{{Short description|American lawyer (1838–1884)}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = James S. Peck |image = James Stevens Peck.jpg |alt = Black and white illustration of James Stevens Peck, right profile |caption = On file at Vermont General Services Administration, Public Records Division. On display at Vermont National Guard Headquarters in Colchester. |office1 = Postmaster of Montpelier, Vermont |term_start1 = 1881 |term_end1 = 1884 |predecessor1 = John W. Clark |successor1 = George W. Wing |office2 = Vermont Adjutant General |term_start2 = 1872 |term_end2 = 1881 |predecessor2 = William W. Wells |successor2 = Theodore S. Peck |birth_date = {{Birth date|1838|12|6}} |birth_place = Montpelier, Vermont, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|1884|05|28|1838|12|6}} |death_place = Loon Lake, New York |resting_place = Green Mount Cemetery, Montpelier, Vermont |party = Republican |spouse = Ellen Mary Blake (m. 1869–1884, his death) |children = |education = University of Vermont |occupation = Attorney }}
'''James Stevens Peck''' (December 6, 1838 – May 28, 1884) was a Vermont attorney and military leader who served in the 13th and 17th Vermont Infantry Regiments during the American Civil War and as Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard.
==Early life== James S. Peck was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on December 6, 1838. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1860, and studied law with Lucius Benedict Peck and Stoddard B. Colby.<ref>William Adams, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fxf14GRvwkoC&pg=PA383 Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889], 1889, page 112</ref>
==Civil War== In 1862 Peck was commissioned a second lieutenant in Company I, 13th Vermont Infantry. He rose to the post of regimental adjutant, and took part in the regiment's combat actions, including the Battle of Gettysburg.<ref>Powell, Officers of the Army and Navy, page 183</ref>
After the 13th Vermont was mustered out, Peck joined the 17th Vermont as adjutant with the rank of major. He was commended for bravery at Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, and mustered out with the regiment in 1865.<ref>Abby Maria Hemenway, editor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aYoQ5EssbR0C&pg=PA246 The History of the Town of Montpelier, Including that of the Town of East Montpelier], 1882, page 520</ref>
==Career== In 1866 Peck was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Montpelier.<ref>William Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1889, page 112</ref>
From 1866 to 1880 he served as a member of the city's volunteer fire department.<ref>Erik S. Hinckley and Tom Ledoux, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KKqmQTXgf2oC&pg=PA174 They Went to War: A Biographical Register of the Green Mountain State in the Civil War], 2010, page 174</ref>
A Republican, from 1868 to 1872 he served as assistant secretary of the Vermont Senate, and from 1869 to 1880 Peck was Assistant United States Attorney for Vermont.<ref>New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1868/10/09/archives/organization-of-the-vermount-legislature.html Organization of the Vermont Legislature], October 9, 1868</ref><ref>United States Department of Justice, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LFIaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA78 Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States], 1877, page 78</ref>
In 1881 Peck was appointed Postmaster in Montpelier, a position he held until his death.<ref>University of Vermont Alumni Association, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gIQfAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA123 University of Vermont Obituary Record], Volume 1, 1895, pages 123-124</ref>
==Continued military service== Peck served as assistant adjutant general and inspector general of the Vermont National Guard with the rank of brigadier general from 1868 to 1872, during the tenure of Adjutant General William Wells. Peck succeeded Wells and served as adjutant general from 1872 to 1881.<ref>William Henry Powell, [https://books.google.com/books?id=O6GhgUsC10IC&pg=PA185 Officers of the Army and Navy (Volunteer) who Served in the Civil War], 1893, page 185</ref>
He was an original member of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers. Peck was the society's secretary from 1866 to 1882, and president from 1882 until his death.<ref>Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3dUSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA440 Proceedings of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers], Volume 1, 1885, page 471</ref>
==Death and burial== Peck was in poor health for several years as a result of his wartime service, and he nearly died twice from pulmonary hemorrhages. He died while vacationing at Loon Lake, New York, on May 28, 1884. Peck is buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.<ref>Hinckley, Ledoux, They Went to War, page 174</ref><ref>New York Star, [https://books.google.com/books?id=9GkUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA53 Star Almanac for 1885], 1884, page 53</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|13770524}} *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000353/http://vermontcivilwar.org/cem/virtual/getvtcem.php?input=4546 James Stevens Peck]}} at {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040331125924/http://www.vermontcivilwar.org/index.php Vermont in the Civil War]}}
{{S-start}} {{S-mil}} {{Succession box|title=Vermont Adjutant General |before=William W. Wells |after=Theodore S. Peck |years=1872–1881}} {{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peck, James Stevens}} Category:1838 births Category:1884 deaths Category:People from Montpelier, Vermont Category:University of Vermont alumni Category:People of Vermont in the American Civil War Category:Union army officers Category:American militia generals Category:Vermont lawyers Category:Vermont Republicans Category:Burials at Green Mount Cemetery (Montpelier, Vermont) Category:Vermont postmasters Category:Vermont National Guard personnel Category:19th-century American lawyers