George Nichols Hollins was born on September 20, 1799 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He was the son of John Hollins, a prominent merchant of that city, and his wife, Janet Smith, the sister of General Samuel Smith. He was a brother of Robert S. Hollins, secretary of the Northern Central Railway, and of Smith Hollins, mayor of Baltimore in 1852.
Hollins received his preliminary education in Baltimore, and later applied for a midshipman's warrant, which he received in February 1814.
Hollins went to sea, was on the President with Captain Decatur when it was captured off Long Island in January 1815, and was held prisoner until peace was declared. He served also with Decatur against the Algerians, 1815, and was aide to Commodore Chauncey in 1818. On January 13, 1825, he was commissioned lieutenant; he commanded the Peacock in 1836, and the Cyane and Savannah in 1844; he was commissioned commander September 8, 1845, and served in the Mexican War.
On July 13, 1854, in command of the Cyane, he bombarded and destroyed the town of San Juan de Nicaragua (Grey Town) in retaliation for outrages to American citizens and property. After commanding the Navy Yard at Sackett's Harbor for a short time, he was ordered to the Mediterranean Squadron and was promoted captain, September 14, 1855. In May 1861, in command of the Susquehanna at Naples, he received orders to return to New York and to report to the secretary of the navy.
Upon his arrival in America, his sympathy for the Confederate cause led him to resign his commission. Dismissed from the United States Navy June 6, 1861, he was commissioned captain in the Confederate States Navy, June 20, 1861. By permission of Governor Letcher of Virginia, who furnished him $1, 000 with which to buy arms, and with a hastily assembled force which included his two sons, Hollis captured shortly afterwards the steamer St. Nicholas, plying between Baltimore and Washington, near Point Lookout, Chesapeake Bay. With this vessel he immediately took as prizes the Monticello with United States mail and dispatches from Brazil and 3, 500 bags of coffee, the Mary Pierce with 260 tons of ice, and the Margaret with 270 tons of coal. These supplies were diverted to the use of the Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, and the St. Nicholas was converted into a gunboat.
On July 31, 1861, Hollins took command of the Naval Station at New Orleans, with the rank of commodore. By the first of October he had his small "Mosquito Fleet" of seven varied vessels in readiness, and with that force he drove from the river, October 12, 1861, a superior Union force of five ships, sank the Preble, and captured a supply ship. By February 1862, he had collected, fitted out, or built a considerable fleet of steam war-vessels, floating batteries, and fire ships, and had under construction several ironclads, including the Louisiana.
In February 1862 Hollins was made flag-captain and placed in command of the naval forces operating in the upper Mississippi, where he engaged in almost continuous fighting around Columbus, New Madrid, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, and Memphis. He strongly urged the Navy Department to allow him to defend New Orleans; and it is quite possible and not improbable that if his advice had been accepted he could have prevented Farragut's victory on April 24, 1862, by combining his own ships with those at New Orleans and cooperating with the forts below.
After the Union success, Hollins was called to Richmond to serve on the court-martial of Commodore Tattnall, and saw other routine service until the close of the war. He then returned to Baltimore, and was appointed to duties in the city court. He died of paralysis in 1878 in Baltimore.
Hollins went down to history as a prominent naval officer of Baltimore. He had an active military career from the War of 1812 to the end of the Civil War, in which he fought for the Confederacy. Hollins was noted for commanding Confederate naval forces in the heavy fighting on the upper Mississippi in 1862.
Young Hollins was described as being "manly, active, intelligent, and ambitious. " Later in his life he was recognized as a brave and able officer, a thorough seaman, and a worthy gentleman.
Hollins was twice married, both wives being daughters of Colonel Steritt of Baltimore.
