Tag: cemeteries

NoD: Camp Nelson National Cemetery

Camp Nelson
Headstones at Camp Nelson National Cemetery – Nicholasville, Ky.

In southern Jessamine County lies the Camp Nelson National Cemetery, one of eight national cemeteries in the Commonwealth. Prior to being a designated national cemetery (1866), Sections A, B, C and D contained the buried dead from the Civil War-era Camp Nelson. This 3.5 acre area was subsequently expanded around the time of its designation to approximately 8 acres, but today it is much larger at about 51 acres (thanks in part to a donation of 10 acres made in 1975 and the acquisition of 21 acres in 2010). In fact, current acreage would allow a total of approximately 30,000 graves while the current census is less than 15,000.

A part of the massive Civil War-era Camp Nelson complex – once 4,000 acres – the first soldiers buried here were likely victims of smallpox and other non-conflict causes. At least one death was noted due to a “falling tree.” [*] After becoming a designated national cemetery, 2,023 dead from various Kentucky battlefields and skirmishes were reinterred here: from Frankfort (104), Richmond (241), London (266), Covington (437), and from Perryville, where the Confederates were defeated in October of 1862 (975).

Pictured above is one of the many headstones located at the cemetery. If you look closely, you’ll note that it is that of Larry C. Vrondis (a WWII Veteran who I have mentioned on this site before). On this Memorial Day, we thank all of our veterans (and their families) for their service to our country.

You can visit Camp Nelson for its Memorial Day events on Monday, May 30 at 11:00 a.m.

No Destination: Paris Cemetery

Gateway to the Paris Cemetery. Paris, Ky.

Driving from Lexington to Paris, one cannot help but notice the magnificent Gothic Revival entrance to the Paris Cemetery. Established in 1847, the cemetery’s entrance was completed in 1862. The entrance was designed by architect John McMurtry (McMurtry also designed a gateway for the Lexington Cemetery pictured here but that was torn down in 1890).

Buried in the Paris Cemetery are several notables. Among them Associate Justice to the Supreme Court Robert Trimble (for whom Trimble County is named); CSA Gov. Richard Hawes (Kentucky’s Second Confederate Governor in a pseudo-state government); Sen. Garrett Davis (credited with keeping Kentucky from seceding); and John Fox, Jr. (author of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the first book in American literature to sell over one million copies).

The oldest headstone in the cemetery is that of Elisha Ford, who died in 1807. Upon the establishment of the Paris Cemetery, many smaller cemeteries in town were closed and the bodies exhumed and transferred to the new Paris Cemetery. [*]

No Destination: Mill Springs National Cemetery

Kentucky has seven national cemeteries and has the highest concentration of national cemeteries of any state in the Union. Mill Springs National Cemetery is the smallest cemetery in the national system, though its has existed since the system was first established in late 1862 with only twelve cemeteries. Because of complications associated with the war, it was impractical to create a proper resting place for our nation’s heroes until after the war. Congress in 1867 provided more specifics for the national cemetery system and Mill Springs National Cemetery was formally dedicated on June 15, 1881. Mill Springs Nat’l Cemetery sits atop a high, sloping hill next to the Mill Springs Battlefield Visitor Center (opened in 2006) in the Pulaski County community of Nancy.

The Battle of Mill Springs occurred in January of 1862. During the course of the battle, 39 Union soldiers fell while Confederate losses numbered 125. (Visit the Kaintuckeean on Wednesday for a post about Zollicoffer Park and the Confederate mass grave/cemetery). Prior to the battle, CSA troops had established themselves in the immediate area, though the Union had control of neighboring communities. Confederate attempts to keep the two groups of Union troops from joining were defeated during this battle, and the surviving Confederates fled their position and supplies.

The Battle of Mill Springs occurred nine days after the Battle of Middle Creek; these two Confederate losses shifted the field of battle from southeeastern Kentucky into Tennessee until the Battle of Perryville brought the war back to Kentucky.