CSA Bios: Nicholls, Nelson, Mouton, J.T. Morgan

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Francis R.T. Nicholls (b. 1834, d. 1912) Was the civil war tough on Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls? In 1876, Nicholls’ friends nominated “all that is left of General Nicholls” for as the Democratic governor of Louisiana. Nicholls twice was seriously wounded and once captured while fighting in Virginia. Born in Donaldson, Louisiana Aug. 20, 1834, Nicholls received education at the U.S. Military Academy and graduated from West Point in 1855. He resigned his army commission the next year to study law at the University of Louisiana, now Tulane University, and held a law practice in Napoleonville at the outbreak of the Civil War. Nicholls entered service as the captain of the Phoenix Guards, but soon was elected lieutenant colonel of the Eighth Louisiana Infantry. He went to Virginia with this outfit and fought at First Manassas and in the Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Valley Campaign. At Winchester, he was wounded in the left elbow and the arm had to be amputated. That didn’t slow his rise within the army. He was commissioned colonel of the 15th Louisiana Infantry June 24, 1862, and was commissioned as a brigadier general Oct. 14, 1862. Leading a Louisiana brigade in the Chancellorsville Campaign, Nicholls had his left foot ripped off by a shell. That ended his career in charge of combat troops. He briefly commanded the post at Lynchburg, Virginia, and then was sent to the Trans-Mississippi Department in charge of the volunteer and conscription bureau. At the close of the war, Nicholls returned to his law practice until his nomination for governor. When he was defeated, he refused to acknowledge the loss and for a time, the state had two governors. Ultimately, Nicholls was recognized by Federal authorities as the true governor. In 1888, he was called out of semi-retirement and was again elected Louisiana’s governor. From 1892 until 1911, he served on the Louisiana Supreme Court as either an associate justice or chief justice. He died Jan. 4, 1912, on his plantation near Thibodeaux, Louisiana.

Brig Gen. Allison Nelson (b. 1822, d. 1862) Not even generals were immune from the perils of illness. Brig. Gen. Allison Nelson found this out in September 1862. Nelson fell ill with camp fever Sept. 28, 1862, and died Oct. 7, 1862 at his brigade’s camp near Austin, Arkansas. At the time, Nelson was in charge of two brigades in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Nelson, born in Fulton County, Georgia, March 11, 1822, had quite a career before the outbreak of the Civil War. He trained as a lawyer. During the Mexican War, Nelson organized a company of volunteers and was elected captain. He served in the Georgia legislature in 1848-49. He was mayor of Atlanta in 1855. Nelson was always drawn to military matters. He espoused the cause of Cuban independence. Attaching himself to forces of Gen. Narcisco Lopez, he was appointed as a brigadier general. Nelson was present for “Bleeding Kansas” before leaving for Bosque County, Texas, in 1856. There, Nelson turned to fighting Indians and developed a reputation as an able fighter. In 1859, Nelson was elected to the Texas legislature and he was a delegate to the secession convention in 1861. With the outbreak of war, Nelson played a major role in raising the 10th Texas Infantry. He was elected colonel and took the regiment to report to Gen. Hindman in Arkansas. Participating in DeVall’s Bluff, a minor engagement on the White River, Nelson earned his promotion to brigadier general Sept. 12, 1862, on the recommendation of Gen. Holmes. He was slated to command the Second Division of Holmes’ infantry, which consisted of Nelson’s brigade and Col. Flournoy’s brigade. He never was able to fight with this command after falling ill.

Brig. Gen. Jean J.A.A. Mouton (b. 1829, d. 1864) Jean Jacques Alfred Alexander Mouton was lucky to have survived the Battle of Shiloh. He would not be as lucky at the Battle of Mansfield during the Red River Campaign April 8, 1864, where he met his end while leading a charge. Mouton was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, Feb. 18, 1829. His father was Alexander Mouton, who had been a governor and senator from Louisiana. The younger Mouton was raised as a French speaker and learned English as a young man. His stepmother was a sister of Gen. Franklin Gardner. He received education in Vermillionville (now Lafayette), Louisiana before going to the U.S. Military Academy. An 1850 graduate (38th in the class), he soon resigned his commission to become a railroad construction engineer and brigadier general in the Louisiana militia. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mouton recruited a company from Lafayette Parish. He was elected colonel of the 18th Louisiana Infantry in October 1861. At the Battle of Shiloh, Mouton was critically wounded. Surviving that, he received a promotion to brigadier general to rank from April 16, 1862. He took command of a Louisiana brigade under Gen. Richard Taylor and soon became a favorite of his commander. Taylor frequently praised Mouton. While leading his brigade and the brigade of Gen. Prince de. Ploignac, he opened the Battle of Mansfield with a charge against troops of Federal Gen. Banks. While the charge, described as being made by “infuriated demons” succeeded in smashing the Federal troops, Mouton was not there to enjoy the victory. He was buried in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Brig Gen. John T. Morgan (b. 1824, d. 1907) Officer elections played a huge role in John Tyler Morgan’s switch from infantry to cavalry while changing theaters. Morgan made brigadier general as a leader of cavalry and partisan ranger units mainly in conjunction with the Army of Tennessee. However, this probably wouldn’t have happened if not for his defeat in officer elections in Virginia. Morgan was born in Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. He received early education in the home and in county schools in Calhoun County, Alabama. The family had moved there when he was nine. Morgan studied law in Tuskeegee, Alabama, and he was admitted to the bar there in 1845. He moved to Selma, Alabama, in 1855. Morgan served as a Breckinridge elector in 1860 and served as a member of the secession convention. At the age of 37, he enlisted as a private in the Cahaba Rifles. He soon rose in rank to major and then lieutenant colonel in Robert E. Rodes’ Fifth Alabama Infantry. With this unit, he went to Virginia and fought at First Manassas as part of Gen. Ewell’s brigade. But when officer elections were held again following the “Furlough and Bounty Act,” Morgan was one of the disciplinarians voted out. He left the regiment and returned to Alabama, forming the 51st Alabama Cavalry (partisan rangers). He had a chance to return to the Army of Northern Virginia following the Battle of Gettysburg (he was Rodes’ second choice to replace Col. E.A. O’Neal after John B. Gordon), but turned down command of Rodes’ old brigade (which went to Cullen Battle) to continue work with his new unit. Morgan received his promotion to brigadier general in his new role Nov. 16, 1863. Morgan led his men in many battles, including Murfreesboro and Chickamauga while serving under Generals Longstreet, Forrest and Wheeler. His last field service was harassing Sherman’s column between Atlanta and Savannah. When the war ended, he was trying to recruit Negro troops in Alabama and Mississippi. After the war, he resumed his law practice. In 1876, Morgan was elected to the U.S. Senate and he served in this capacity for the rest of his life, dying in Washington, D.C., June 11, 1907. He fought for a canal to be built through Central America (advocating for it to be built through Nicaragua). In 1953, Morgan was elected to the Alabama Hall of Fame.

[Gil R.]

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