Brigadier-general Sir James Tennant KCB (21 April 1789 – 6 March 1854), colonel commandant of the Bengal Artillery, was a British army officer in the service of the East India Company.

The East India Company cadets and recruits under Lieutenant-colonel Wellesley of the Bengal establishment took part in the operations by which Cape Town was captured, and were usefully employed in different branches of the service.

[a][1] Tennant arrived in India on 21 Aug. 1806, and received a commission as lieutenant in the Bengal artillery antedated to 29 March for his service at the Cape.

Kalinjar was reached on 19 January; by the 28th the batteries opened, and on 2 February the breaches being practicable, an unsuccessful attempt was made to storm.

[1] On 27 December 1814, with two 18-pounder guns and four mountain pieces of the 3rd division, he joined Sir David Ochterlony at Nahr, on the north-north-east side of the Ramgarh ridge, to take part in the operations against Nipal.

Malown was captured by assault on 15 April before the 18-pounders, which were dragged by hand over the hills at the rate of one or two miles a day, had arrived; these guns were eventually left in the fort.

He joined the centre division under Major-general T. Brown of the Marquess of Hastings's grand army at Sikandra in the Cawnpore district, but moving forward to Mahewas on the river Sindh in November 1817, it was attacked by cholera.

He took part in some of the operations of this war, as captain and brigade-major of the second division of artillery, and received a share of the Dakhan prize-money for general captures.

In November 1825 he accompanied the commandant of artillery, Brigadier-general Alexander Macleod, to Agra, where and at Muttra the commander-in-chief, Lord Combermere, assembled his army for the Siege of Bharatpur.

The siege began in the middle of December; on the 24th the batteries opened fire, breaches were found practicable on 18 January 1826, and this formidable place was carried by assault.

On 17 November 1843 he was appointed to command, with the rank of brigadier-general, the foot artillery attached to the army of exercise assembled at Agra under Sir Hugh (afterwards Lord) Gough.

On 3 July 1845 he was promoted to be colonel in the army, and was sent on special duty to inspect and report on field magazines of the upper provinces.