Second Opium War Commodore James Armstrong (17 January 1794 – 27 August 1868) was an officer in the United States Navy.

Armstrong joined the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and served on the sloop-of-war Frolic when it was seized by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812.

Following the battle of the Pearl Forts, Armstrong's health began to fail and he returned to the United States.

On January 12, 1861, two days after Florida voted to secede from the Union he surrendered the facility to the secessionists.

"The proceedings of Captain Armstrong's court martial appears to be missing from the rest of the proceedings deposited in the National Archives so the testimony surrounding exactly what happened that day between Conway and Renshaw that lead to the Court submitting a communication to Welles is unavailable.