In February 2013, the Kentucky Historical Society erected a historical marker in the park to commemorate the African-Americans who enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. In May 1864, the group of 250 men – mostly slaves, but including some freedmen – marched from Danville to nearby Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, where Colonel Andrew Clark allowed them to enlist after some initial hesitation. Arriving with wounds inflicted upon them in route, this group was the first to enlist at this site, where 10,000 United States Colored Troops trained.