African-american women, power, and freedom in the contested landscape of Camp Nelson, Kentucky

Abstract

The above quote (Hanaford 1864a) hints at a conflict that began at the U.S. Army Post of Camp Nelson, Kentucky, in the spring of 1864. This conflict, which I like to call the Second Battle of Camp Nelson, pitted escaped slave women and children against the U.S. Army in a fight for self-determination and control of at least a portion of Camp Nelson's landscape where they could make a home for themselves. More particularly, the battle was over who had ultimate authority over this landscape and how and why these women challenged this authority to ultimately win their own freedom. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.