James Henry Van Alen (August 17, 1819 – July 22, 1886) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Early life
James Henry Van Alen was born in 1819, in Kinderhook, New York. He was the only son of James I. Van Alen (1788–1874), an affluent merchant, and Lucy (née Trumbull) Van Alen (1788–1867) of the Connecticut Trumbulls. His sister Sophie Van Alen (d. 1916) was married to Robert Minturn Grinnell (1829–1898), the son of merchant Henry Grinnell.
His education was through private tutors and he never devoted himself to business besides managing his wealth. He owned considerable real estate, which he left to his son upon his death in 1886.
Career
At the beginning of the Civil War, Van Alen recruited and equipped the 3rd New York Cavalry Regiment. He became the unit's colonel on August 28, 1861, when the unit was stationed in defending Washington, D.C.
