Please join us for a presentation by author Eileen Yanoviack on her 2025 book The Tenacious Nurse Nichols, An Unsung American Civil War Hero on Sunday, August 23, 2026 @ 2:30 PM in the Riverside Visitors Center. There are only two known photographs of Lucy Higgs Nichols, a Civil War nurse who escaped enslavement to join the Indiana 23rd Regiment. In one captivating image from 1898, the elderly Nichols is the sole female and the only person of color. She stands stately in the middle of a large group of war veterans at a reunion. Her story is remarkable—a journey from enslavement in Tennessee, to freedom and service in the Union Army, and finally to independence and national recognition from the press, the Grand Army of the Republic, and even Congress.
Ms. Yanoviak’s book just received the 2026 Samuel W. Thomas Book Award from the Louisville Historical Society.
This fascinating and free presentation about Lucy Higgs Nichols is part of Riverside’s 2026 Local Writers, Local Connections Series. While admission is free, we encourage you to reserve a seat by calling our office at 502.935.6809 or reserve a free ticket here.
Light refreshments will be served. Books will be available for sale and signing by the author.
