President Designates Civil War Monument

President Trump has used his executive powers for the first time to designate a national monument, establishing a 380-acre site in Kentucky to honor African-Americans’ role as soldiers during the Civil War. Republicans had pushed for more than a year to establish a national monument at Camp Nelson in Nicholasville, Ky., which served as one of the largest recruitment and training depots for United States Colored Troops. While Kentucky was the last state in the Union to allow the enlistment of African-American men, the camp sent 23,000 of the roughly 180,000 black troops who fought on the Union’s side during the Civil War. For more information, read this Stars and Stripes article.

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