Lucy Higgs Nichols – Civil War Nurse
By
John C Abercrombie
Lucy Higgs Nichols was a Black escaped slave who became a nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. Affectionately known as “Aunt Lucy” she was born April 10, 1838. There is only 1 known photo of her, and she is surrounded by veterans of the 23rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Army of Tennessee. That photo is one you will see in the videos that accompany this post. She was devoted to the soldiers and they in return were devoted to her and her infant daughter Mona.
Nichols unfortunately lost her daughter and husband during the Civil War. After the war ended, she settled in New Albany, Indiana and found work as a housekeeper working for several of the offers. Despite suffering tragedy, she met and married her second husband John Nichols. She continued to live in New Albany with her husband for over 40 years until her death, January 25, 1915.
Her early life was filled with uncertainty as when her owner Rueben Higgs died, she was in an allotment of slaves who were distributed to other family members. First, she was sent to Mississippi and allotted to Wineford Amanda Higgs, the only child of Rueben and his first wife Elizabeth. Upon the death of Wineford she was part of a court ordered settlement that sent Lucy and four other slaves to be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs and returned to Grays County, Tennessee.
It is a very disruptive life not knowing from day to day if you will see your parents or siblings again. Not because of death but the whim of owners. Or in this case the courts.
The Grand Army of the Republic admitted her as their only honorary, female member, not only of Sanderson’s Post, men’s group, but of the United States. “Aunt Lucy” was treated as family and loved by all the soldiers that knew her.
Because of a lack of records, she was denied a government pension, but due to the sustained efforts of the soldiers, she was granted her government pension for diligent nursing and other services with them, in 28 battles, from June 1862 through the end of the war. She marched in victory with the troops in Washington, D.C., on May 23, and May 24, 1865, for the Grand Review of the Armies.
Although her accomplishments were buried in archives for more than 100 years, in 1898, newspaper articles, about the special act of congress that granted her pension, spread her fame across the country. These newspapers included The Janesville Gazette, The Salem Democrat, Atlanta Constitution, The Logansport Journal, The Denver Post, The Freeman, and The New York Times.
Slave records are often difficult to trace and until recently little was known about her early childhood. But thanks to the work of New Albany historians, Pamela R Peters, Curtis H Peters, Victor C Megenity and other documents have been uncovered showing her being owned as a slave in Hardeman County, Tennessee. The findings have been published in an article that appeared in Black History Month edition of the Indiana Historical Society’s Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History Magazine – Winter 2010.
When her owner Ruben Higgs passed, the slaves were portioned to heirs, and she was sent South to Mississippi and allotted to Winford Amanda Higgs. Following the death of Wineford the families went to court and the slaves were sent back to Grays Creek, Tennessee to be allotted equally between his heirs. In 1861 the court ordered that Lucy and four other slaves, and their value be divided between Willie and Prudence Higgs. As we see in this example, the life of slaves was subject to the whelms of others, families split and living situations that could change from day to day. It was a disruptive life to say the least.
A group of slaves including Lucy and her Mona escaped from Grays Creek, Tennessee by crossing the Hatchie River. They found their way to Bolivar, Tennessee. They arrived behind Union lines. Major Shadrack Hooper of the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment d. described Lucy as someone having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washerwoman, seamstress, nurse, cook and singer as well as a “rattling good forager.” Soldiers and the regiment surgeon Magnus Brucker described her as a faithful nurse. She foraged herbs and made medicine for the soldiers.
Lucy’s young daughter, died at the Siege of Vicksburg. Although the details of her death are not known, the Indiana 23rd Infantry offered her a funeral with flowers. In the middle of the war, when the regiment went on furlough to New Albany, Indiana, Lucy went with them and was employed as a servant by several officers, including General W. Q. Gresham. When the Indiana 23rd Infantry were re-deployed to the war in Mississippi, she returned to her nursing duties in service of the Union and was present at every siege. Lucy followed the army east under General Sherman, in The March to the Sea, and then north, where the 23rd Infantry was present in the Grand Review of the Armies.
As a free citizen Lucy worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health. She was greatly appreciated and when she contracted measles she was cared for by the soldiers. They did this again when she suffered a stroke. At the wedding of General Gresham’s daughter, she was an invited gust at the Palmer House in Chicago and was considered one of the family members.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Military, which included the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps who served in the Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Springfield, Illinois it was made of 100s of posts across the nation. Mostly in the North, but some were in the South and West. It survived until 1956 when the last member passed.
Lucy was made an honorary member of Sanderson’s post. She never missed a meeting or reunion with the soldiers. Many volunteer nurses during the war were denied pensions including Lucy but the GAR rallied to her defense, and she was granted a pension as a special act by the Committee on Pensions, July 1, 1898. This subsequently made her famous with many newspaper stories on her and the pension.
In this post we see a person who was loved because of her love of people and a desire to do good things.
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Audio from “Remembered: The Life of Lucy Higgs Nichols “
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Miss Lucy: Slave and Civil War Nurse
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Hidden Figures: Lucy Higgs Nichols #BlackHERstoryMonth 4/28
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Pain Management Workbook
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Lucy Higgs Nichols
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Statue of escaped slave, nurse Lucy Higgs Nichols vandalized
A nonprofit in Indiana is working to raise funds for a security system at the Underground Railroad Gardens after a sculpture there was vandalized.
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Sanitizer
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Nursing Professional Development
ABH – Nosing Professional Development
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Medical Grade Masks
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LUCY HIGGS NICHOLS
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Nursing is a noble profession and is in need of people dedicated to the health and healing profession. This also shows the ability of people who are given the opportunity to show their skills. So many are denied by the practices in place all over the country, many of which are not apparent until you dig deeper. The world is full of Lucy Higgs Nichols, all they need is the opportunity.