OCTOBER 30, 1863:
John
Nichols, one of only two members of the Confederate guerrilla band “James
Johnson’s Boys” is hanged in Jefferson City, Missouri. Nichols is one of the
few men denied clemency by President Lincoln. Johnson and Nichols had been
particularly active in the Sedalia, Missouri area, and so effective (primarily
against Unionist civilians, mainly women and children) that the Union ordered a
“shoot on sight” order against them. As the rope was being adjusted around his
neck, Nichols defiantly said: “I will
show them how a Confederate Soldier can die.”
