James Knox Polk Laffoon (October 24, 1844 – October 22, 1906) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born near Madisonville, Kentucky, Laffoon attended the local schools. In September 1861, during the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate States Army in Company F, 8th Kentucky Infantry, at the age of 17. Elected a lieutenant, Laffoon was captured at the Battle of Fort Donelson on February 16, 1862, and was held a prisoner of war at Camp Morton, at Indianapolis, Indiana. He was exchanged at Vicksburg in September 1862 and was discharged at Knoxville, Tennessee. He next enlisted in Adam Rankin Johnson's 10th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment and again was made a lieutenant. He was captured at Cheshire, Ohio in July 1863, during John Hunt Morgan's raid north of the Ohio River, and spent the rem