James Thadeus Holtzclaw (December 17, 1833 – July 19, 1893) was an Alabama lawyer, railroad commissioner, and general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

In December, he began to study law in Montgomery, Alabama, under the famed pro-secession "Fire-Eater" William Lowndes Yancey.

[1][3] At the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861, Holtzclaw served as a lieutenant in a local militia company, the Montgomery True Blues.

In November 1863, he assumed command of a brigade in Stewart's Division in Second Corps of the Army of Tennessee and led it during the Chattanooga Campaign, including the Battle of Lookout Mountain.

[1][2] On July 7, 1864, Holtzclaw received a promotion to brigadier general and assumed permanent command of Clayton's Brigade.

Subsequently, Holtzclaw assumed command of the garrison at Spanish Fort and led the defenses of Mobile and Montgomery against Union forces.