Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park The Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park is a historical museum and park located in southern Jessamine County , Kentucky , south of Lexington , Kentucky . It 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 escaped slaves , many of whom trained to be soldiers . Early history . Camp Nelson was established as a supply depot for Union invasions into Tennessee . It was named for Major General William " Bull " Nelson , who had recently been murdered . It was placed near Hickman Bridge , the only bridge across the Kentucky River upriver from the state capital ( Frankfort , Kentucky ) . The site was selected to protect the bridge , to have a base of operations in central Kentucky , and to prepare to attack the Cumberland Gap and eastern Tennessee . The camp was also used as a site to train new soldiers for the Union army . The Kentucky River ' s steep palisade s contributed to the selection of the site — they would help defend the camp from Confederate attack . Camp Nelson may have been the best choice for a central Kentucky depot , but it was inadequate . When Union Major General Ambrose Burnside attacked the Cumberland Gap and Knoxville , Tennessee , Camp Nelson ' s distance from the Gap and Knoxville , combined with lack of railroads and the weather , hampered the Union advance . When overall Union commander Ulysses S . Grant visited Camp Nelson in January 1864 , he was displeased , observing that " no portion of our supplies can be hauled by teams from Camp Nelson " . The situation of the camp had not improved by spring of 1864 , and Grant leaned toward abandoning it entirely . William Tecumseh Sherman advocated that its role be diminished instead , which saved Camp Nelson . It took on the role of training black soldiers , who volunteered for the US Colored Troops . In July 1863 and June 1864 , Union forces feared that the camp might be attacked by Confederate general John Hunt Morgan , who was conducting raids in Kentucky and other border states , as well as Ohio . In 1863 Morgan was headed for Indiana and Ohio in his most famous raid . It was never confirmed whether he intended to attack the camp in 1864 . Black history . In August 1863 thousands of slaves forced to build railroads for the Union army were stationed at Camp Nelson . They had escaped to Union lines , or joined Union forces which had taken over rebel areas . The army needed the help of their work . These former slaves , at least 3 , 000 in number , were the primary builders of Camp Nelson , starting with fortifying Hickman Bridge on May 19 , 1863 . Prior to Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation , the Army declared such former slaves as " contraband " and refused to return them to the southern slaveholders , as the Confederacy demanded . The Army did use former slaves as laborers . No blacks enlisted in the USCT in Kentucky until 1864 , whereas in other border states , former slaves started enlisting in October 1863 . At Camp Nelson 10 , 000 African Americans were emancipated from slavery in exchange for service in the Union army . These soldiers sometimes brought their families to Camp Nelson ; such refugees totaled 3 , 060 and were cared for by missionaries . At one point , in November 1864 , Camp Nelson was not a legal place of refuge for slaves . The Union soldiers forced out 400 women and children to leave the camp ; the refugees suffered 102 deaths due to severe weather until allowed to return to camp . Some 1300 refugees died at Camp Nelson , reflecting the high rate of infectious disease at camps . Camp Nelson was the smallest of the three locations where blacks were trained to become Union soldiers ; the others were in Boston , Massachusetts , and New Orleans , Louisiana . In a more rural area than the other former facilities , Camp Nelson is the only one whose land was never developed after the war for other purposes . The most African - American recruits arrived at the camp between June and October 1864 , with 322 men enlisting on a single day on July 25 . After that , only 20 more recruits arrive in 1864 . In January , 15 signed up , and from February to April 1865 , there were six . Among the units raised at Camp Nelson were the 5th and 6th U . S . Colored Cavalry Regiments and the 114th and 116th Colored Heavy Artillery Regiments . 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 " . After the war , 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 . Today . Presently , of the original property are preserved as the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park . Most of the buildings at the camp were sold . The camp is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and was declared a National Historic Landmark District in March 2013 . Camp Nelson is currently controlled by the Jessamine County Fiscal Court . The county and some local leaders would like to transfer Camp Nelson to the National Park Service . The site was designated as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom , which runs through several states and has sites in Canada and the Antilles . In 2008 U . S . Representative Ben Chandler was studying funding issues related to such a transfer of property . The Oliver Perry House is the only surviving structure from its years as a camp . It was built in about 1846 for the newlywed couple of Oliver Perry and the former Fannie Scott . General Burnside confiscated the house during the war to serve as officers quarters . In many official letters , the house was called the " White House " . It currently is operated as a historic house museum for the park . The park has more than a mile of walking paths . Ghost tours are occasionally available . Camp Nelson National Cemetery is two miles to the south . It has organized records of burials online so that families may trace relatives buried here , in addition to those who trained or lived at the camp .