James Harrison Cravens (August 12, 1802 – December 4, 1876) was an American lawyer, Civil War veteran, and politician who was a one-term U.S. representative from Indiana from 1841 to 1843. He was a second cousin of James Addison Cravens.
Biography Born on August 12, 1802, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Cravens studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1823 and began practicing law in Harrisonburg. He moved to Franklin, Pennsylvania, in 1823 and resumed the practice of law. Later, he moved to Madison, Indiana, in 1829 and engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He served as a member of the State House of Representatives in 1831 and 1832. He moved to Ripley County, Indiana, in 1833, where he practiced law and managed a farm. He served as a member of the State Senate in 1839.
Congress Cravens was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 4, 1843). He was an unsuccessful candidate of the Free-Soil Party for Governor of Indiana in 1849, and a member of the State House of Representatives in 1856. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the attorney generalship of the State in 1856.
Civil War He served as lieutenant colonel of the Eighty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in the Civil War. During Morgan's raid in Indiana, he and his soldiers were taken captive.
Death and burial He died in Osgood, Indiana, December 4, 1876, and was interred in Versailles Cemetery, Versailles, Indiana.
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Retrieved on 2009-5-12