Day 5 was our Civil War day. We woke up and said goodbye to our cottage (the landscape was incredible – this was the view from our back porch), got some breakfast at the lodge, and made our way to an apple farm.
Haney’s Appledale Farm
We found this cute little market at a local farm. They had all sorts of apples and preserves. I was really regretting the breakfast we had eaten because they had some amazing smelling apple cider donuts. We got some fresh apples (and some fresh applesauce for Lydia) for the road and made our way to our first site.
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument
When I first started doing research for Kentucky, I found that there were two new national park sites, both centered on the events during the Civil War. I did not think of Kentucky when I thought of Civil War sites so this was new for me and we learned a lot this day. Abraham Lincoln, a true Kentuckian, said:
“To lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game…”
Kentucky was a border state during the Civil War and both sides wanted it. Confederates, led by Felix Zollicoffer, arrived at Mill Springs in October of 1861. In January of 1862, the Confederate numbers grew with more troops, having about 6,500 men. The weather was poor, but the Union army eventually made it. Once the battle started, chaos broke out when Zollicoffer was killed early on. Troops struggled to find order. After some time, the Union was able to drive them back .
This battle was the first major Union victory in the Western Theatre of the Civil War. This did a lot to boost morale and it assured that Kentucky would be part of the Union.
Over 200 men died in the Battle of Mill Springs, and while it did a lot to help the Union at the beginning of the war, it became a battle mostly forgotten by our country. But in 2019, the battlefield was named a national monument.
Battlefield Visitor Center & Mill Springs National Cemetery
We explored the visitor’s center for a little bit – and the kids had a great time working on becoming Junior Rangers. We then walked next door to the Mill Springs National Cemetery. National Cemeteries are always beautiful and well taken care of. This was one of the 12 original national cemeteries created by Congress and it opened in 1867. In the cemetery, it holds the graves of many of the Union soldiers killed in battle during the Civil War as well as other veterans through today.
Zollicoffer Park
The battle spread across several sites so they suggest going on a driving tour. There are ten stops and we decided not to go to all of them. In fact, we only did the first three but we felt like they were really impactful. After the visit center and cemetery, we drove to Zollicoffer Park.
There is a monument to the Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer as well as a marker for a Confederate mass grave. These were placed in 1910 by Confederate veterans. There is a print of where a large white oak tree used to stand (now it is located in the visitors center), where General Zollicoffer’s body was placed after his death. The “Zollie Tree” was decorated each Memorial Day until 1995 when the tree fell in a storm.
During the battle, this site was where the heaviest fighting took place.
It is a strange place to be. It was strange to be in a place where so much pain, sorrow, fear, and death occurred when it is so peaceful now. I remember feeling similar thoughts when we went to the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana.
Mark and I also had a meaningful conversation while we looked at the site of the Confederate mass graves. It makes me sad, how even still, we as a people can be so divided. While I did not agree with what the Confederacy was fighting for, these were men that people loved. These were men who were sons, fathers, brothers, friends, and so on. Their upbringing and knowledge was different than mine. It was a sobering moment to remember the cost of war.
Last Stand Hill
The last stop we made was a hilltop where the Confederate Infantry attempted to hold back the Union army. It was largely unsuccessful but, again, sobering to think of what happened in this now very peaceful place.
Camp Nelson National Monument
We ate our lunch and then made our way to our second site of the day – Camp Nelson National Monument. This monument is another new one to the National Park system and was added in 2018. This site was interesting and also very tragic.
It remembers the events of this location. In 1863, the US Army needed a new, safe supply depot. Strategically, the land was ideal as the spot is a plateau and three of the surrounding sides were steep drop-offs to the Kentucky River and Hickman Creek. They quickly added fortifications to protect their one vulnerable end and set up the supply depot. Thousands of soldiers were trained and equipped here.
There were 300 buildings on the site, including barracks, hospitals, workshops, stables, and mess halls. As battles took place further and further away, the Camp evolved into a major recruitment center for the US Colored Troops. Thousands of black men freed themselves by enlisting.
However, their families followed them here and were not free slaves. They lived here as refugees. Thousands of civilians and enslaved people found their way here. In 1864, Black refugees were forcibly removed from the camp at least eight times. In late November, this occurred during a winter storm and over 100 women and children died.
This horrible act received national attention and the US Army built a complex at Camp Nelson for black refugees. Camp Nelson closed in 1866 and many were helped to purchase land in the nearby community.
This site is interesting because there is very little that remains at all of Camp Nelson. Since it is a new site, I imagine they have plans to add more to it to bring back what the Camp looked like in the 1860s.
They have rebuilt a barracks that the kids enjoyed looking in. They had some old games that they would play and Ben was ALL into that. We then walked the Barracks Loop Trail to the site of Fort Jackson as well as the Graveyard No.1 Monument that honors the black women and children that were forcibly removed.
The kids spent a lot of time in the visitors center as they worked to complete their Junior Ranger badges. They loved getting these and it was fun to see them so excited. The park ranger even made Lydie a park ranger and it was so sweet.
We made our way to Lexington and got some dinner at Red State BBQ. This is one of those “hole in a wall” kind of places but it was probably the best BBQ I’ve ever had. It was delicious. We had an easy, relaxing night in. It was a great day.
