James Patrick Major (May 14, 1836 – May 8, 1877) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War.

He served on the Texas frontier and participated in the Battle of Wichita Village against the Comanche in 1858.

Major resigned from the U. S. Army on March 21, 1861, and joined the Missouri State Guard as a lieutenant colonel.

He was an acting commander in Earl Van Dorn's artillery during the Siege of Vicksburg.

He was transferred to the trans-Mississippi theater and promoted to brigadier general in July 1863 and commanded a cavalry division in the Red River Campaign.