James D. Henry

Who was James D. Henry?

James D. Henry was a militia officer from the U.S. state of Illinois who rose to the rank of general during the Black Hawk War. Henry was born in Pennsylvania in 1797, and moved to Edwardsville, Illinois 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 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 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 regiments in combat against Black Hawk's warriors. After the war, sick with "disease of the lungs," Henry sought respite in New Orleans where he died on March 5, 1834.