[1] He completed preparatory studies, and attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
[2] Nelson was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Maryland[3][4] and later attained the rank of brigadier general.
[5] After the War, Nelson studied law, was admitted to the bar about 1785, and practiced in Taneytown and Frederick.
He held several local offices, including serving as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1795, 1801, and 1802.
He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1804 to prosecute the case in the impeachment trial of Samuel Chase, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.