Camp Nelson: the Newest National Monument
Geologic Notes on Fort Placement and Strategy in Kentucky and the Western Theater of Operation in the American Civil War
Thomas S. Spalding, CPG-09973 Abstract
Created by Congress in September 2018 and welcomed by President Donald Trump with a proclamation on October 26, 2018, Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky, is a national monument. A tour of its battlements located in the In- ner Bluegrass, shows prominent karst terrain and rich limestone soils suited to raising horses. Camp Nelson was a train- ing center for African Americans, and among other parts of its history, two cavalry organizations were formed there: the Fifth and Sixth United States Colored Cavalry (USCC).
The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the application of geology at the military installation and theatre levels during the American Civil War, and to highlight the importance of Camp Nelson in the campaigns that closed the War.
Introduction
In Kentucky, in the spring of 1864, Sherman and Grant planned the cam- paign now called “The March to the Sea” (Brisbin, 1868).
Camp Nelson’s
breastworks (Figures 1, right and 2, page 57), in excess of 1.5 miles in length, were formed in an east-west layout between the Palisades of the Kentucky River to the west and Hickman Creek, an ances- tral fluvial path near the Kentucky River Fault zone.
African Americans were the primary builders of Camp Nelson. Starting in 1863, Camp Nelson
focused on supply, but the vision for the camp changed. Former slaves started enlisting there in October 1863 (see Fig. 3) and the Federal mission continued to evolve through the end of the war. On April 18, 1864, active enrolment began of black Kentucky troops. Only Louisiana enrolled more black troops than Kentucky (Prichard, 2014). Black manpower became acculturated into the armed forces of the United States at Camp Nelson.
From Camp Nelson, the Commander
of the military district of Kentucky, Gen. Stephen Burbridge, using the black
56 TPG •
Jul.Aug.Sep 2019
Figure 1 - Geological Map of Kentucky showing places mentioned in the text. Adapted from
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/geoky/.
troops he had recruited and trained, would cross the Appalachians and strike at the most vital part of the Confederate supply system, at Saltville, VA (See Figure 4), thus hastening the end of the war.
Relation of Camp Location to Geology
The Camp commands the high ground overlooking the Kentucky River, which here flows in a steeply-walled canyon (Figs. 5 and 6), giving the region the apt
name of “The Palisades” and enabling the creation of easily-defended posi- tions. In the vicinity of the camp, the Kentucky River has excavated two ter- races which are mantled by sand, silt, clay and gravel, thus providing plenti- ful construction material (Fig.7-bottom). Cobbles of quartzite, quartz geodes, and pebbles record the ancestral course of the Kentucky River.
The dramatic 60-degree change in
the river’s course, from SW to NW, is in part caused by the Kentucky River Fault
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