James Gadsden (May 15, 1788 - December 25, 1858) was born in 1788 in Charleston, South Carolina, the grandson of American Revolutionary patriot Christopher Gadsden. After a career as a US Army officer, James was appointed a commissioner in 1823 to assist the government in moving the Seminoles to reservations. He served as president of the South Carolina Railroad Company from 1840 to 1850 and promoted the construction of a transcontinental railroad by the southern route. In 1853, he was appointed U.S. minister to Mexico to negotiate the Gadsden Treaty which led to the Gadsden Purchase by the United States from Mexico of about 30,000 acres (121 km²) in the southern section of what is now Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

During the War of 1812, Gadsden served in the Army under General Andrew Jackson, and was responsible for the construction of Fort Gadsden in Florida.