The lady circled in the photo was Lucy Higgs Nichols. She was born into slavery in Tennessee, but during the Civil War she managed to escape and found her way to 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment which was encamped nearby. She stayed with the regiment and worked as a nurse throughout the war.
After the war, she moved north with the regiment and settled in Indiana, where she found work with some of the veterans of the 23rd.
She applied for a pension after Congress passed the Army Nurses Pension Act of 1892 which allowed Civil War nurses to draw pensions for their service. The War Department had no record of her, so her pension was denied. Fifty-five surviving veterans of the 23rd petitioned Congress for the pension they felt she had rightfully earned, and it was granted.
The photograph shows Nichols and other veterans of the Indiana regiment at a reunion in 1898. Beloved by the troops who referred to her as "Aunt Lucy." Nichols was the only woman to receive an honorary induction into the Grand Army of the Republic, and she was buried in an unmarked grave in New Albany with full military honors in 1915.
Lucy Higgs Nichols aka Aunt Lucy
Stories like this are critically important to share, as it shows a part of history that few of us were ever taught in school. It's also important, this one especially, to show that with understanding and knowledge of the circumstances, a group of white men can make the right decision and do the right thing for a woman of color. This story in inspirational for me and I hope to read more like this. What a wonderful, caring woman you honor today.
ReplyDelete