Maj. (USA), Azor Howitt Nickerson

Before Antietam

He enrolled in Company I, 8th Ohio Infantry as 2nd Lieutenant at age 23 on 30 August 1861. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on 29 April 1862.

On the Campaign

He was honored by brevet to Major for his actions on 17 September 1862 at Antietam (and later at Gettysburg).

The rest of the War

Promoted Captain on 20 January 1863. He was wounded in action at Gettysburg, PA on 3 July 1863, resigned his commission on 20 November 1863, and was appointed Captain in the Veteran Reserve Corps (VRC) the same day. He mustered out of the VRC on 19 April 1866.

After the War

He went into Regular Army service, being appointed First Lieutenant, 14th US Infantry to date from 23 February 1866. He transferred to the 23rd Infantry in September, and was Regimental Adjutant from 23 May 1867 - 8 July 1868. He was appointed Captain on that date. He was promoted to Major, and Assistant Adjutant General of 15 June 1878. He had extensive service in the West as aide de camp to Brigadier General George Crook and was Assistant Adjutant General of the Army in Washington, DC. He retired 28 June 1882. He sent his 2nd wife abroad and attempted to divorce her while she was gone to marry her dressmaker, but she returned and sued to stop him (1883). The case eventually reached the US Supreme Court. He did eventually get the divorce, but the Army found his behavior in the matter unbecoming, and he was forced to resign in November 1883 - giving up his retirement. He published reminiscences of Antietam in Blue and Gray in 1893 and 94.

References & notes

Basic information from the State of Ohio1 and Heitman2.

Birth

1837 in OH

Death

02/08/1910; burial in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=13814

• Azor Howitt Nickerson of Ohio
• Second Lieutenant, 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 17 August 1861
• First Lieutenant 30 April 1862
• Captain, 20 January to 20 November 1863
• Captain, Veterans Reserve Corps, 12 November 1763
• Breveted Major of Volunteers, 13 March 1865 for gallant conduct in the battles of Antietam, Maryland, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Honorably mustered out of the volunteer service, 19 April 1866
• Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant, 14th U. S. Infantry, 23 February 1866
• Transferred to the 23rd U. S. Infantry, 21 September 1866
• Regimental Adjutant, 23 May 1867 to 8 July 1868
• Captain, 8 July 1868 to 25 June 1878
• Major, Assistant Adjutant General, 15 June 1878
• Retired 28 June 1881
• Resigned retired commission 15 November 1883 Source and Additional Information: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ahnickerson.htm

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Added by Elwin Nickerson II about my Ancestor: 8th Ohio Volunteers -Loyal Soldier To The Republic and His Country Wounded - At The Battles Of - Antietam-Wounded Twice The Same Day At Cemetery Ridge Gettysburg Held His Ground With the 8th Ohio Boys till Nightfall And Repelled Picketts Calvary Charge! The second wound ( A Bullet Hole Through His Chest, was Believed to be fatal , But Survived that night to The Surgeons Dismay!. Wounded Again at The Battle of The Wilderness. Served and Fought Through Many more Battles to the end Of The Civil war with The Ohio Volunteers. Rode The Train From Hanover with President Lincoln to Gettysburg to Make The Gettysburg Address. Note-( Shown Seated In Photo with President Lincoln in Second Row From Front in National Archives) Appointed Aide by President Grant after the Civil War to General Crook in the West Served with Distinction the Only Person Chief Geronimo Every Trusted to Make Peace Because of his Native American Blood. General Crook was Known As The Praying General , and to the U.S. Military at the time thought to be to Easy on his Treatment Of Native Americans. Letting Chief Geronimo go Twice.After this was Sent with General Crook to The Frontier (Wyoming) to deal with the Tribes their. Later Severed as Assistant Adjutant General of The US Army . At an older age Volunteered ,Again, to The U.S army to Fight in The Spanish American War. Captain Azor H. Nickerson (1837-1910) of the 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment was wounded at Antietam and on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg when his unit attempted to repulse “Pickett’s Charge.” His first wife died in 1867 when he was stationed on the western frontier. Buried Besides His Friend in Life-General Crook in Arlington National Cemetery. NOTE: Military Command 10th Calvary Buffalo Soldiers. When I was a boy I was told of the Buffalo Soldiers unit he was with and afterwards 14 Medal Of Honor Medals were awarded by General Crook. I will do more Research on that and add details later. Military Records Sealed by the President so I have to ask Family and not sure if I can add anything else besides photos.

                                                                                                                                                                           Note Military Record of 8th Ohio added by Elwin Nickerson II  : 8th Regiment Infantry (3 Years). Organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, June 22, 1861, and duty there till July 8. Moved to Grafton, W. Va., July 8. At West Union, Preston County, till July 13. Pursuit of Garnett's forces July 13-18. Guard duty on Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to September. Attached to Hill's Brigade, Army of Occupation, West Virginia, to August, 1861. 3rd Brigade, Army of Occupation, to January, 1862. Landers' Division, Army Potomac, to March, 1862. 1st Brigade, Shields' 2nd Division, Banks' 5th Army Corps, and Dept. of the Shenandoah, to May, 1862. Kimball's Independent Brigade, Dept. of the Rappahannock, to July, 1862. Kimball's Independent Brigade, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to September, 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to March, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to June, 1864. SERVICE.--Action at Worthington, W. Va., September 2, 1861. Hanging Rock, Romney, September 23. Romney September 23-25. Mill Creek Mills, Romney, October 26. Duty at Romney till January, 1862. Expedition to Blue's Gap January 6-7. Blue's Gap January 7. Evacuation of Romney January 10. Bloomery Gap February 9 and 13. Duty at Paw Paw Tunnel till March 7. Advance on Winchester, Va., March 7-15. Strasburg March 19. Battle of Kernstown March 22. Winchester March 23. Cedar Creek March 25. Woodstock April 1. Edenburg April 2. Mt. Jackson April 16. March to Fredericksburg, Va., May 12-21, and return to Front Royal May 25-30. Front Royal May 30. Expedition to Luray June 3-7. Port Republic Bridge June 8. Port Republic June 9. Moved to Alexandria, thence to Harrison's Landing June 29-30. Haxall's, Herring Creek, Harrison's Landing, July 3-4. At Harrison's Landing till August 16. Movement to Fortress Monroe, thence to Centreville August 16-28. Cover Pope's retreat from Bull Run to Fairfax Court House September 1. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Battle of Antietam September 16-17. Moved to Harper's Ferry September 22, and duty there till October 30. Reconnaissance to Leesburg October 1-2. March to Falmouth October 30-November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. At Falmouth, Va., till April 27, 1863. "Mud March" January 20-24. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va., July 5-24. On detached duty at New York during draft disturbances August 15-September 16. Bristoe Campaign October 9-22. Auburn and Bristoe October 14. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. Robertson's Tavern, or Locust Grove, November 27. Mine Run November 28-30. Demonstration on the Rapidan February 5-7, 1864. Morton's Ford February 6-7. Rapidan Campaign May 3-June 15. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Laurel Hill May 8; Spottsylvania May 8-12; Pa River May 10; Spottsylvania Court House May 12-21; "Bloody Angle" May 12; North Anna River May 23-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 8-31. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Before Petersburg June 16-18. Siege of Petersburg June 16-25. Jerusalem Plank Road, Weldon Railroad, June 22-23. Left trenches June 24. Veterans and Recruits formed into two Companies and transferred to 4th Ohio Infantry Battalion June 25, 1864. Regiment mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, July 13, 1865. Regiment lost during service 8 Officers and 124 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 72 Enlisted men by disease. Total 205.                                  George Crook: 300px-Lincolnatgettysburg.jpg President Abraham Lincoln (R-Illinois) on the platform before delivering the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the National Cemetery. In the vast crowd was a wounded Buckeye captain Azor H. Nickerson. National Archives. Background post: Wounded Ohio soldier boards the governor’s special train at Hanover Junction. Today we pick up Captain Nickerson’s narrative of his excursion to see the dedication ceremony. It’s just one of dozens of eyewitness accounts of Lincoln’s speech, but it’s one of the best commentaries.

“At the dedication ceremonies on the following day, November 19, 1863, I had a seat on the platform within a few feet of the speakers, and could hear not only every word, but could mark every expression on the face of Americas most polished orator, Edward Everett, as he delivered that masterly oration, and could see every lineament in the sad, earnest face of Mr. Lincoln as he pronounced his immortal Dedication. Mr. Everett’s personality was profoundly impressive. He was as straight as an arrow, tall, portly, and faultlessly dressed. Like many others of his time he wore an evening suit, the coat of which displayed his figure to advantage. Crowning all was that massive head covered with snow-white hair, which was in striking contrast with the great dark eyes that flashed from out clear-cut, classic features that were innocent of the semblance of beard or mustache. I have not seen nor read the oration for more than twenty years, and yet many of his periods were at that time so impressed upon my memory that I cannot forget them. In closing one of them he said: ‘Standing on these heights; looking on these scenes;’ here he turned and looked, first at Round Top on the left and then at Wolf’s and Culp’s Hills on the right, at the same time raising both hands slowly and impressively as high as he could, as if reaching toward the heavens for inspiration I feel how utterly inadequate words are to express the emotions that are swelling in my heart! Toward the end of the sentence great tears suffused his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as his hands fell as if in utter helplessness. It was certainly a grand oration; and when finished it seemed as though the subject had been exhausted and there was absolutely nothing more to be said. When, therefore, Mr. Lincoln arose in obedience to the announcement that the President would now pronounce the dedication, everyone felt sorry for him. To say that Mr. Lincoln arose, can only be appreciated by those who have been near him when he got up to speak; but he had never before seemed to me to be so tall as he did on this occasion. He appeared to continue to arise as it were, until when he finally stood up I thought that he was the tallest and most awkward man I had ever seen. There has been considerable difference of opinion among those who were present, as to whether or not he had any notes of this, undoubtedly the greatest speech of his life. My own impressions, whether correct or not, were received then, and have never since been changed by anything I have seen or heard on the subject. I think he had a card or a strip of paper the size of a visiting card in his hand. He did not, however, look at or refer to it in any way. Others, too, have differed as to the immediate effect of his remarks. In this, also, I give the impressions received at the time, which were also identical with those of all with whom I spoke. I thought then, and still think, it was the shortest, grandest speech, oration, sermon, or what you please to call it, to which I ever listened. It was the whole matter in a nutshell, delivered distinctly and impressively, so that all in that vast concourse could hear him. My own emotions may perhaps be imagined when it is remembered that he was facing the spot where only a short time before we had had our death grapple with Pickett’s men, and he stood almost immediately over the place where I had lain and seen my comrades torn in fragments by the enemy’s cannonballs. Think, if you please, how these words fell upon my ears: ‘…We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men living and dead who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” If at that moment the Supreme Being had appeared with an offer to undo my past life; give back to me a sound body, free from the remembrance even of sufferings past, and the imminence of those that must necessarily embitter all the years to come, I should have indignantly spurned the offer, such was the effect upon me of this immortal Dedication. And even now, when the deeds performed on that field are rapidly becoming traditions, the mention of which requires an apology; when the brilliant hopes of the living actors in the tragedy have become faded disappointments; their promised rewards turned to dead-sea fruits; when they have nothing to show for them but maimed and shattered bodies, meaningless titles, and empty honors, there is still comfort for them in the great Martyr’s prophecy, that history will not forget to record what they did in the way of heroic achievement upon the battlefield of Gettysburg. From page 95 (note) of the book "The Conquest of Apacheria" by Thrapp: "Nickerson, a volunteer officer who remained in the Army after the Civil War, met Crook aboard ship when both were returning to the West. Crook arranged his transfer to his own regiment, whence he joined his staff. Crook once wrote that Nickerson was 'wounded 4 times & in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg was left for dead & his recovery was regarded as almost a miracle. He now has a hole in his chest which you can nearly stick your fist in, & in consequence his health is delicate & at times he suffers terribly from this wound. Notwithstanding all of this his ambition & zeal to do his duty has been... great...' Crook to President Rutherford B. Hayes, 4 January 1871." /ECN/Major Azor Howitt Nickerson

Azor Howitt Nickerson was born in Ohio and enlisted as a 23 year old Second Lieutenant of Company I, 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 30, 1861, mustering into service the same day. Promoted to First Lieutenant to date April 29, 1862 and to Captain January 20, 1863, Nickerson was dangerously wounded July 3, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. He recovered and transferred to the Veterans' Reserve Corps on November 12, 1863. Awarded a brevet promotion to Major to date March 13, 1865, he was mustered out of volunteer service April 19, 1866 but served in the regular Army until November 15, 1883. Letters: Elyria Independent Democrat: September 11, 1861, September 18, 1861, September 25, 1861, October 16, 1861, October 30, 1861, November 6, 1861, January 1, 1862, January 22, 1862, February 26, 1862, April 16, 1862, July 9, 1862, July 23, 1862, July 30, 1862, August 6, 1862, August 13, 1862, August 27, 1862, September 3, 1862, September 10, 1862, September 17, 1862, September 24, 1862, January 7, 1863, January 14, 1863, January 28, 1863, February 4, 1863, March 4, 1863, April 1, 1863, May 20, 1863, June 24, 1863, July 1, 1863, November 18, 1863, November 25, 1863, May 25, 1864 /ECN/

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 13 2020, 21:44:15 UTC