood of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters arrived to be with their loved ones, for sanctuary against whites who opposed African American enlistments, and for freedom. One formerly enslaved person reportedly exclaimed, "See how much better off we are now than we was four years ago. It used to be five hundred miles to get to Canada from Lexington, but now it’s only eighteen miles. Camp Nelson is our Canada."
The large number of refugees created a humanitarian crisis the Army had not anticipated. More than once the commanders of the post ordered those not working or serving with the army to immediately leave the camp. These commands, however, had little permanent effect until November 1864, when camp commander Speed S. Fry forcibly expelled refugees from Camp Nelson's grounds. The refugees' makeshift shelters were then leveled.
The November expulsion coincided with an extreme cold weather snap, which caused many of the refugees to suffer from the freezing temperatures. With their shelters demolished and a seemingly uncaring US Army command, more than one hundred people died from exposure. Due to these deaths, the order was countermanded and housing was built for refugee families in a location adjacent to the soldiers' camp. In addition, the fallout from the expulsion prompted Congress to pass a bill that freed the families of enslaved men who enlisted in the Union Army.
After the war the refugee camp became the community of Ariel. Eventually renamed Hall, it continued to be a vibrant African American community well into the twentieth century.
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Camp Nelson Refugee Cottages
This image shows the long rows of duplex housing units built to house the large numbers of refugees that flooded into Camp Nelson during 1864 and 1865. Courtesy of Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park.
Camp Nelson Refugees
This image shows a number of African American refugees outside of a building in the Camp Nelson complex. In addition to schools the refugee camp included a laundry, mess hall, and teachers’ quarters, among other buildings. Courtesy of Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park.
Camp Nelson Refugee School
This image shows refugee children being taught at a school at the Camp Nelson refugee camp. Courtesy of Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park.
Camp Nelson USCT Barracks
This period photograph shows the Colored Soldiers’ barracks at Camp Nelson. Many of the soldiers that enlisted at Camp Neslon brought their families with them. Courtesy of Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park.
Camp Nelson Letter
In this letter white soldier Charles Atkin wrote to his wife about attending an African American church service at Camp Nelson. Written in February 1864, it shows that Camp Nelson proved to be a magnet for slaves seeking to escape slavery even before black troops were formally recruited in Kentucky. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.