James Fagan was born on March 1, 1828, in Clark County, Kentucky; his family moved to Arkansas in 1838. With the start of the Civil War, Fagan raised 900 men for the 1st Arkansas Infantry.

Fagan led his regiment at the Battle of Shiloh, but was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department in the fall of 1862. Promoted to brigadier general, he participated in the fighting at Prairie Grove, Helena, Little Rock, and through the Camden Expedition, and was promoted to major general in the summer of 1864.

Fagan led a cavalry division in General Sterling Price’s 1864 raid through Missouri, serving at all the major actions of that campaign. In the spring of 1865 he commanded the cavalry in the District of Arkansas.

He was paroled on June 20, 1865, and returned to farming in Arkansas. Fagan became a United States Marshal in 1875 and receiver for the Land Office in 1877. In 1890 he was defeated in a bid for state railroad commissioner.

Fagan died at Little Rock on September 1, 1893.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31441