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Quartermaster · U.S. Navy

William Nichols

Quartermaster William Nichols, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 5, 1864

Quartermaster William Nichols, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on August 5, 1864 at Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Brooklyn. Nichols was about 27 years old.

97 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day.

Nichols was born in 1837 in New York. Nichols died on November 13, 1891 in Alexandria, Minnesota, at the age of about 54. He is buried at Kinkhead Cemetery in Alexandria, Minnesota. Records also list him as Nichols, Barzilla.

Nichols is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during the successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats, and the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Nichols fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: New York City — map
  • Died: Alexandria — map
  • Buried: Kinkead Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. 1837
    Born in New York
  2. August 5, 1864
    Act of valor — Mobile Bay, Alabama
    Age about 27. U.S.S. Brooklyn
  3. November 13, 1891
    Died in Alexandria, Minnesota
    Age about 54.
  4. Resting place
    Kinkhead Cemetery
    Alexandria, Minnesota

Biography

William Nichols (c. 1837 – date of death unknown) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay. Born in about 1837 in New York City, Nichols was still living in the state of New York when he joined the Navy. He served during the Civil War as a quartermaster on the USS Brooklyn. At the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, he "fought his gun with skill and courage" despite heavy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on December 31, 1864. Nichols's official Medal of Honor citation reads: On board the U.S.S.

From the Wikipedia article “William Nichols (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on August 5, 1864

TA Thomas E. Atkinson Yeoman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JA James Avery Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 CB Charles Baker Quarter Gunner · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William Blagheen Ship's Cook · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brazell Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John Brown Captain of the Forecastle · Navy Civil War · 1864 RB Robert Brown Captain of the Top · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB William H. Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WB Wilson Brown Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 JB John M. Burns Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1864 WC William M. Carr Master-at-Arms · Navy Civil War · 1864 MC Michael Cassidy Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864

See all 98 recipients for August 5, 1864 →

Same unit

JB James Buck Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1862 HM Harry Lewis MacNeal Private · Marine Corps Spanish-American War · 1898

More Civil War recipients from New York

TB Thomas Bourne Seaman and Gun Captain · Navy Civil War · 1862 AB Andrew Bringle Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 Henry Seymour Hall Second Lieutenant & Captain · Army Civil War · 1863 Joseph Keele Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1864 Maurice Wagg Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1862 RG Robert Graham Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.