One-fourth of federal staff fired at Civil War site that housed Black Union soldiers in KY
Three full-time staff have been fired from Camp Nelson Monument in Jessamine County. That’s roughly 25% of the 13-member staff at the Civil War site that at one point housed 10,000 Black Union soldiers.
The cuts were part of a national effort by President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency to cut spending and curb the federal workforce.
Other U.S. National Parks Service sites in Kentucky — including Mammoth Cave outside Bowling Green —have also had cuts to staff.
The number of people fired has not been released.
Camp Nelson Superintendent Ernie Price said he could not comment on the cuts and referred questions to the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.
Parks service staff did not immediately return an email seeking comment. The National Park Service has previously declined to say how many people in the National Park Service have been cut by location.
However, several news reports say 1,000 probationary employees have been cut.
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, located in rural Jessamine County, was already a lean operation, McDanald said. It’s also a relatively new national monument; it was brought into the National Park System in 2018.
It and the adjoining cemetery are one of Jessamine County’s biggest tourist attractions, McDanald said. Camp Nelson National Cemetery is adjacent to Camp Nelson National Monument but is managed by the U.S. Veterans Administration.
“It is our No. 1 tourism asset in Jessamine County. It’s our most visited spot,” McDanald said. “All of that tourism traffic generate dollars in the community for local businesses, restaurants and hotels. It’s an economic engine. I hate to see that diminished in any way.”
A 25% loss of staff will affect programming
Since the National Park System took over in 2018, Camp Nelson has been able to up its educational programming, McDanald said.
It’s also become central to studies about Black soldiers and Black history.
The park, which attracts north of 15,000 visitors a year, was a training and recruiting ground for Black troops to the Union Army during the Civil War and also served as a supply depot for major campaigns and helped rehabilitate horses and mules. It opened in 1863 and eventually held around 10,000 Black soldiers.
Stephen McBride is the former director of archaeology and interpretation when the park belonged to Jessamine County. He also continued to work and volunteer there until 2020. McBride helped push for the park to become a national monument.
“Since the park service took over, there has been a gradual increase in programming,” McBride said.” Now that’s going to start going in the other direction.”
McBride said a cut of three people may not sound like much but it’s 25% of the staff there. That will translate to less services and less educational programming for people visiting the monument.
“If you let go 25% of your staff, it’s obviously going to have an impact,” McBride said.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM.
