Through the Winter of 1862–1863, they engaged in several operations along the Mississippi River in support of the Vicksburg Campaign, and during those months, Persons was promoted to corporal and then sergeant.[2] In May 1863, they assaulted the enemy defenses at the Battle of Champion Hill, east of Vicksburg. In the battle, Francis Persons was killed and James was taken prisoner.[2] He was ultimately able to return to the regiment and continued to serve through the rest of the war, participating in the Red River campaign into Louisiana.[3] He mustered out with the regiment in June 1865.[2]
Political career
Persons returned to Wisconsin, and, in 1868, he moved to a farm in Pierce County, Wisconsin.[1] In Pierce County, he was active in the Republican Party of Wisconsin and was elected to the county board of supervisors, serving as chairman in 1872. Running on the Republican ticket, he was elected to two consecutive terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, in 1872 and 1873.[4]
Personal life and family
James H. Persons was one of at least four children born to Joseph Persons, Sr., and his first wife, Betsy (née Farwell). James Persons had a twin brother, Joseph Persons, Jr. Other members of the extended Persons family also came to Wisconsin—Enos Warren Persons, who served in the State Senate and Assembly in the 1880s, was a second cousin.
James H. Persons married Maria Antonett Yendes of Sackets Harbor, New York, in 1854. They had at least four children together, though one daughter died young.