caption serviceyears branch commands relations death_date death_place birth_place allegiance placeofburial_label battles birth_date placeofburial rank image article_title name
james d. fessenden 1861 & ndash ; 66 united states army union army brigade in the xix corps francis fessenden -lrb- brother -rrb- 18 november 1882 portland , maine westbrook , maine united states of america union place of burial american civil war 28 september 1833 evergreen cemetery 35px brigadier general 35px brevet major general james d fessenden.jpg james deering fessenden
 james deering fessenden
james deering fessenden

james deering fessenden -lrb- september 28 , 1833 -- november 18 , 1882 -rrb- was a lawyer , politician , and soldier from the state of maine 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 .
