Seated studio view of Nixon in uniform. He wears a double-breasted military frock. His collar insignia is not visible due to his beard but the braid (galoons) is just visible on one sleeve. The image is clear with very good contrast. Photographer's imprint is on the lower edge of the mount and on the back, J. Gurney & Son, NY. An ink note on the back, "For Carrie Dean with the affectionate regards of Uncle James.  NY Feb 20, 65". Additional old and newer pencil notes on the back.

Lt. Colonel James Oscar Nixon (1822 - 1891) moved from his hometown of Cedarville, N.J., as a teenager to open a branch of the family clothing business in New Orleans. In 1854, at age 32, he purchased the New Orleans Crescent, a pro-slavery newspaper once edited by poet Walt Whitman.

When the war began, James Nixon was commissioned as Lt. Colonel of the 1st Louisiana Cavalry. He was captured at Big Hill, Kentucky on July 30, 1863. He was send to Johnson's Island. On December 19, 1864 he was released on his "parole of honor" that he would stay in the north and report his whereabouts every month until properly exchanged. Apparently he stayed with his brother in Cedarville, New Jersey, their hometown.

He died in 1891 and is buried in Cypress Grove Cemetery, New Orleans, LA.

1st Louisiana Cavalry regiment, organized at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the late summer of 1861, recruited its members in Baton Rouge and the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Rapides, St. Landry, and Orleans. It skirmished in Tennessee and Kentucky, fought at Murfreesboro and Chickamauga, then was active in the Knoxville Campaign. Later the regiment was on duty in Southwest Mississippi and East Louisiana. In March, 1865, it disbanded.

From the collection of the late William Turner.  [jet] [ph:L]

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