William A. Nichols • Cullum's Register • 959

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1834, to July 1, 1838, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

conducting recruits to 3d and 4th Infantry, 1845; in garrison at Ft. Columbus, N. Y., 1845, — and Ft. Adams, R. I., 1845‑46; on Recruiting service, 1846; in the War with Mexico, 1846, being engaged in the Battle

(Bvt. Capt., Sep. 23, 1846,
for Gallant Conduct in the several Conflicts at Monterey, Mex.)

p708 of Monterey, Sep. 21‑23, 1846, — and as Aide-de‑Camp to Brig.‑General Quitman, Aug. 19 to Oct. 6, 1846; as Adjutant, 2d Artillery, Aug. 18, 1846, to Dec. 8, 1847; in garrison at Ft. Columbus, N. Y., 1846‑47, being Acting Asst. Adjutant-General, 5th Military Department, Nov. 21, 1846, to Jan. 6, 1847; in the War with Mexico, 1847, as Acting Asst. Adjutant-General of Bvt. Brig.‑General Garland's brigade, Worth's division, Apr. to Nov. 30, 1847, being engaged in the Siege of Vera Cruz, Mar. 9‑29, 1847, — Battle of Cerro Gordo, Apr. 17‑18, 1847, — Skirmish of Amazoque, May 14, 1847, — Capture of San Antonio, Aug. 20, 1847, — Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, — Battle of Molino del Rey, Sep. 8, 1847, —

Bvt. Major, Sep. 8, 1847,
for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battle of Molino del Rey, Mex.)

Storming of Chapultepec, Sep. 13, 1847, — and Assault and Capture of the City of Mexico, Sep. 13‑14, 1847; on Recruiting service, 1847‑48; as Adjutant, 2d Artillery, Sep. 1, 1848, to July 29, 1852, and Acting Asst. Adjutant-General, 4th Military Department, Dec. 25, 1848, to July 29, 1852,

at Ft. Monroe, Va.; as Asst. Adjutant-General of 4th Military Department, July 29 to Sep. 2, 1852, — in the Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C., Sep. 6 to Oct. 7, 1852, — of 4th Military Department, Oct. 8, 1852, to May 19, 1853, — of the Department of New Mexico, July 20, 1853, to Mar. 10, 1855, and Aug. 20, 1855, to Sep. 15, 1858, — in the Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C., Nov. 1, 1858, to Nov. 1, 1860, — and of the Department of Texas, headquarters, San Antonio,

Dec. 16, 1860, to Apr. 22, 1861, where he was made a Prisoner of War, and paroled by the Texas Rebels.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Adjutant-General of the Department of the East, June 10 to Nov. 14, 1861.

— and of the Department of New York, Nov. 14 to Dec., 1861; as Mustering and Disbursing Officer, New York city, Dec., 1861, to June, 1862; and as Assistant in the Adjutant-General's Office at Washington, D. C.,

Bvt. Brig‑General, Sep. 24, 1864, and Bvt. Maj.‑General, Mar. 13, 1865, U. S. Army, for Meritorious and Faithful Services during the Rebellion.

Served: as Chief of Staff to Lieut.‑General Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.

Sherman, Aug. 18, 1866, to Mar. 4, 1869, — and to Lieut.‑General Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.

Sheridan, Mar. 4 to Apr. 8, 1869.

Obituary Order.

Upon the death of General Nichols, Lieut.‑General Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the Missouri, issued the following order: —

"It becomes the painful duty of the Lieutenant-General Commanding to announce the death, at St. Louis, Mo., on the 8th inst., of Bvt. Major‑Gen. W. A. Nichols, Adjutant-General of the Military Division.

"General Nichols entered the service in 1838, and served with distinction on the Northern Frontier until the outbreak of the Mexican War.

"In the War with Mexico he was made Captain and Major by Brevet for gallant and meritorious services at the Battles of Monterey and Molino del Rey, and took a prominent part in nearly all the battles in the Valley of Mexico.

p709 "Appointed an Assistant Adjutant-General in 1852, he served in that capacity in Washington City, in New Mexico, and in Texas, where he was made prisoner, and paroled by the Texan rebels. He served during the Rebellion as Adjutant-General of the Department of East, and as an Assistant in the Adjutant-General's Office at Washington, during which time he received the promotion of Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel in the Adjutant-General's Department, and was made Bvt. Brigadier and Bvt. Major General for faithful and meritorious services during the Rebellion.

"In 1866 General Nichols was appointed Adjutant-General of the Military Division of the Missouri, and Chief of Staff to Lieut.‑Gen. W. T. Sherman, and served in the former capacity until transferred to the same position on the Staff of the Lieutenant-General. In all the various and important positions in which, by his merit, he was called on to serve his country, General Nichols brought high soldierly capacity and honor. By his death the army has lost one of its brightest ornaments. To the private soldier he was a considerate friend, and to the officer a comrade whose army life was without blemish.

"As appropriate to the memory of the deceased, the prescribed badge of mourning will be worn by the officers at Division and Department Headquarters for thirty days."

Class of 1838

Obituary Order.