James Camp Tappan (September 9, 1825 – March 19, 1906) was an American lawyer from Helena who served as the 31st speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1897 to 1899.

A member of the Democratic Party, Tappan previously served as an Arkansas state representative from Phillips County (1850–1852 and 1897–1901).

He also served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War.

His brigade was moved northward back into Arkansas to meet Major-General Frederick Steele at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry.

He died on March 19, 1906, at Helena and was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery near the graves of Confederate generals Thomas C. Hindman and Patrick Cleburne.