The occupation of Bardstown and Nelson County, Kentucky, by Union troops began in September of 1861 and ended in September of 1865—a turbulent time in the neutral county, and a piece of history rarely explored by Kentuckians. In this unprecedented visual journey, discover the unique role that Nelson County and Kentucky played in the Civil War as a military crossroads and the site of many Union training camps.
More than 80 different Union units were involved in skirmishes and set up camps in Nelson County during the war. The county's turnpikes and railroads dictated the movement of many troops and supplies through the area—both Union and Confederate. Included in these pages are historical images, maps, documents, and vivid accounts passed down from generation to generation that bring the war to life. From the Confederate invasion of 1862 and the Guerrilla activities of 1864—1865 to the last surrender at Samuel's Depot on July 26 and the aftermath of the war, A Portrait of the Civil War in
Nelson County offers a unique perspective of the war's effects on one county and its people.