James Adams Cunningham (November 27, 1830 – July 17, 1892) was a volunteer officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

In the closing days of the war, Cunningham distinguished himself during the Appomattox Campaign, earning the award of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general.

Born in Boston in 1830, James Cunningham moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts as a young man and took up a career as a stagecoach driver.

[7] Because several of the senior officers of the 32nd Massachusetts were killed or wounded in the course of the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg, Cunningham was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the summer of 1864 and took command of the regiment at the end of September.

[1] In late March 1865, the Confederate army abandoned its siege lines at Petersburg and retreated towards western Virginia, bringing about the Appomattox Campaign and, ultimately, the end of the war.

That night, Cunningham was placed in command of a brigade of skirmishers and ordered to lead the pursuit of the retreating Confederate army.

[1][8] On January 18, 1867, President Andrew Johnson nominated Cunningham for the award of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general, United States Volunteers, to rank from April 1, 1865, for distinguished services during the campaign against Richmond, and for especial gallantry at the battle of Five Forks, Virginia,[9] and the U.S. Senate confirmed the award on February 21, 1867.

[10] Over the next week, the Union cavalry and V Corps (including Cunningham's 32nd Massachusetts) pursued the Confederates, forcing their surrender at the Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.