col. james madison sr. (march 27, 1723 – february 27, 1801) was a prominent virginia planter and politician. he was a colonel in the militia during the american revolutionary war. he inherited mount pleasant, later known as montpelier, a large tobacco plantation in orange county, virginia and, with the acquisition of more property, had 5,000 acres and became the largest landowner in the county. he was the father of james madison, 4th president of the united states, who inherited what he called montpelier, and lieutenant general william taylor madison, and grandfather of confederate brigadier general james edwin slaughter.