Camp Nelson National Monument Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5655, the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act, which would establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in Jessamine County, Kentucky, as a unit of the National Park Service system.

I would like to especially thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, for his support of this legislation and for guiding us through this process and bringing it to the House floor.

Throughout my time in Congress, Mr. Speaker, I fought to bring national attention and recognition to Camp Nelson, a site that has the ability to unite our Nation and inspire a greater understanding and appreciation for Civil War history, African American history, and a compelling story of the struggle for freedom.

Camp Nelson was founded in 1863 as a Union Army supply depot, training center, and hospital for the Federal Armies in Kentucky and Tennessee. The camp, located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, covered 4,000 acres, with over 300 buildings and fortifications. It housed 2,000 to 8,000 troops, over 1,000 civilian employees, and, after 1864, over 3,000 African American refugees. The existing site contains several important Civil War resources that demonstrate the cultural and historical themes prominent at the time.

The most significant aspect of Camp Nelson's history was its role as the third largest recruitment and training center for U.S. Colored Troops and home to many of their families. Because of its proximity to the Confederate States, African American men fled to Camp Nelson to enlist and escape slavery. Because the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to Kentucky, a slaveholding border State not part of the Confederacy, Camp Nelson represented for a time the only avenue for Kentucky slaves to achieve emancipation.

By the time the 13th Amendment was ratified and ended slavery in 1865, 70 percent of Kentucky slaves had already been emancipated, largely in part because of the efforts made at Camp Nelson. Today, the site at Camp Nelson retains rich archeological evidence, including several earthen fortifications and other original landscape features dating back to the Civil War encampment.

Camp Nelson is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a key requirement in the process of being included as a unit of the National Park System. It is also part of the Civil War Discovery Trail and the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Additionally, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has recommended that this site become a national monument. I want to thank Secretary Zinke for his personal attention to this effort and for his support and recommending to the President designating Camp Nelson as part of the National Park Service.

Camp Nelson has proven its ability to unite the people not just of Jessamine County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but of the Nation as a whole. Even further, it has the potential to convey nationally significant information about the survival and persistence of African American soldiers and their families as they fought for their freedom.

Over the past few years, I have met with stakeholders and descendants of those who lived and worked at Camp Nelson. It is apparent that this site, based on their testimonies, is important not only to the history of the Commonwealth, but to the history of our Nation.

I would like to thank these local stakeholders who shared their stories and educated me and my staff about the significant contributions of this historical site. Their advocacy and support effectively demonstrated the positive local sentiment about Camp Nelson.

Specifically, I would like to thank Reverend Robert Gates, Sr., the pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Camp Nelson. His great- great-grandfather on his mother's side was the Sergeant Reverend Jesse Tull, Sr., who was a member of Company C, 119th U.S. Colored Infantry and made great contributions at Camp Nelson. Also, Reverend Moses Lee Radford, pastor of the Nicholasville First Baptist Church; the County Judge Executive David West; former County Judge Executive Cassidy, who was a major contributor to acquiring the land for the county and preserving the history there; Dr. Stephen McBride, director of interpretation and archeology at Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park; and Mrs. Mary Kozak, special projects director for Jessamine County, Kentucky, who has worked tirelessly for about 20 years preserving the history of Camp Nelson.

I also want to thank several others who contributed greatly to our efforts and assisted in gaining support for this effort, including Governor Matt Bevin; the Jessamine County Fiscal Court; the Lexington- Fayette NAACP chapter; the Jessamine Chamber of Commerce; the Kentucky Historical Society; and my colleague Congresswoman Marcia Fudge from Ohio, among others.

It is one of my goals in Congress to make Camp Nelson a place where the entire Nation can experience the rich history it has to offer and appreciate the amazing story it tells about the long march toward freedom for African Americans in Kentucky and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5655) to establish the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), whose bill this is. It is an excellent piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this, to me, is an important piece of legislation, not just for the history of it, as an old history teacher, but this Camp Nelson is currently a county park known as the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park. In 2008, it was added to the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. In 2013, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

More important than that, this is one of those areas which deserves to be a national monument, and what we are doing is the way national monuments should be created in this country. It has been an open process. We have had hearings. We have had open debate. There has been input from the local community. This is how Congress should be creating national monuments, not only now but in the future as well. So I am very grateful for that.

It is a bill that has been properly drafted and properly vetted, and we are going through the process in the way the Constitution required for Congress to make these kinds of designations. For that reason, I am extremely proud of this particular piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for all the effort and the work he has put into doing this the right way. I urge my colleagues to support this particular measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5655 designates the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in Kentucky to preserve the historic resources of Camp Nelson and its role in the American Civil War.

Camp Nelson was founded and constructed by Major General Ambrose Burnside. The camp served as a supply depot for the Union Army during the Civil War and supported frontline efforts against the Confederacy. Camp Nelson was different from other military outposts because it was one of the largest recruitment and training centers for African American soldiers during the Civil War. In fact, thousands of slaves who fled to the camp with their families later enlisted to protect the freedoms we enjoy today.

Mr. Speaker, I support passage of this legislation. Having no further speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for votes taken Tuesday, June 5, due to it being primary election day in California. I also missed votes on Tuesday, June 12. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call Vote Number 231 (Passage of H.R. 5005): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 232 (Passage of H.R. 2991, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 233 (Passage of H.R. 5655, the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 258 (Passage of H.R. 1815, the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 259 (Passage of H.R. 5041, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act): YES

Roll Call Vote Number 260 (Approving the Journal): NO

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to make votes that evening. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' for rollcall 231, H.R. 5005-- To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the birthplace of James Weldon Johnson in Jacksonville, Florida, as a unit of the National Park System; rollcall 232, H.R. 2991--Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act; and, rollcall 233, H.R. 5655--Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act.