A special ceremony celebrating Juneteenth and the history and contributions of African Americans to two national park sites will be held June 22 at Mammoth Cave National Park.
Mammoth Cave, in conjunction with Camp Nelson National Monument (CANE), located six miles south of Nicholasville, will pay tribute to the soldiers, civilians and refugees who pursued freedom, equality and the rights of citizenship during and after the Civil War and acknowledge the living legacy of their descendants.
“This is a great crossover event and will bring attention to Camp Nelson, as well as our area,” said Molly Schroer, public information officer for Mammoth Cave National Park. “Both parks have a rich African-American history, and we want to celebrate that.”
On June 13, 1864, the U.S. Army authorized the enlistment of Black men for military service during the Civil War at eight major recruitment and training centers across Kentucky, which included Camp Nelson.
CANE Superintendent Ernie Price said in a news release that during the Civil War, 40% of Kentucky’s United States Colored Troops enlisted, trained or served in units at Camp Nelson, making it the largest recruitment center in the state and the third largest in the country.
Schroer said it was the staff at CANE that actually reached out to Mammoth Cave about coming together for a Juneteenth ceremony because it was discovered that the two parks had a connection through an early cave guide, William Garvin.
Garvin, who was born into slavery in southcentral Kentucky, enlisted in the Army and was assigned to one of the Camp Nelson regiments, the 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery at Bowling Green, on Feb. 7, 1865.
Schroer said that Garvin’s contributions at both parks are worth recognition.
After Garvin left the military, he settled in Edmonson County and served as a guide at Mammoth Cave. His most famous discovery during his time was the maze-like cave passage known as the Corkscrew.
“People today often walk past it because it is difficult to navigate,” Schroer said. “But when Garvin discovered it, it opened up more cave passages and cave routes for tourism in the early history of Mammoth Cave.”
The June 22 ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. CDT at Mammoth Cave’s outdoor amphitheater with a presentation of a special U.S. flag replica to the 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery.
The original silk flag was presented to the First Battalion of the USCHA by the “Loyal Ladies of Bowling Green,” a pro-Union women’s organization that supported soldiers and their families during the Civil War, and is currently stored at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
“This flag, its history and today’s presentation reminds us of how far reaching across the commonwealth the call for freedom seekers was heard in 1864 and 1865,” Price said in the news release.
In addition to the flag presentation, members of the 12th USCHA will set up a replica tent encampment, featuring a replica cannon model, in front of the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT.
“This is a great way for people to experience and see what a camp during the Civil War looked like,” Schroer said.
The event will also include ranger-led programs featuring information on African-American history. The staff from Camp Nelson will be there to answer questions about their park, which is celebrating its 160th anniversary.
Both the commemoration ceremony and 12th USCHA encampment demonstration are free and open to the public. Both areas are wheelchair accessible.
“I hope to see a lot of people at this event,” Schroer said. “It’s a great way to celebrate this new federal holiday and learn a little more about our history.”
For more information about Camp Nelson and Mammoth Cave, visit www.nps.gov.
(Photo: William Garvin connects both Camp Nelson National Monument and Mammoth Cave National Park as he served in the 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery during the Civil War and then as a cave guide and explorer at Mammoth Cave after the war, courtesy of the Bowling Green Daily News, via Kentucky Today.)
By Anne Marie Dotson, Bowling Green Daily News via Kentucky Today
