Francis T. Nicholls
Associate Justice of theLouisiana Supreme Court
In office April 5, 1904 – March 18, 1911
Chief Justice of theLouisiana Supreme Court
In office April 5, 1892 – April 4, 1904
Preceded by	Joseph Breaux
Succeeded by	Charles Parlange
28th Governor of Louisiana
In office May 20, 1888 – May 10, 1892
Lieutenant	James Jeffries
Preceded by	Samuel D. McEnery
Succeeded by	Murphy J. Foster
In office April 24, 1877 – January 14, 1880
Lieutenant	Louis Wiltz
Preceded by	Stephen B. Packard
Succeeded by	Louis Wiltz
Personal details
Born	(1834-08-20)August 20, 1834 Donaldsonville, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	January 4, 1912(1912-01-04) (aged 77) nearThibodaux, Louisiana, U.S.
Resting place	St. John's Episcopal Church and Cemetery
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Caroline Zilpha Guion
Children	6
Alma mater	United States Military Academy
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States Confederate States
Branch/service	United States Army Confederate States Army
Years of service	1855–1856 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA)
Rank	Second Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General (CSA)
Battles/wars	American Civil War First Battle of Bull Run Valley Campaign of 1862 Battle of Winchester  (WIA) Battle of Chancellorsville  (WIA)

Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls (August 20, 1834 – January 4, 1912) was an American attorney, politician, and soldier who served as a Brigadier General in theConfederate States Army, the 28thGovernor of Louisiana, and as Chief Justice of theLouisiana Supreme Court.

A veteran of the Civil War and a double amputee, Nicholls gained considerable popular support and served two nonconsecutive terms as Governor from 1877 to 1880, and again from 1888 to 1892. His time as Governor was marked by his moves against the reforms brought by theRadical Republicans duringReconstruction and his fight against state corruption. After becoming the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, he became an Associate Justice until his retirement in 1911.^[1][2]

Francis Nicholls was born on August 20, 1834, inDonaldsonville, Louisiana, the seventh son of Thomas Clark Nicholls (himself a seventh son) and Louisa Hannah Nicholls. His father was a district judge and a veteran of theWar of 1812, and his mother was the sister of the poetJoseph Rodman Drake and sister-in-law ofFrancis Redding Tillou. His paternal grandfather was Edward Church Nicholls, aCornish immigrant to America. He was educated at Jefferson Academy in New Orleans.^[1]

After his father's death in 1847, Nicholls' mother sought an appointment for him to theUnited States Military Academy at West Point. She wrote to PresidentJames K. Polk in November 1848 seeking an appointment, but it went unanswered. His older brother Robert, a veteran of theMexican American War, then wrote to PresidentZachery Taylor after his inauguration. With the endorsement of several Congressmen, Nicholls received a commission to West Point on March 3, 1851. Attending in the summer of 1851, he was roommates withGodfrey Weitzel and graduated in July 1855, ranking twelfth out of a class of thirty-four.^[3]

He was commissioned as a Brevet 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and deployed to Florida, being attached to the Second Regiment of Artillery. Most of the Second Regiment was stationed atFort Myers, situated along theCaloosahatchee River, but Nicholls along with 11 other soldiers were sent to a smaller outpost calledFort Deynaud where he remained for several months. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Second Regiment and sent toFort Yuma in California for frontier duty. Citing illness and lack of action, Nicholls resigned from the Army on Oct 1, 1856.^[4]

Returning to Louisiana, Nicholls pursued a legal career and studied law at theUniversity of Louisiana but did not graduate. He was admitted to the bar and joined the law office of his older brother Lawrence inNapoleonville. In 1860, Nicholls married Caroline Zilpha Guion, the daughter of a prominent sugar planter and jurist inLafourche Parish. The couple had one son and five daughters. He owned five slaves.^[2][5]

Nicholls initially opposed the idea of secession, but after the Louisiana Secession Convention voted in favor of leaving The Union and later joined theConfederate States, he volunteered for military service. He and his brother Lawrence formed an infantry company from volunteers inAscension Parish named The Phoenix Guards. The company was made part of the8th Louisiana Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Henry B. Kelly with Nicholls being made Lieutenant Colonel. He trained the regiment and gained a reputation as a stern drill master and disciplinarian. The 8th Louisiana was deployed to Virginia and put on guard duty during theBattle of Bull Run. The regiment was then put under the command of GeneralRichard Taylor.^[6]

In Sprint 1862, Nicholls and his regiment participated in theValley Campaign of GeneralStonewall Jackson. Jackson sought to capture the town of Winchester from Union troops and on May 25 ordered Taylor to take a ridge which was heavily defended. As Taylors brigade reached halfway up the ridge a Union cavalry charged attacked their left flank, which was occupied by the 8th Louisiana. Nicholls was ordered to withhold slightly, and they were able to repulse the cavalry charge. While perusing the enemy, Nicholls had to cross two stone fences which exposed him to heavy fire, and he was shot in the left arm which shattered his elbow. After the Confederates took the town, Nicholls was left behind to recover as his injuries required that his left arm be amputated. After Jackson led his troops to continue the campaign, Union forces reentered Winchester and Nicholls was taken prisoner but later released in a prisoner exchange on September 21, 1862.^[7]

While on leave for a period of four months, Nicholls was promoted to Colonel and then to Brigadier General and given command of 2nd Louisiana Brigade. He was ordered to report to GeneralRobert E. Lee then stationed in Fredericksburg, Virginia. When theArmy of the Potomac under the command ofJoseph Hooker launched a campaign to push Lee out of Fredericksburg, Nicholls was ordered to participate in a flanking maneuver to attack Hooker's right atChancellorsville. While leading his brigade and attempting to clear obstacles in their path, Nicholls positions came under artillery fire. A shell cut through his horses' stomach, came out the other end, and severed his left foot. After being evacuated to the rear by his men, Nicholls retired from field command for the remainder of the war.^[8]

After a second convalesce leave, Nicholls was given administrative duties and named the Commandant of the Military District of Lynchburg, Virginia on August 11, 1863. Lynchburg, located west of Richmond, was an important railroad junction for supply routes. He was relieved of command in the summer of 1864 and transferred to theTrans-Mississippi Department in Marshall, Texas. He remained here until the end of the war.^[9]

In 1874, while testifying before a Congressional Committee investigating election fraud in Louisiana, Nicholls said of his service in the war; "I think that we made the attempt [the war for secession] under the most favorable circumstances...of course we all regret our want for success; but I do not believe that there is anywhere any desire for a renewal of the attempt." and that "My war record is a source of private misfortune without a corresponding gain to anyone. My services to my country were not worth the price to me. Every battle I went into I was wounded, and so I could not serve all the time."^[10]

After the war, Nicholls returned to his law practice. In 1876, he ran for governor against the RepublicanStephen B. Packard. The outcome was disputed, and both men claimed victory. Nicholls garnered a majority of 8,000 votes, but the Republican-controlled State Returning Board cited irregularities and declared Packard the winner. As part of theCompromise of 1877 to resolve the disputed presidential election of 1876, President Hayes recognized the Democrat Nicholls as the winner.^[11] He was a member ofThe Boston Club of New Orleans.^[12]

During his first term, he battled political corruption, which was epitomized by Samuel James, the operator of theconvict lease system, state TreasurerEdward A. Burke, and Lieutenant GovernorLouis A. Wiltz, who supported the corruptLouisiana Lottery. Nicholls chaired the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1879 and returned the state capital from New Orleans toBaton Rouge. Nicholls was governor of Louisiana in 1891, the year when 11 Italians werelynched in New Orleans. Shortly before the incident, as thousands of angry protesters gathered near the Parish Prison, the Italian consul in New Orleans sought the governor's help. Nicholls declined to intervene.^[13][14]

After his tenure as governor closed, Nicholls became Chief Justice of theLouisiana Supreme Court in 1892, a post which he held until 1911. He also grewsugarcane and other crops on his Ridgefield Plantation nearThibodaux, the seat ofLafourche Parish. He died at Ridgefield. Francis and Caroline Nicholls, Thomas Clark Nicholls, and other family members are interred inSt. John's Episcopal Church and Cemetery in Thibodaux.

From 1913 to about 1950, there was a vocational school at 3649 Laurel Street in New Orleans named for Nicholls. It opened as the Francis T. Nicholls Industrial School for Girls, and offered secondary vocational training, concentrating on apparel manufacturing. The school was later renamed Nicholls Vocational School for Girls, and even later Nicholls Evening Vocational School.^[15]

In 1940, a newpublichigh school, Francis T. Nicholls High School, was opened at 3820 St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans. In the late 1990s the high school was renamed for former slave andabolitionist leaderFrederick Douglass. It is now acharter school, part of the KIPP Family Schools and known as KIPP Renaissance High School. During the 1960s, the school wasintegrated andblack students fought to change the team names fromThe Rebels and the mascot from theConfederate flag to the current Bobcat.^[16]

There is a "Governor Nicholls Street" in New Orleans. Where it meets theMississippi River near the downriver end of theFrench Quarter, there is a Governor Nicholls StreetWharf. Atop the wharf shed there, theUnited States Coast Guard built a manned control tower with a red and green traffic signal to control vessel traffic roundingAlgiers Point.^[17] When speaking to the controller viamarine VHF radio, mariners address him or her familiarly as "Governor Nick."

InBaton Rouge, there is a sculpture of Nicholls byIsidore Konti.

Nicholls State University, founded in 1948, is a public university located inThibodaux, Louisiana. Nicholls is part of theUniversity of Louisiana System. Originally called Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nicholls.

He is played by James Bearden in the 1999 HBO original filmVendetta.

• Eicher, John H., andDavid J. Eicher,Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• C. Howard Nichols,Some Notes on the Military Career of Francis T. Nicholls,The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Autumn, 1962). pp. 297-315. JSTOR 4230683.
• "Francis Tillou Nicholls",A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 2 (1988), p.603.
• Garnie W. McGinty, "Francis Tillou Redding Nicholls",North Louisiana History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Winter 1984), pp. 30–39
• Sifakis, Stewart.Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J.Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

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