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Article: 'Bull' Nelson plays it tough with troops.(SATURDAY)(THE CIVIL WAR)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- May 18, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Stuart W. Sanders, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
To many soldiers, Union Gen. William "Bull" Nelson was a tyrant. Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds, the irascible Nelson earned a fearsome reputation among his troops. A former naval officer, he often was charged with treating his infantry volunteers as if they were incompetent midshipmen worthy only of the harsh lash of 19th-century naval discipline.
Nelson, who was born in Maysville, Ky., in 1824, began his military career in the U.S. Navy, where he served as a midshipman during the Mexican War. A Navy lieutenant when the Civil War erupted, he secured from President ...