Nicholas Merritt Nolan was born around 1835 in County Kilkenny, Ireland to James Nowlan and Bridget Maher Nowlan. Nolan emigrated to the United States as a youth. In 1852, he enlisted in New York in the United States Army as a private. He was promoted through the ranks and was a first sergeant at the outbreak of the Civil War. During the war, he was commissioned as an officer and served with the 6th United States Cavalry Regiment.
The 6th Cavalry Regiment drew from Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York and by the end of 1861, it numbered 34 officers and 950 men. It was primarily organized as light cavalry, armed with pistols and sabers and initially served as an advance unit for the Army of the Potomac. The regiment participated in a steady group of battles. The regiment was issued carbines in 1863. Because of its location and involvement in fierce battles, the regiment suffered suffered heavy losses, engaging forces directly under Robert E. Lee on numerous occasions. Nolan is usually referred to at the rank of lieutenant in the regiment’s accounts and was wounded at least twice. He was captured by Confederate forces in March, 1865 at Dinwiddie Court House in Virginia. This battle was considered a victory for the Confederates and was one of the last offensive actions of the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate). It was followed by a Union victory at the Battle of Five Forks which led the Confederates to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia and to the surrender of the Confederate forces at Appomatox about two weeks later. The regiment is listed as having taken part in over 60 battles during the war. Nolan was paroled in May, 1865 and returned to duty.
The regiment was assigned to Texas, first in Austin, before taking part in the defense of the frontier. Its historical records note that elements of the 6th Cavalry served at various times under the Department of Texas at Fort Richardson, Fort Belknap, Fort Griffin and numerous other camps.
Nolan briefly mustered out of the Army in the spring of 1866. He returned to service in the Regular Army in the summer of that year, as an officer with the African American troops being organized to serve on the frontier. There is no indication about what might have been Nolan’s motivation, but there were some that held that service with these new units might accelerate career advancement for White officers. Nolan received a promotion to captain and was assigned to the 10th United States Cavalry regiment in Kansas and would be associated with the so-called “Buffalo Soldiers” through most of the rest of his career.
He and his troops (Company A) were posted at Fort Larned in Kansas by 1868. There is mention of some racially motivated incidents that occurred between White soldiers and the African American troops, the notable one being a fire at the stables on January 2, 1869. The fire resulted in the loss of 39 horses. Also, feed, hay, tack, ammunition and other supplies were destroyed. No official cause was found but the fire was likely the result of tension between the African American and White troops. Nolan was held responsible and his pay was docked until the calculated loss was recovered, although he may have had some of all of his pay restored on appeal. At least one account refers to this as a barracks fire, but most accounts call it a stable fire and give the loss of the same number of horses and other facts as stated above.
A complaint was once lodged against Nolan that he had mistreated some of his soldiers, alleging that he was unfit for duty, though Nolan was supported by his superior officer. He was able to defend himself against the charges and they were dismissed.
Nolan’s company had some engagements with members of the Comanche and Kiowa tribes as the soldiers were reassigned down into Indian Territory. They also provided mail wagon escorts and other duties. There is mention of them serving at Fort Gibson, Fort Sill and other camps. From about 1873 to 1879 the 10th Cavalry served under Nolan in the Fort Concho area.
The Buffalo Soldier Tragedy of 1877. The 10th Cavalry was one of the units charged with rounding up the remaining warriors and endeavoring to drive them to the reservations. In late 1876 Army encampments were being harassed with horse thefts from settlers and the Buffalo Soldier outfits. Around 60 members of the 10th Cavalry under the command of Nolan were assigned to pursue the warriors, and were to be led by 24 buffalo hunters who acted as trackers. In hot July, the contingent of men set out across the plains to track and find them. The buffalo hunters lost track of the warriors as they and the troops began to run out of water. Nolan and his men split off and redirected their route to what they thought would bring them to Double Lake. Some of his troops apparently separated from the main group and found their way back to Fort Concho. The buffalo hunters located water within about a day, but Nolan and his troops did not. They continued to trek on toward Double Lake. They eventually found the location after over three days without water, but not before four soldiers had died and around 20 horses and mules also died, a few of which were reportedly killed for their blood.
Earlier in that ill fated expedition, Captain Nolan had encountered Quanah Parker who had been released from Fort Sill to try and locate more Comanche warriors and encourage them to come to the reservation. Quanah carried with him documentation of the terms of his release and once he produced his document, he and his braves were allowed to move on.
This same year, Second Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, the first African American to graduate from West Point, was assigned to the 10th Cavalry under Nolan at Fort Sill. Flipper was with the 10th Cavalry when it was reassigned to Fort Concho. From all accounts, Flipper and Nolan got on well whenever they were assigned together. They served together once again during the campaign out of Fort Davis to capture the Apache Victorio around 1880.
Nolan was married twice, first to Annie M. Sullivan who died in 1877 and last to Annie Eleanor Dwyer. With each, he had at least one child.
Nolan continued to serve in the Army and in late 1882, he was promoted to Major and reassigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. His duty station there was Fort Huachuca in Arizona where he was placed in command. He was transferred to Fort Apache in Arizona the following year. Nolan was stricken with an apparent stroke on October 24, 1883 while he was in route to meet his family in Holbrook, Arizona and died shortly after arriving there. He was 48 years old. His remains were removed to San Antonio where he was buried in the National Cemetery.
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