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George Hale Nichols papers, 1853-1866

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Summary

Creator:
Nichols, George Hale, 1843?-1864
Abstract:
Hailing from an upstanding family from Haverill, Mass., George Nichols was a college student when the Civil War interrupted his plans to follow his siblings into life as an educator. His papers document over half of Nichols' brief life, beginning with his charming grade school compositions, "The Horse" and "Fall," and ending with a receipt concerning the settlement of his estate.
Extent:
49 items
Language:
English
Sponsor:
James S. Schoff Civil War Collection
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Rob S. Cox

Background

Scope and Content:

The George Nichols papers document over half of Nichols' brief life, beginning with his charming grade school compositions, "The Horse" and "Fall," and ending with a receipt concerning the settlement of his estate. While his Civil War letters are neither spectacularly eventful nor unusually informative, their juxtaposition with his pre-war letters provides an unusual view of the jarring transition between the life of a student and teacher to that of a soldier. The collection includes one letter of Joseph B., a member of the three months' 3rd Massachusetts Infantry.

The high points of Nichols' wartime letters are some excellent descriptions of the interminable marches endured by the 32nd Massachusetts. While he avoided the worst of the fighting at Antietam or Chancellorsville, Nichols was more than impressed with the fury of the engagements and was glad for his position in the reserve. His letters from Fredericksburg and the opening rounds of the Gettysburg Campaign are more informative, and provide a brief look into the hard work and high emotions of federal soldiers there. More interesting still is a joyous letter written by his mother on July 7, 1863, describing the celebrations in Haverill sparked by news of the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. She had read a newspaper article that gave "the whole particulars [of the battle] showing the whole ground at Gettysburg," but which did not include George's name on the list of casualties. She wrote that she had read that George's "Corpse, the 5th was there in the hottest of the fearful fight" (1863 July 7), unaware that her son's corpse was at that moment being transported to prison in Richmond.

The pre-war letters are particularly valuable for documenting the attitudes of Victorian teachers toward their students and toward their mission as educators. Formally and informally, his brothers offer advice on the proper conduct of teachers, their goals and their experiences, and the characteristic nineteenth-century marriage of education, religion, and middle-class morality shines through in many of the letters.

Biographical / Historical:

Nichols, George Hale, 1843?-1864

Rank: Private

Regiment: 32nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Co. K (1862-1865)

Service: 1862 August 13-1864 March 27

Hailing from an upstanding family from Haverill, Mass., George Hale Nichols was a college student when the Civil War interrupted his plans to follow his siblings into life as an educator. One brother, Henry Franklin Clough Nichols (1833-1890) -- a graduate of Andover and Union Theological Seminary -- taught school in Canton, N.Y. between 1859 and 1861; another, Edward Payson Nichols (b. 1835), taught at Plattsburg in 1861 and later at Homer and Watertown, N.Y.; while a third brother, J.H. Nichols, worked in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China.

In August, 1862, Nichols enlisted as a private in the 32nd Massachusetts Infantry, an outfit organized out of reenlistees from the 1st Massachusetts Battalion. While Nichols was still green, his fellow soldiers had already seen service in the garrison at Fort Warren, Boston, and some malaria-soaked weeks in Virginia with V Corps, and perhaps for this reason, Nichols had little time to accustom himself to military life before being thrown into the breach: within a month of mustering into the service on August 13, the 32nd Infantry landed in the Antietam Campaign, assuming a role in the reserve. Although he had missed the brunt of the battle, this first taste was more than enough for Nichols. "I cannot tell you that I have yet been in any fight," he wrote, "though I have seen enough of fighting to satisfy my pugnacious disposition" (1862 September 23).

Following the Confederate Army slowly through the Blue Ridge, the regiment was next engaged at Fredericksburg during the assault on Marye's Heights, suffering 35 casualties. Despite these miserable first months in the service and the indignity of Burnside's "mud march" in January, Nichols remained upbeat, and his desire to serve, if not exactly his zeal, remained undiminished. At Chancellorsville, the 32nd Massachusetts were again engaged, though only lightly, but at Gettysburg, they were ordered to support III Corps at Devil's Den, losing 81 of 227 effectives, Nichols among them. Taken prisoner, he was sent to Richmond, where he became a casualty of disease on March 27, 1864.

Acquisition Information:
1974. M-1687 .
Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open to research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

George Hale Nichols Papers, James S. Schoff Civil War Collection, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

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Collection

George Hale Nichols papers, 1853-1866
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Last indexed 2023-08-08