James G. Spears

James G. Spears
Born(1816-03-29)March 29, 1816
Bledsoe County, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJuly 22, 1869(1869-07-22) (aged 53)
Bledsoe County, Tennessee, U.S.
Buried
Pikeville City Cemetery
Pikeville, Tennessee, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Union
Service / branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861–1864
Rank Brigadier General
Commands1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment
25th Brigade, Army of the Ohio
1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XIV Corps
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War
 • Camp Wildcat (1861)
 • Mill Springs (1862)
 • Cumberland Gap (1862)
 • Stones River (1863)
 • Chickamauga (1863)
 • Knoxville Campaign (1863)

James Gallant Spears (March 29, 1816 – July 22, 1869) was an American general who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Leading a unit composed primarily of Tennessee loyalists, he participated in early battles in the Cumberland Gap area before marching with the Army of the Cumberland at Stones River and Chickamauga. He later provided support for the Knoxville Campaign.

An ardent Southern Unionist, Spears was appointed vice president of the 1861 East Tennessee Convention, which sought to form a separate, Union-aligned state in East Tennessee. He opposed the abolition of slavery, however, and was dismissed from the Army in 1864 for speaking out against the Emancipation Proclamation.