Background
James Montgomery was born on December 22, 1814, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, whither his parents had emigrated from New York. He was a great-grandson of James Montgomery, a Scotch Highland chieftain who came to America by way of Ireland.
James Montgomery was born on December 22, 1814, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, whither his parents had emigrated from New York. He was a great-grandson of James Montgomery, a Scotch Highland chieftain who came to America by way of Ireland.
Montgomery received an academic education in Ohio.
Montgomery moved to Kentucky in 1837, where he taught school and entered the ministry of the "Campbellite" church. In 1852, he emigrated with his second wife to Missouri, but soon after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill he purchased a claim at Mound City, Linn County, Kan. Pro-slavery settlers were in the majority in the southeastern part of the Territory, and Montgomery soon became the recognized leader of the minority. He organized Free-State men into a "Self-Protective Company" in 1857, which drove pro-slavery advocates from the county and made predatory excursions into Missouri. He made several attempts to destroy Fort Scott, where a pro-slavery district judge pursued a policy of discrimination, and on one occasion he collided with Federal troops. Disturbances in the "infected district, " some of which Montgomery created, were eventually quelled by the intervention of Governor Denver. In 1860, Montgomery and eastern associates planned to rescue two of John Brown's men imprisoned at Charles Town, Virginia, but the scheme did not materialize. He was elected in 1857 to the "state" Senate under the Topeka constitution, but was defeated for the Territorial House of Representatives two years later. He represented Linn County in the Republican state convention of April 1860. On July 24, 1861, Montgomery was commissioned colonel of the 3rd Kansas Volunteer Infantry which operated as a part of "Lane's brigade" in southeastern Kansas and western Missouri. His regiment soon gained a reputation for jayhawking or plundering. On April 3, 1862, the 3rd was consolidated with other regiments to form the 10th Kansas with Montgomery colonel. Early in 1863, he was authorized to raise a colored regiment in South Carolina. From Hiltonhead he made expeditions into Georgia and Florida, liberated slaves, and destroyed Confederate property. In 1864, he returned to Kansas and was chosen colonel of the 6th Militia Regiment when its commander refused to lead it against Gen. Sterling Price. James died at Mound City.
At the close of the Civil War, Montgomery retired to his farm in Linn County, abandoned the "Campbellite" faith, became a First-Day Adventist, and preached that doctrine at various places in Kansas.
With limited mental powers, Montgomery was daring and fearless, and usually fought without having formed a plan of campaign.
Montgomery was twice married. His second wife was Clarinda Evans, whom he married in 1850. They had four children.