page_title: Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument
section_title: Post War
hierarchical_section_title: Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument / History / Post War
caption_attribution_description: English: Marrs in 1915
context_page_description: Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument, formerly Camp Nelson National Monument and before that Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, is a 525-acre national monument, historical museum and park located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States, 20 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky. The American Civil War era camp was established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army during the Civil War. It became a recruiting ground for new soldiers from Eastern Tennessee and enslaved people, many of whom had fled their living conditions to be soldiers.
  On October 26, 2018, President Donald Trump proclaimed the site as Camp Nelson National Monument, the 418th unit of the National Park Service system. It was renamed to include "Heritage" in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019. The forested portion overlooking Hickman Creek was funded by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund.
context_section_description: After the war, Camp Nelson was a center for giving ex-slaves their emancipation papers. Many have considered the camp as their "cradle of freedom".
  The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) operated a soldiers' home for a time at Camp Nelson, in former barracks. It was one of a series of homes and rest houses they operated for soldiers.
  Here are some post-war achievements of Camp Nelson U.S. Colored Troops.
  Angus Burleigh was literate and enlisted at age 16, becoming a sergeant with the 12th Regiment Heavy Artillery U.S. Colored Troops after an escape from an Anderson County farm. In 1875, he was the first black graduate of Berea College as well as the first black adult male to enroll. The college was founded by John Fee and the American Missionary Association in 1855 and students, black and white, were enrolled. He was among blacks from Berea and Oberlin College who taught in Freedman's Schools, conducting a school in Garrard County in 1869. Later he was ordained a Methodist Episcopal minister and held pastorates in several states and served as chaplain to the Illinois State Senate. He lived until 1914 when he was Berea's oldest living graduate.
  Elijah P. Marrs led 27 others from to Louisville from neighboring Simpsonville, Ky. to join the USCT. Marrs, another sergeant with the 12th US Colored Heavy Artillery, trained at Camp Nelson where he also taught reading. After the war, Marrs taught school and was ordained a Baptist minister. In 1879, he and his brother founded Baptist Normal and Theological Institute in Louisville, which became Simmons Bible College. Marrs was active with the Republican party in Kentucky. His autobiography is downloadable from the University of North Carolina's Documenting the American South Digital Publishing Initiative.
  Peter Bruner wrote with his daughter his autobiography, A Slave’s Adventure Toward Freedom, Not Fiction, but the True Story of a Struggle, also included in the UNC's Documenting the American South. He recounts his frequently made unsuccessful escape attempts and subsequent severe punishments.  Another member of the 12th, he enlisted with 16 other men, walking 41 miles from Irvine, Ky. Post war, Bruner moved to Oxford, Ohio and became the first African American to work at Miami University where he also enrolled. In addition to his work as a custodian and messenger, he served as a ceremonial greeter wearing a top hat and tails. He raised five children with his wife Frances Proctor. He is listed on plaque B-26 at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC. His ceremonial top hat is on display at the McGuffey House and Museum of Miami University.
  Gabriel Burdette while enslaved in neighboring Garrard County became active in the ministry serving at the Forks Dix River Church. He enlisted July 1864 in the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry. He served as a teacher, nurse, and minister, leading in the development of education, housing, and aid for the refugees. He began a 12 year association with John Fee and the American Missionary Association. After serving in both Tennessee and Texas, Burdett returned and was instrumental in establishing Ariel Academy. He became the first African American on the Berea College Board of Trustees, serving 12 years. Involved in the Republican Party, the same party of President Lincoln, he campaigned in the 1872 presidential for the reelection of former Union General Grant. He served as a voting member at both the 1872 and 1876 Republican National Conventions. The violence associated with the 1876 election convinced Burdett to join the Exodusters Movement to the West and emigrate with his family to Kansas. The path of his life is followed in some detail in this account of African Americans’ struggle for freedom during and post Civil War.
caption: Rev. Elijah P. Marrs 1915[32]
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