James Austin Connolly (March 8, 1843 – December 15, 1914) was an American lawyer, Civil War veteran, and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1895 to 1899.

James A. Connolly was born in Newark, New Jersey on March 8, 1843, into a family of Irish descent.

After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Connolly enlisted in the Union Army as a private in the One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in 1862 and was afterwards captain, major, and brevet lieutenant colonel.

He resumed the practice of law in Springfield, Illinois, where he died on December 15, 1914.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress