In 1857, James Denver was appointed commissioner of Indian Affairs and secretary of the Kansas Territory by President James Buchanan; in 1858, he was appointed governor of the Kansas Territory, which included the present state of Colorado. In November 1858, William Larimer Jr., a land speculator from Leavenworth, traveled to Arapaho County and founded the city of Denver, which he named for the governor of the territory.

On August 14, 1861, President Lincoln commissioned Denver a brigadier general in the volunteer army; in early 1862 he commanded a brigade under General William T. Sherman during the siege of Corinth, Mississippi. In November, Denver was ordered to Ft. Scott, Kansas, where he assumed command of all Federal forces in Kansas. He primarily performed garrison duty until he resigned his commission on March 5, 1863.

After the war, Denver practiced law in Washington, D. C. and Wilmington, Ohio. He died in Washington, D. C., in 1892.

Carte-de-Visite by E. Anthony, New York, N.Y.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31449