79–006 

1 ‘‘Camp Nelson.’’ National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/nr/ 

travel/underground/Camp_Nelson.html. 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–695 

CAMP NELSON HERITAGE NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT 

MAY 21, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 5655] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 5655) to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National 

Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park 

System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 

do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 5655 is to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the 

National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 5655 establishes the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky, as a unit of the National Park 

System. 

Located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, and founded 

in 1863, Camp Nelson was constructed by Major General Ambrose 

Burnside and the 9th Corps of the Army of Ohio to serve as a supply depot, hospital facility, and training and recruiting center for 

the Union Army during the Civil War.1

Camp Nelson provided the Union Army with over 10,000 African 

American soldiers, making it the third largest recruiting and training depot for African American soldiers in the country. African 

2 

2 Ibid 1. 

3 Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, Camp Nelson Restoration & Preservation Foundation, www.campnelson.org/history/african.htm. 4 Ibid at 3. 

5 Camp Nelson: Overview, Camp Nelson Restoration and Preservation Foundation, 

www.campnelson.org/introduction.htm. 

American troops were trained and served at Camp Nelson. As freed 

slaves, many had no option but to bring their families along with 

them to the camp as they trained to fight.2

In November 1864, Brigadier General Speed S. Fry ordered the 

families staying with the soldiers out of the camp. Tragically, the 

expulsion from the camp resulted in more than a hundred refugees 

dying from exposure due to the freezing temperatures.3

General Fry’s actions infuriated the African American recruits 

and undermined African American recruitment efforts. Because of 

the complaints and reactions, officials in Washington, D.C. ordered 

General Fry to establish a camp for the refugees within Camp Nelson. A superintendent for the refugees was appointed and Reverend John G. Fee encouraged the building of duplex cottages. In 

a collaborative effort, the American Missionary Association assisted 

the Army in caring for the refugee families.4 Camp Nelson and the 

refugee site served as a shelter for over 3,000 of the soldiers’ wives 

and children. 

The original Camp Nelson covered 4,000 acres and had roughly 

300 buildings including a school, hospital and mess hall, among 

other accommodations.5

In 1998, Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was established 

by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court using local, State, and federal funds to preserve large tracts of land, construct a visitor center, construct replica barracks, recreate a fort, develop informational trails, and educate the public. 

Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park was designated as part of 

the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2008 and was later designated as a National 

Historic Landmark in 2013. 

On February 28, 2018, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held 

a hearing on a related bill, H.R. 1992, the Camp Nelson Heritage 

Park Study Act. Following the hearing, H.R. 5655 was introduced. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 5655 was introduced on April 27, 2018, by Congressman 

Andy Barr (R–KY). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. On May 8, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee 

met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by 

unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was 

ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 

unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

3 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, May 11, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5655, the Camp Nelson 

Heritage National Monument Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 5655—Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act 

H.R. 5655 would establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National 

Monument in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Under the bill, the site 

would become a unit of the National Park System and would be 

owned and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The bill 

would direct the NPS to acquire land for the monument by means 

of donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a land exchange. Based on the experience of creating other system units, 

CBO expects that the monument would not be formally established 

for several years. 

Using information from the NPS on the costs of operating new 

system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur about 

$200,000 annually in administrative costs in the monument’s early 

years. The bill also would require the NPS to develop a general 

management plan for the monument. Based on the costs of similar 

projects, CBO estimates that developing the plan would cost less 

than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 

5655 would cost about $1 million over the 2019–2023 period; such 

spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 5655 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5655 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 5655 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

4 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National 

Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park 

System. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing law. 

Æ