Camp Nelson National Cemetery

For other places named Camp Nelson, see Camp Nelson (disambiguation).
Camp Nelson National Cemetery
Camp Nelson National Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2003.
Map
Details
Established1866
Location
6890 Danville Road, Nicholasville, Kentucky
CountryUnited States
Coordinates37°47′14″N 84°36′09″W / 37.7871555°N 84.6024583°W / 37.7871555; -84.6024583
TypeVeterans
Owned byDepartment of Veterans Affairs
Size30.2 acres (12.2 ha)
No. of graves12,000+
Camp Nelson National Cemetery
ArchitectMontgomery C. Meigs
Architectural styleSecond Empire
MPSCivil War Era National Cemeteries MPS
NRHP reference No.98001134[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 3, 1998

Camp Nelson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky. It was originally a graveyard associated with the U.S. Army's Camp Nelson, which was active during the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath. The camp was named for Major General William "Bull" Nelson, commander of the Civil War Army of Kentucky, who was murdered by a fellow officer in 1862.[2]

Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the cemetery encompasses 30.2 acres (12.2 ha), has a capacity for 15,000 graves,[3] and currently contains over 12,000 interments, nearly all of which were, at death, either U.S. Armed Forces personnel on active duty, veterans of the Armed Forces, or their dependent family members. There are 2,452 burials that date to the U.S. Civil War, and of those, 837 are known to be the graves of African-American soldiers.[4][5] Their gravestone are marked with the letters "USCT" over their names; the designation stands for "United States Colored Troops".[5]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Sears, Richard D. (2002). Camp Nelson, Kentucky: A Civil War History. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. p. 4. ISBN 0-8131-2246-5.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference josh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b McBride, Stephen W. "Closing of the Depot". Camp Nelson, Civil War Heritage Park. Camp Nelson Restoration and Preservation Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.