William "Bull" Nelson

[Saruman]

I was reading General William "Bull" Nelson's Wikipedia biography, and there is a sentence which says: "The Confederate invasion of Kentucky then brought him back to Louisville with instructions to reopen the lines of communication with Nashville in which he met his lifelong companion, Thomas J. Adler of Chicago, Illinois."

Was Nelson gay? That's the first I've ever heard of it. And how could Adler be a "lifelong companion" when they met in 1862? Nelson would be dead in a few weeks. Very strange.

 

[major bill]

I read Wickepedia to see what I thought of the passage. It is unclear what Wickepedia meant. I do not know much about Nelson, but perhaps one of our forum members does.

 

[James N.]

I was reading General William "Bull" Nelson's Wikipedia biography, and there is a sentence which says: "The Confederate invasion of Kentucky then brought him back to Louisville with instructions to reopen the lines of communication with Nashville in which he met his lifelong companion, Thomas J. Adler of Chicago, Illinois."

Was Nelson gay? That's the first I've ever heard of it. And how could Adler be a "lifelong companion" when they met in 1862? Nelson would be dead in a few weeks. Very strange.

I can't vouch in any way for Nelson's "orientation" - though he WAS a career Navy man prior to the war! - but I believe the quote indicates simply that he met Adler, who he already knew, upon his arrival in Louisville. I've encountered other Wiki entries that weren't exactly models of good or clear writing and this is likely just another one.

 

[jackt62]

I think Bull Nelson's claim to fame (or notoriety as the case may be), was his getting shot to death by General Jefferson C. Davis in the Galt Hotel at Louisville, Kentucky.

 

[Pollaco]

He doesn't appear to have been married

 

[Yankeedave]

I was reading General William "Bull" Nelson's Wikipedia biography, and there is a sentence which says: "The Confederate invasion of Kentucky then brought him back to Louisville with instructions to reopen the lines of communication with Nashville in which he met his lifelong companion, Thomas J. Adler of Chicago, Illinois."

Was Nelson gay? That's the first I've ever heard of it. And how could Adler be a "lifelong companion" when they met in 1862? Nelson would be dead in a few weeks. Very strange.

probably

 

[Pollaco]

General James B. Fry wrote a book ,"Killed by a Brother Soldier". I really can't say, I've never read the book but It may contain a clue.

 

[James N.]

General James B. Fry wrote a book ,"Killed by a Brother Soldier". I really can't say, I've never read the book but It may contain a clue.

Interesting, and if true it could further explain the seeming indifference with which his murder was treated by the authorities.

 

[Sheltowee]

I suspect the reason for lack of vigorous prosecution rested in the fact that Nelson was widely hated. Very curious though, why Lincoln never intervened.

Great article here- though I found nothing on his sexual orientation.

The Murder of Bull Nelson

Louisville’s Galt House Hotel was an unlikely place for a deadly encounter between two guests, particularly when they were fellow Union generals.

warfarehistorynetwork.com

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Interesting, and if true it could further explain the seeming indifference with which his murder was treated by the authorities.

I suspect the reason for lack of vigorous prosecution rested in the fact that Nelson was widely hated. Very curious though, why Lincoln never intervened.

"Widely hated" seems to be an understatement. Here are a few quotes from History of the Eighth Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry by Captain T. J. Wright. Whatever Nelson's intent he seems to have succeeded in making soldiers under him miserable by his demands.

The 25th, General Nelson reviewed the Third Brigade, after which he put us through a " knapsack" drill, in brigade and battalion movements, cursing the Eighth for some blunders, but praising us for the correct performance of other movements. Whatever may have been his opinion of the Eighth, we certainly did not form a favorable one of this swearing, blustering old tar. A month's acquaintance did not increase our respect or love for him, though we all became thoroughly convinced of two prominent traits of Nelson's character: First, brave in the face of the foe; second, overbearing to all subordinates.

.......We remained here without any further alarms until the morning of the first of August. The whole division, 8,000 strong, marched out on the McMinnville road, all with canteens full, as Nelson never allowed a man to leave ranks. The sun shone down on the stone road with powerful heat......

.....One evening, at dress parade, we were rejoiced to learn that General Nelson was relieved from the command, and would proceed immediately to Kentucky to take command of raw recruits then arriving at Louisville and Cincinnati. We did not envy those same raw recruits their pleasures in obeying the orders of their general....

The 30th, the long looked-for paymaster appeared in our division, and paid off many of the troops. Our men were beginning to feel ''bully," by the little rest, clean, new clothes and prospect of pay ; and, to add to many of their jubilant feelings, some one came in from the city and reported that General Jeff. C. Davis had killed General Nelson for abusive language. No one considered Nelson a coward or friend to the enemy, but he was pronounced a tyrant of the '' first water."

History of the Eighth regiment Kentucky vol. inf., during its three years campaigns, embracing organization, marches, skirmishes, and battles of the command, with much of the history of the old reliable Third brigade : Wright, Thomas J., captain 8th

286 p., 1 l. 18 cm

archive.org

 

[JerryD]

I suspect the reason for lack of vigorous prosecution rested in the fact that Nelson was widely hated. Very curious though, why Lincoln never intervened.

Great article here- though I found nothing on his sexual orientation.

The Murder of Bull Nelson

Louisville’s Galt House Hotel was an unlikely place for a deadly encounter between two guests, particularly when they were fellow Union generals.

warfarehistorynetwork.com

Really excellent article! Thanks for posting this.

 

[Donald A. Clark]

I am the author of the Maj. General William "Bull" Nelson Murdered Civil War General (Carbondale: University of Southern Illinois Press, 2011). I also wrote the original Wikipedia article which was subsequently ruined by "Superman Steve" and a devoted fan of William Sones who wrote a sympathetic biography of Jefferson Columbus Davis. Whoever Thomas Adler was, he was never a life long companion of Nelson who was certainly not gay.
I gave up trying to correct the Wikipedia entry and stopped doing any more articles for an organization that cannot protect or respect the work that I did for them.