James Miller

James Miller (April 25, 1776 – July 7, 1851) was a senior officer of the United States Army who commanded infantry in the Canadian Theater of the War of 1812. After the war, he served as the first governor of Arkansas Territory from 1819 to 1824. He also served as the superintendent of Indian affairs for the territory. It was during his term as governor, and partly due to his influence, that the territory's capital was moved from Arkansas Post to Little Rock.

Early life and education James Miller was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, to James and Catharine (née Gregg) Miller. He attended an academy at Amherst, Massachusetts, and then Williams College. After Martha's death, he married Ruth Flint. Miller was a descendant of Thomas Flint, an Englishman who migrated to Concord, Massachusetts. He had a law practice in Greenfield, New Hampshire, from 1803 to 1808.

Military service Miller joined the New Hampshire state militia and commanded an artillery unit, until General Benjamin Pierce noticed him and recommended that he be commissioned as a major in the regular army. Miller joined with the 4th Infantry Regiment in 1808. In 1811, Miller's unit went to fight Indians in Vincennes, Indiana, where he was promoted to colonel. returning the following November. In his absences, Crittenden ran Arkansas and made decisions regarding Indian affairs. In June 1823, he left Arkansas and did not return at all that year.

Later life and death In the fall of 1824, Miller was elected to the House of Representatives in New Hampshire but never took office. Instead he was appointed collector of the Port of Salem, a post he served in until 1849. It is in this role that he is portrayed as the General in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Custom-House, an Introductory to The Scarlet Letter. He died at Temple, New Hampshire of a stroke and was buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery at Salem, Massachusetts.

Memorials Miller County, Arkansas, and Miller State Park in Peterborough, New Hampshire, are both named after him. Fort Miller in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was renamed for him circa 1861.