Three full-time staffers at Camp Nelson in Kentucky have been fired as a result of the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” This National Park Service site had thirteen staff members up until February of 2025. According to the Lexington Herald Leader, a local newspaper:
“Jeff McDanald, a longtime Camp Nelson volunteer, said four people were originally terminated Feb. 14, but one was able to successfully appeal his termination. That person had been a longtime National Parks employee and recently moved to the area to work at Camp Nelson. Many of the people who have been terminated by the federal government were on probationary status. The person who had his termination reversed was technically a probationary employee because he had just moved to Camp Nelson, McDanald said. “The worst part of this is they were fired for cause,” McDanald said. “As if they were derelict in their duties. That’s just not accurate.””
Camp Nelson was a major training ground for Union troops from Kentucky early in the war. By 1864, it was an important area for the consolidation of United States Colored Infantry regiments. A large community of Black refugees also inhabited the place. When the refugees were expelled by Union forces in 1864, many African Americans died from exposure.
The site, located in Jessamine County, became an National Park Service site in 2018. Local media says that it is the most visited tourist spot in the county.
Read about the destruction of the Refugee Camp in 1864.
Note: The feature photo shows the Colored Barracks during the Civil War.
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