James Deering Fessenden

James Deering Fessenden (September 28, 1833 – November 18, 1882) was an American military officer, lawyer, and politician who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Primarily a staff officer and operations planner until the latter stages of the war, he commanded an infantry brigade in the Western Theater in 1864 and 1865. In 1862, he organized in South Carolina what became one of the first black regiments in the Federal army. He was a member of the powerful Fessenden family, which was prominent in national politics during the mid-19th century.