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{{Short description|American career military officer (1818–1871)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= James Totten
|birth_date= {{birth date|1818|9|11}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1871|10|1|1818|9|11}}
|image=
|caption=
|birth_place= [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]
|death_place= [[Sedalia, Missouri]]
|placeofburial=Crown Hill Cemetery in [[Sedalia, Missouri]]
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= [[United States]]
|branch= [[United States Army]] [[Union Army]]
|serviceyears= 1841–1870
|rank=Captain [[File:Union army lt col rank insignia.jpg|35px]] [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[File:Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]]
|unit= [[2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment|2nd U.S. Artillery]] [[Missouri State Militia (Union)|Missouri Militia (U.S.)]]
|commands= Chief of Artillery, Union forces in Missouri 2nd Division, [[Army of the Frontier]]
|battles=
{{tree list}}
*[[Mexican–American War]]
*[[Seminole Wars]]
*[[Bleeding Kansas]]
*[[American Civil War]]
**[[Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal|Surrender of Little Rock Arsenal]]
**[[Camp Jackson affair]]
**[[Battle of Boonville]]
**[[Battle of Dug Springs]]
**[[Battle of Wilson's Creek]]
**[[Battle of Fort Blakeley]]
{{tree list/end}}
|relations=[[Joseph Gilbert Totten|Joseph Totten]] (uncle) [[C. A. L. Totten]] (son)
}}
'''James Totten''' (September 11, 1818 – October 1, 1871) was a career American soldier who served in the [[United States Army]] and retired from active service in 1870 as the Assistant Inspector General. He served as an officer in the [[Union Army]] and Missouri militia general during the [[American Civil War]]. He was the nephew of Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Joseph Totten]].

==Early life and career==
Totten was born in 1818 in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]],<ref name=Appletons>{{harvnb|Wilson|Fiske|1900}}</ref> He graduated from the [[United States Military Academy]] in 1841 and subsequently became a [[First Lieutenant (United States)|first lieutenant]] in 1847, serving in Texas during the Mexican-American War before fighting [[Seminole]] Indians in [[Florida]] during 1849-50.<ref name=Appletons/> After attaining the rank of [[Captain (United States)|captain]] in 1855, he went to [[Bleeding Kansas]] to try to suppress the disturbances there.

==Civil War service==
In February 1861, shortly before the American Civil War began, Totten was in command of the [[Little Rock Arsenal]] with just 65 men. He was forced to evacuate his forces to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] when about 5,000 pro-[[secession]] volunteers led by Governor [[Henry M. Rector]] poured into the city and surrounded the federal armoury.

Totten commanded Battery F, 2nd US Artillery under generals [[Nathaniel Lyon]] and [[John C. Frémont]] in [[Missouri]], fighting at the Camp Jackson Affair, the battle of Boonville, battle of Dug Springs, and the battle of Wilson’s Creek. He was breveted Major for gallant and meritorious conduct at Boonville. He was promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] in September 1861 for gallant conduct at Wilson’s Creek.

He became known for the style which he used to issue orders to his batteries. Punctuated with profanity, a typical order might sound like, "Forward that caisson, G-d d--n you, sir!" It was claimed that some soldiers would walk half a mile just to listen to Totten for five minutes.<ref>[[Battle of Wilson's Creek|Wilson's Creek]] by William Piston and Richard Hatcher II</ref> On February 12, 1862, Totten was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[Missouri State Militia (Union)|Missouri Militia]]. Totten commanded the 2nd Division in the [[Army of the Frontier]] in 1862. He was not present with the division when it went into action at the [[battle of Prairie Grove]] and was therefore led by Colonel [[Daniel Huston, Jr.]] In 1865 Totten commanded the artillery in the Military Division of West Mississippi and participated in the [[battle of Fort Blakeley]].

Following the war, the Army issued a large number of brevet (honorary) promotions to hundreds of officers to recognize their service. Totten received a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] appointment to the rank of [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] in the [[Regular Army (United States)]] 'for gallant and meritorious service during the siege of Mobile, Alabama", to rank from March 13, 1865.<ref name=Appletons/> On July 17, 1866, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] nominated Totten for appointment to the rank of [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the regular army, "for gallant and meritorious service in the field during the war", to rank from March 13, 1865, and the [[United States Senate]] confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.<ref>Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}. p. 737.</ref>

==Postbellum==

After the conclusion of the Civil War, Totten served as Inspector-General of the Military Division of the Atlantic from August 15, 1865 to August 27, 1866, and of the Department of the East, from August 27, 1866, to July 10, 1869 and of the Military Division of the South until April, 1870.

He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Inspector-General on June 13, 1867.

Totten was dismissed from the Army on July 22, 1870 for "Disobedience of Orders, Neglect of Duty and
Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Military Discipline."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1083*.html|title = James Totten • Cullum's Register • 1083}}</ref>

Totten died in [[Sedalia, Missouri]], on October 2, 1871, and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.<ref name=Appletons/>

==Family==
Totten had two sons who attended [[West Point]]. The eldest was [[C.A.L. Totten|Charles A.L. Totten]], who graduated from West Point in 1873 and served in the Army for 20 years before resigning. After leaving the Army, he authored numerous books on esoteric subjects. The younger was John Reynolds Totten, who graduated from West Point in 1878, was promoted to first lieutenant in 1886 and resigned from the Army on April 1, 1891. After leaving the Army, he pursued his interests in genealogy and hereditary societies.

==See also==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
*[[List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1083*.html Cullum's Register of USMA Graduates]
* {{Appletons'|year=1900}}
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, James}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1871 deaths]]
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Union army officers]]
[[Category:Union militia generals]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:American people of the Seminole Wars]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Pittsburgh]]

James Totten - Revision history

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