James D. Henry (1797 – March 5, 1834) was a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

officer from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

who rose to the rank of general during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

. Henry was born in Pennsylvania in 1797, and moved to

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. ...

in 1822. In 1825, while living in Edwardsville, he was indicted with two other men for the murder of an acquaintance, though he never went to trial. One defendant was tried but found not guilty, and following the trial Henry moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he was elected sheriff. When the

Winnebago War The Winnebago War, also known as the Winnebago Uprising, was a brief conflict that took place in 1827 in the Upper Mississippi River region of the United States, primarily in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Not quite a war, the hostilities ...

broke out in 1827 Henry acted as adjutant for four companies of volunteers. Henry's military service continued in the prelude of the Black Hawk War of 1832. He was put in command of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

in 1831 in response to Black Hawk's incursion into Illinois in 1831. Though Black Hawk left without bloodshed, he would come back in April 1832 and ignite the Black Hawk War. Henry played a major role in the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, leading elements of four mounted

Illinois militia In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

regiments in combat against Black Hawk's warriors. After the war, sick with "disease of the lungs," Henry sought respite in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

where he died on March 5, 1834.

Early life

James D. Henry was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1797. By the time he reached adulthood, Henry was barely able to read or write, having spent much of his time working in trades. In 1822 he arrived in

, and began working as a mechanic by day, while attending night school. On January 29, 1825, while at the

Benjamin Stephenson House The Benjamin Stephenson House is a Federal style home built in 1820 in the city of Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The house was constructed by prominent Edwardsville citizen and Illinois politician Benjamin Stephenson. He died shortly a ...

for a party, Daniel D. Smith was stabbed to death. Apparently, an argument occurred and Smith was later found in the dining room with a stab wound, as the group was picking him up he uttered "Winchester," and died.Belschner, Julie.
'No one was ever there' So what is behind the footsteps and other strange noises at the Stephenson House in Edwardsville?
," ''Edwardsville Journal'' (

), 23 October 2003. Retrieved 15 August 2007. News reports in ''The Spectator'' (Edwardsville, Illinois) indicated that Smith was "killed in an affray" at the Stephenson House. Henry, James W. Stephenson, and Palemon Winchester were

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

for the murder. Though all three men were charged with the crime, Stephenson and Henry were released on

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

.Henry.
Inside the Stephenson House - November 14, 2002
," Henry's Newsletter, Newsletter #23, ''Friends of Col. Benjamin Stephenson House''. Retrieved 15 August 2007. Winchester was the only defendant who wound up facing trial in the murder. Winchester's lawyer argued that Smith was guilty of verbal assault against the defendant and Winchester was found not guilty.Henry.
Inside the Stephenson House - July 8, 2002
," Henry's Newsletter, Newsletter #11, ''Friends of Col. Benjamin Stephenson House''. Retrieved 15 August 2007. The verdict was reported in ''The Spectator'' on March 22, 1825. In 1826 Henry moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he worked as a merchant. Soon after arriving in Springfield, Henry was elected sheriff of

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the S ...

.Power, John Carroll.
Henry, James D.

Google Books
, originally published: ''History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois'', Edwin A. Wilson ed., Springfield, Ill.: 1876. Republished: 1998, Heritage Books, ().

Military service

Henry's first military experience came during the 1827

, while he was working as sheriff. A

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

of four

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

was raised in Sangamon County under the command of Colonel Tom M. Neale with Henry acting as adjutant. The group marched to Peoria and then, on to

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...

. When Red Bird gave himself up, the war ended and the detachment from Sangamon County returned home.Power, John Carroll.
Sangamon County

Google Books
, originally published: ''History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois'', Edwin A. Wilson ed., Springfield, Ill.: 1876. Republished: 1998, Heritage Books, (). Tension rose through the late 1820s and early 1830s between the United States and Sauk leader Black Hawk's " British Band." On May 27, 1831, as a result of one of several Sauk "invasions" preceding the 1832

, Illinois Governor John Reynolds called for 700 volunteer soldiers to meet at Beardstown on June 10. 1,600 men showed up at Beardstown on June 10 and the governor accepted them all into service, organizing the troops into two

s; Henry was appointed commander of the first regiment. The crises ended without bloodshed but less than a year later war would erupt in

and Michigan Territory. On April 5, 1832, Black Hawk returned to Illinois, this time to stay, and it triggered the Black Hawk War.Lewis, James.
Background
," The Black Hawk War of 1832, Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, ''Northern Illinois University''. Retrieved 15 August 2007. James D. Henry, by this time a lieutenant colonel in the

, was put in command of a spy (i.e. scouting) battalion that was mustered into service in response to an April 16 call for volunteers. Henry's spy battalion was under the command of General

Samuel Whiteside Samuel Whiteside (April 12, 1783 – January 12, 1866) was an Illinois pioneer. A farmer and backwoodsman, Whiteside briefly served in the Illinois General Assembly after statehood and led the Illinois militia for decades, rising to the rank ...

. Following the

Battle of Stillman's Run The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore Creek or the Battle of Old Man's Creek, occurred in Illinois on May 14, 1832. The battle was named for the panicked retreat by Major Isaiah Stillman and his detachment of 275 I ...

, much of the initial force's enlistments expired and they were discharged.''Illinois State Military Museum'',
Black Hawk War
," Historical Events. Retrieved 15 August 2007. When a regiment of volunteers were raised they were put under the command of a Colonel Fry and Henry. The men, a total of 3,200 volunteers, marched to Fort Wilburn (present-day Peru, Illinois) and were organized into three

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

s. On June 18, 1832, James D. Henry was elected general of the 1,200 man third brigade. Following several small massacres and skirmishes, and an inconclusive skirmish in late June at Kellogg's Grove, Black Hawk and his band fled the approaching militia through Wisconsin. They had passed through what are now Beloit and Janesville, then followed the Rock River toward Horicon Marsh, where they headed west toward the Four Lakes region (near modern-day Madison). The British Band camped for the night near Pheasant Branch.McCann, Dennis.
Black Hawk's name, country's shame lives on
," ''Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel'', April 28, 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007. The U.S. force of 600-750 militiamen had picked up Black Hawk's trail following the Battle of Pecatonica. Colonel

Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served a ...

and Henry pursued the band up the Rock River, engaging in minor skirmishes along the way.Lewis, James.
The Black Hawk War of 1832
," Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, ''Northern Illinois University'', p. 2C. Retrieved 15 August 2007.Cole, Harry Ellsworth, ed.
A Standard History of Sauk County, Wisconsin: Volume I
', Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1918, pp. 170-171. Available online vi
The State of Wisconsin Collection
University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 15 August 2007.

Smith, William Rudolph William Rudolph Smith (August 31, 1787August 22, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, pioneer, and historian from Pennsylvania who served as the 5th Attorney General of Wisconsin and the first President of the Wisconsin Historical Society. ...

.
The History of Wisconsin: In Three Parts, Historical, Documentary, and Descriptive
', (

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

), B. Brown: 1854, pp. 228-230. Retrieved 15 August 2007. On 21 July 1832, the militia caught up with Black Hawk's band as they attempted to cross the Wisconsin River, in present-day Roxbury Township, in

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

, near

Sauk City, Wisconsin Sauk City is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, North America. The population was 3,518 as of the 2020 census. The first incorporated village in the state, the community was founded by Agoston Haraszthy and his business partner, R ...

. Dodge and a Major Ewing came upon the battlefield at Wisconsin Heights first and captured an elevated area that later acquired the name "Militia Ridge." The militia occupied a solid position as General Henry arrived, accompanied by three regiments of mounted Illinois militia. Henry formed his men into a right angle firing line and exchanged gunfire with Black Hawk's men for around 30 minutes. A Dodge-led bayonet charge ended the battle, sending the remaining warriors scattering., ''Old Lead Regional Historical Society''. Retrieved 15 August 2007.

Late life and death

When Henry returned from the Black Hawk War it was to public reception and recognition but his time on the campaign had ailed him. He sought respite in the warmer climates of the southern United States. On March 1, 1834, at a public meeting in New Salem, Illinois, attended by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, the citizens of New Salem offered Henry their "cordial and hearty support" for the office of Governor of Illinois. Lincoln, Abraham.
Report of a Political Meeting
" ''Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 1'', via ''University of Michigan''. Retrieved 15 August 2007. James D. Henry died in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on March 5, 1834, after contracting a "disease of the lungs." A memorial service for Henry was held at the Sangamon County Courthouse, in Springfield on April 20, 1834, it was attended by Abraham Lincoln and other state dignitaries.April 20, 1834
, ''Sangamon Journal'', 25 April 1834, via ''The Lincoln Log''. Retrieved 15 August 2007. The city of

Henry, Illinois Henry is a city in Marshall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,464 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Henry is named after General James D. Henry, and was initiall ...

, established the year he died, was named for him.History of Henry, Illinois
''City of Henry'', official site. Retrieved 15 August 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, James D. 1797 births 1834 deaths American militia generals Deaths from lung disease American people of the Black Hawk War People from Springfield, Illinois People from Edwardsville, Illinois Illinois sheriffs Military personnel from Illinois Military personnel from Pennsylvania