Leach was born on his family's homestead, "Lansdowne", in
Randolph County, North Carolina, January 17, 1815. He attended the common schools and
Caldwell Institute in
Greensboro, North Carolina. He entered the US Military Academy in 1836, but resigned in 1838 and returned to North Carolina to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1842. Leach began his law practice in
Lexington, North Carolina, and served in the
State house of commons from 1848 to 1858.
Congress Leach served as a presidential elector on the
American Party ticket in 1856 and was elected as an
Opposition Party candidate to the
Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861).
Civil War During the
Civil War, Leach served as a captain and lieutenant colonel of the
21st North Carolina Infantry Regiment in the
Confederate Army. He saw action in many of the early campaigns of
Stonewall Jackson, including the
Valley Campaign. He served in the
Army of Northern Virginia during the
Peninsula Campaign and other battles, including the
Battle of Gettysburg, where the regiment assaulted
Cemetery Hill. He served as a member of the
Confederate States Congress in 1864 and 1865.
Return to Congress He served as a member of the
North Carolina Senate in 1865, 1866, and again in 1879 and was elected as a
Democrat to the
Forty-second and
Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875). The grand jury of the Federal District Court in session at Raleigh, returned a true bill of indictment against Jas M Leach, member of Congress from North Carolina, James A Leach, and fifteen others, for conspiracy, under the act of Congress of May 31, 1872, commonly known as the Ku Klux law.
Death and burial Leach died in
Lexington, North Carolina on June 1, 1891, and is interred in Hopewell Cemetery, near
Trinity, North Carolina. ==References==