Proudfit, James Kerr, 1831-1917.

James Kerr Proudfit was born in Argyle (Washington County), New York on July 24, 1831, to James and Maria Amelia Jane (Kerr) Proudfit. Following the death of his father in 1839, he moved with his family to Brookfield in Wisconsin Territory, and then to Delafield (Waukesha County), Wisconsin in 1847. He married Emelie Theresa Kreug at Delafield in 1855. From April 20 to August 21, 1861, Proudfit served as second lieutenant in Wisconsin’s First Volunteer Infantry Regiment. On September 27, 1861, he was mustered into service as first lieutenant and adjutant in Wisconsin’s Twelfth Volunteer Infantry Regiment. In the spring of 1862, Proudfit’s regiment was stationed at various locations in Kansas, including Fort Leavenworth, Fort Scott, Lawrence, and Fort Riley.

The Twelfth Wisconsin Regiment left Kansas on May 29, and by late 1862 had joined General Grant’s Mississippi Campaign. In 1863, Proudfit's regiment served at the Siege of Vicksburg and at the Siege of Jackson before being ordered to Natchez. In the course of his military service, Proudfit was promoted to lieutenant colonel, to colonel and, on March 13, 1865, to brevet brigadier general. He was mustered out on July 16, 1865, and received final discharge on August 9, 1865.

Following the Civil War, Proudfit was Assistant Adjutant General and Adjutant General of Wisconsin (1865-1868); first Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, Madison, Wisconsin (1866); and U.S. Surveyor General of New Mexico (1872-1876). In 1877, Proudfit settled in Wyandotte (now Kansas City), Kansas. He died in 1917.

From the guide to the Civil War letters (1861-1865) of James Kerr Proudfit, together with Proudfit and Howard Family papers, 1801-1965, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)