Camp Nelson National Monument

The Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park Visitor Center
The US Army established Camp Nelson as a fortified supply depot in April 1863. Over the next 3 years, the site evolved into a massive recruitment and training center for United States Colored Troops and a refugee camp for their families. It served as a shelter for civilians fleeing war and for enslaved people hoping to secure their freedom and aid in the destruction of slavery.
Map showing location of park.
A paved path leads to a gray wooden building with US Flag flying.
Photo by NPS/A. Goetz
A stone obelisk in a grass field surrounded by luminary bags
Photo by NPS/AG
NPS Directional Sign at Camp Nelson National Monument
Photo by NPS/SP
Living historians portraying US soldiers in a grass field with a wagon.
Photo by NPS/BT
Open fields of green grass with trees during a colorful sunrise.
Photo by NPS/SP
A row of rough, wooden bunk beds in the soldiers' barrack house.
Photo by NPS/ A. Goetz
A white, 2 story farm house with a Civil War cannon sitting in front of it
Photo by NPS Photo
2 cannons at an earthen fort
Photo by NPS/SP
Living historians firing cannons in a grass field.
Photo by NPS