Rear Admiral James William Augustus Nicholson (10 March 1821 – 28 October 1887) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Life and naval career

The son of Nathaniel Nicholson and grandson of

Samuel Nicholson Samuel Nicholson (1743 – December 28, 1811) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. Along with Shipbuilding, shipwright George Claghorn he oversaw the building of ( ...

, he was born in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

. Nicholson entered the Navy as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in February 1838. As a Lieutenant, he served in ''Vandalia'' in Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the op ...

Opening of Japan was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...

from 1853 to 1855. During the Civil War he served in and , and commanded the , , , and . In 1861, under the command of

Percival Drayton Percival Drayton (August 25, 1812 – August 4, 1865) was a career United States Navy officer. He served in the Brazil Squadron, the Mediterranean Squadron and as a staff officer during the Paraguay Expedition. During the American Civil War, he ...

in activities near

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, he was made supervisor of a colony of over 100 former slaves on Otter Island in December 1861.Tomblin, Barbara
Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy
University Press of Kentucky, 2009. – via

Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 university ...

p. 66–68 He commanded the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

during 1876 to 1880. As Commodore from August 1873, and Rear Admiral from October 1881, he commanded the

European Squadron The European Squadron, also known as the European Station, was a part of the United States Navy in the late 19th century and the early 1900s. The squadron was originally named the Mediterranean Squadron and renamed following the American Civil Wa ...

from 16 September 1881 to February 1883. When the British bombarded

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, in 1882, he rescued the records of the American Consulate and took American and other refugees aboard his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, . Commendation from the Navy Department and awards of gratitude from European governments followed. Nicholson retired on 10 March 1883 and died at his home in New York on 28 October 1887.

Namesakes

The ships named were named for him and four male relatives in the naval service.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, James William A 1821 births 1887 deaths United States Navy admirals Military personnel from Dedham, Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War