James Franklin Wade served as a Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 of Volunteers in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

.

The son of powerful congressman Benjamin F. Wade

Benjamin Wade

Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the Radical Republicans of that time.-Early life:...

, he rose from the rank of First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 in the 6th U.S. Cavalry at the beginning of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, to that of Brigadier General

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 commanding the Department of Dakota

Department of Dakota

A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866 to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Department of Dakota was initially headquartered at Fort...

 at the outset of the Spanish-American War. He was then commissioned a Major General of Volunteers and placed in command of the Third Army Corps at Chickamauga, Georgia

Chickamauga, Georgia

Chickamauga is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,245 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, which was never sent overseas. At the end of the war, he returned to his Regular Army rank and the command of the Department of Dakota. In 1901 he was placed in command of the Department of Southern Luzon in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, and in 1903 he was promoted to the permanent rank of Major General and placed in command of the Division of the Philippines. In 1904 he returned to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

as commander of the Division of the Atlantic, where he served until his retirement in 1907.