More than 1,800 attend festivities
at Camp Nelson’s Civil War Days

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” gushed Gracie Lawrence, who was witnessing her initial experience at Camp Nelson.

The former Kentucky resident who recently relocated to Nicholasville from El Paso, Texas, noted that she had “learned a lot” by listening to re-enactor Clark Morgan and being a witness to what Civil War living history was all about.

Lawrence was one of some 1,800 individuals who were on hand for Camp Nelson’s Sept. 7-8 Civil War Days. A military skirmish, cannon firing, cavalry drills, a number of living history personalities, period music and tours of camp facilities were among the attractions commemorating the establishment of the Union supply depot 150 years ago.

It also was the nation’s third-largest recruitment and training center for African-American troops.

“Eight regiments of U.S. Colored Troops, as the African-American regiments were designated, were founded at Camp Nelson, and five others were stationed here,” Mary Kozak, special projects director for Jessamine County, pointed out. “A refugee camp was established to house the soldiers’ families and to provide schooling and medical care. Camp Nelson is the largest such center in the nation open for interpretation.”

Kozak said while this year marked the camp’s 150th anniversary of being established, next year will mark the 150th anniversary of being a recruitment center.

“More than 10,000 African-Americans gained their freedom when enlisting at Camp Nelson,” Kozak said. “At that time, many brought their families, and after several expulsions, a refugee camp was established at Camp Nelson for them. The play ‘Blow Ye The Trumpets, Blow,’ presented in 2010, will again be presented next year during the 150th anniversary. The play, a drama based on historical fact, depicts the struggles for freedom experienced by the African-American refugees.”