Camp Nelson National Monument

Camp Nelson began in 1863 as a Union supply depot above the Kentucky River palisades and became one of the largest recruiting and training grounds for United States Colored Troops, where some 10,000 Black men enlisted and won their freedom, and where their families built a refugee community.

Walk among the reconstructed buildings and earthworks and visit the museum. For a challenge, hike the monument's trails along the Hickman Creek palisades, past the fortifications that guarded this gateway to freedom.