Captain Nathan Atkinson Brown was born December 31, 1836 on the plantation owned by his father David Brown and mother Elizabeth Atkinson Brown at White Oak, Georgia, near the Satilla River. He received his early education from private tutors, and later attended the Georgia Military Institute at Marietta. On March 12, 1861 he married Louisa Tupper Nicholes, a daughter of Dr. Henry J. and Eliza Witter Nicholes. Dr. Nicholes was a successful physician and also an extensive planter, owning several rice plantations in Camden County. Nathan entered the Confederate service on August 5, 1861 as 1st Lieutenant, "Camden Rifles" in Company B, 26th Regiment, Georgia Volunteers C.S.A commanded by Col. Styles. He was honorably discharged from service by Col. Duncan L. Clinch on April 15 1865, at which time he held the rank of Captain of Company C, 4th Georgia Calvary, and had been on duty the greater part of the war. According to family history, the sword that he carried during the war was also used in the Revolutionary War by his grand uncle, John Atkinson, and in the war of 1812 by John Atkinson's son Nathan Atkinson. During the war, two daughters, Eula and Lillie, were born to Nathan and Louisa. Capt. Brown survived the war without a wound or serious illness; but after returning home, on February 20, 1866 he contracted smallpox from a former member of his company who was passing by White Oak and asked for shelter for the night. He died February 23, 1866, and is buried beside his mother and father in the Atkinson family cemetery (now Homeward Cemetery) in Camden County. Two weeks after Capt. Brown's death, his wife gave birth to a son, Nathan Atkinson Brown Jr., who became a lawyer and served as deputy clerk of the United States District and Circuit Court at Columbus, Georgia.

(Contributed by Evelyn Brown Sherr)
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