Sculpture of Lucy Higgs Nichols dedicated in New Albany, Indiana

Taylin

Sergeant
Joined
Oct 27, 2017
Location
Rolling hills of southern Indiana
Haven't seen a thread of this yet but very recently a beautiful limestone sculpture of former slave and nurse of the 23rd Indiana Infantry (my ancestors unit, hence the interest), Lucy Higgs was dedicated in New Albany on the grounds of the church of which she was a member.

Here's the article

https://www.newsandtribune.com/news...cle_efd1ffa6-9deb-11e9-a28f-e3becbb4942e.html

More information below in my comment.
 
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That's a wonderful article, thanks for the link! There's almost nothing on the women who walked out of slavery and right into the war as nurses, relief workers and teachers. Maybe Lucy's memorial will be helpful not only reminding us of her contributions but those of others, too.

Very impressed she was granted a pension! Boy they made it difficult, so much so most nurses gave up. You had to send testimonials by people you had no clue how to find, or had died, find doctors who you'd served with ( same thing ) and prove you really were who you said you were. These successes are always reassuring to hear, bless you Lucy.
 
Haven't seen a thread of this yet but very recently a beautiful limestone sculpture of former slave and nurse of the 23rd Indiana Infantry (my ancestors unit, hence the interest), Lucy Higgs was dedicated in New Albany on the grounds of the church of which she was a member.

Here's the article

https://www.newsandtribune.com/news...cle_efd1ffa6-9deb-11e9-a28f-e3becbb4942e.html

Thanks for sharing this awesome article and a wonderful story of a lady who went from slavery to a nurse serving in a white regiment 23d Indiana Infantry and later having a monument made that was dedicated in New Albany.. Wow!
 
I'll add that you can see an actual photograph of her by clicking here, she is in the middle of many veterans of the war as well as a few Spanish American War Veterans, not everyone in this photograph is of the 23rd Indiana.

Also, if you are ever in the area not only should you stop by the Second Baptist Church to check out the sculpture but you should also make some time for the New Albany Carnegie Center, as they have a permanent exhibit dedicated to Lucy which I can attest is a great visit.

An 8 minute long video on Lucy courtesy of the Carnegie Center:

As far as I know she is buried in an unmarked grave in New Albany, which is unfortunate.
 
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