Camp Nelson National Cemetery
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.
| Camp Nelson National Cemetery | |
|---|---|
Camp Nelson National Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2003. | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1866 |
| Location | 6890 Danville Road, Nicholasville, Kentucky |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 37°47′14″N 84°36′09″W |
| Type | Veterans |
| Owned by | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Size | 30.2 acres (12.2 ha) |
| No. of graves | 12,000+ |
Camp Nelson National Cemetery | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Architect | Montgomery C. Meigs |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| MPS | Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001134 |
| Added to NRHP | September 3, 1998 |
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, 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. Their gravestone are marked with the letters "USCT" over their names; the designation stands for "United States Colored Troops".