James Gallant Spears
Born: March 29, 1816
Birthplace: Bledsoe County, Tennessee
Father: Dr. John Holliday Spears 1794 – 1860
Mother: Sarah Gallant 1796 – 1860
Wife: Adeline K. Brown 1823 – 1902
(Buried: Pikeville City Cemetery, Pikeville, Tennessee)
Children:
Colonel Ashley Lawrence Spears 1842 – 1900
(Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, Jasper, Tennessee)
Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte Spears 1849 – 1928
(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham, Alabama)
John Brown Spears 1851 – 1948
(Buried: Gass Family Cemetery, Pennine, Tennessee)
Colonel William Douglas Spears 1853 – 1929
(Buried: Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee)
James Gallant Spears Jr. 1857 – 1927
(Buried: Gass Family Cemetery, Pennine, Tennessee)
Samuel Spears 1860 – 1919
(Buried: Lasater Cemetery, Marion County, Tennessee)
Occupation before War:
Attorney in Pikeville, Tennessee
Clerk for State Circuit Court in Tennessee
Owner of a large farm on the outskirts of Pikeville, Tennessee
Commissioner to Oversee Construction of turnpike
Opposed to Secession
1860: Supporter of Stephen A. Douglas for President
Civil War Career:
1861: Delegate and Vice President to East Tennessee Convention
1861: The Confederacy issued a warrant for his arrest for disloyalty
1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 1st Tennessee Union Infantry Regiment
1861: Served in the Battle of Camp Wildcat, Kentucky
1862: Served in the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky
1862 – 1864: Brigadier General Union Army Volunteers Infantry
1862: Served in the Capture of Cumberland Gap
Served in the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee
1863: Court martialed due to officers saying he had bad conduct
1863: Acquitted in his court martial and command restored
1863: Threatened to arrest any officer who attempted to resign
1863: Twenty – Seven Officers under his command petitioned removal
1863: His Command was attacked at the Battle of Chickamuga
Opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and spoke out against it
1864: Arrested by the Union Army for speaking out
1864: Court martialed and found to be guilty and removed from Army
1864: Dismissed from the Union Army on August 30th
Occupation after War:
1864 – 1869: Farmer in Bledsoe County, Tennessee
Died: July 22, 1869
Place of Death: Bledsoe County, Tennessee
Age at time of Death: 53 years old
Burial Place: Pikeville City Cemetery, Pikeville, Tennessee
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