Nelson Ward earned a Medal of Honor at Staunton River Bridge, Virginia on June 25, 1864. His citation reads "Voluntarily took part in a charge; went alone in front of his regiment under a heavy fire to secure the body of his captain, who had been killed in the action". His Medal was issued to him on September 10, 1897. In the late 1890s, he ran the Grundie Hotel in Springfield, Missouri, then in the early 1900s, he moved to Long Beach. He wrote the book, 'The Master Key' to the Problems of Passion Week and the Resurrection According to the Scriptures" in 1915.