Nicholls joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and participated in the First Battle of Bull Run and in the Shenandoah Valley campaign in Virginia, where he lost his left arm.
Nicholls joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and participated in the First Battle of Bull Run and in the Shenandoah Valley campaign. In May 1862, Nicholls was wounded at the Battle of Winchester in Virginia, where he lost his left arm.