Camp Nelson, Kentucky : a Civil War history / Richard D. Sears.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sears, Richard D., 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Antislavery movements.

Freed persons.

Refugees.

African Americans.

Camp Nelson (Ky.)--History.

Camp Nelson (Ky.).

Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--African Americans.

Kentucky.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--African Americans.

United States.

Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Refugees.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Refugees.

African American soldiers--Kentucky--History--19th century--Sources.

African American soldiers.

Freed persons--Kentucky--History--19th century--Sources.

Antislavery movements--Kentucky--History--19th century--Sources.

Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Sources.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Sources.

Genre:

Sources.

Physical Description:

lxxxiii, 401 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, [2002]

Summary:

Perched high atop the Kentucky River palisades in the central Bluegrass, picturesque Camp Nelson played an important, yet now largely forgotten, role in the tragedies and triumphs of the Civil War. The story of the sprawling camp ranges from panicked rumors of an impending raid by Gen. John Hunt Morgan to daring East Tennessee attacks, from petty bureaucratic bickering to the principled courage of men and women struggling to help former slaves adjust to the postwar world.

Originally designed as a Union supply depot, Camp Nelson became one of the nation's most important recruiting stations and training camps for black soldiers and Kentucky's chief center for issuing emancipation papers to former slaves. The increasing black population at the camp attracted white missionaries, led by Rev. John G. Fee of Berea, intent on bringing religion, education, and social equality to the newly freed people.

In this first comprehensive study of Camp Nelson, author Richard D. Sears tells the story of the rise and fall of the camp through the shifting perspective of a changing cast of characters -- soldiers, refugees, missionaries, and fleeing slaves and enlisted blacks who describe their pitiless treatment at the hands of slave owners and Confederate sympathizers. The diverse documents include carefully selected military orders, letters, newspaper articles, and other correspondence, most inaccessible until now. Sears's introduction provides a historical overview of the camp and Civil War events connected to it, and helpful notes identify individuals and detail the course of events.

Threaded within these first-hand accounts are tales of hardship and joy, the harshest racism, and the staunchest abolitionism. Not just the history of a place, Camp Nelson, Kentucky is a case study of the end of slavery, both in the state and in the nation.

Contents:

The establishment of Camp Nelson and the invasion of East Tennessee

Black recruitment

Soldiers, missionaries, refugees

The expulsion

The refugee home

Administrative troubles and the Belle Mitchell Incident

Closing the camp

Claiming the remains.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [377]-379) and index.

ISBN:

0813122465

OCLC:

48559504