James Gadsden

James Gadsden (May 15, 1788 – December 26, 1858) was an American diplomat, soldier and businessman and namesake of the Gadsden Purchase, in which the United States purchased from Mexico the land that became the southern portion of Arizona and New Mexico. James Gadsden served as Adjutant General of the U. S. Army from August 13, 1821 – March 22, 1822. He was commonly known as General Gadsden, although he never held a rank above Colonel.

Biography

Little is known about the life of Gadsden, especially his early life. It is known that he was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1788, and that he was the grandson of the American Revolutionary War hero Christopher Gadsden, for whom the Gadsden flag was named. It is also known that Gadsden earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in Connecticut, completing this degree in 1806.

Army service

Soon after his graduation, Gadsden entered the U.S. Army. He served as a commissioned officer under the command of General Andrew Jackson, who was to be elected the President in 1828. Gadsden served under Gen. Jackson both during the War of 1812 against the British Army, and against the American Indians in the newly purchased (1819) Territory of Florida during the early 1820s. While Gadsden was serving in the Army in Florida, Gadsden established the army strongpoint of Fort Gadsden along the banks of the Apalachicola River in the Panhandle of Florida on the site of a former British fort that had been occupied by escaped slaves. He also helped to establish Fort Brooke with George Mercer Brooke at the site of the present-day city of Tampa, Florida.