The Bull and Camp Nelson

General William “Bull” Nelson of Mason County, secretly fought to keep Kentucky in the Union and was then famously murdered in Louisville's Galt House Hotel by Jefferson Davis (not the Jefferson Davis you’re thinking of).

Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky, was named in his honor. The incredible historic site is now remembered for the hundreds of enlistments of Kentuckians into the U.S. Colored Troops. Poet Frank X Walker has written a collection of poems touching on these people and moments called Load in Nine Times—several of which are included in this episode covering both the history and his modern relationship with Camp Nelson.