John M. Jones
Encyclopedia
John Marshall Jones was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army
during the American Civil War
. He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg
and was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness
.
. At West Point
, he was nicknamed "Rum" Jones for his fondness for alcohol. He graduated in 1841, ranking 39th in a class of 52. Nineteen of his classmates would become Civil War generals, including John F. Reynolds
, Nathaniel Lyon
, Robert S. Garnett
, Richard B. Garnett
, Amiel W. Whipple, and Israel B. Richardson
, all of whom would also die in combat.
Assigned as a second lieutenant to the 7th Infantry
, he was on frontier
duty before returning to the U.S. Military Academy in 1845 as an assistant instructor of infantry tactics, serving until 1852. From 1854 until 1855, he served on a board commissioned to revise rifle
and light artillery
military tactics, and received a promotion to captain on March 3, 1855. Jones performed garrison duty at various forts across the country for a short period before participating in the Utah War
from 1858 until 1860.
's secession
, Jones resigned his commission in the United States Army
on May 27, 1861 to enter the Confederate service as a captain of artillery. He was appointed a colonel
of infantry and served in what became the Army of Northern Virginia
. He participated as a staff officer in Stonewall Jackson
's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, Front Royal
, the Seven Days Battles
, the Second Battle of Bull Run
, Fredericksburg
, and Chancellorsville
. In May, Jones was promoted to brigadier general in Edward "Allegheny" Johnson
's division
to replace John R. Jones (not related). During Johnson's assault on Culp's Hill
at Gettysburg
, Jones suffered a severe wound to his head that put him out of action. In August, Robert E. Lee
called Jones "a good commander" when he assigned him to lead the brigade vacated by William "Extra Billy" Smith, who had returned to Virginia as governor. Late in the year, Jones was wounded again during the Mine Run Campaign.
In the early days of the Overland Campaign
of 1864, Jones was killed at the Wilderness
while attempting to rally his wavering men. His brigade had taken a position on the south side of the Orange Turnpike. Shortly before 1:00 p.m., it was hit hard by Brig. General Joseph J. Bartlett
's V Corps
brigade, which began pushing back the Confederates, many in disorder. Jones and his aide-de-camp
Robert Early were killed while desperately trying to restore order. Jones's body was eventually returned home and buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Charlottesville.
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
wrote of Jones's death in his official report on the Wilderness, "I considered his loss an irreparable one to his brigade."
Jones's sister was married to famed Confederate general A.P. Hill's older brother Thomas.
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
.
Early life
Jones was born in Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
. At West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, he was nicknamed "Rum" Jones for his fondness for alcohol. He graduated in 1841, ranking 39th in a class of 52. Nineteen of his classmates would become Civil War generals, including John F. Reynolds
John F. Reynolds
John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed at the start of the battle.-Early...
, Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....
, Robert S. Garnett
Robert S. Garnett
Robert Selden Garnett was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army brigadier general. He was the first general officer killed in the Civil War.-Early life and career:Garnett was born at the family plantation...
, Richard B. Garnett
Richard B. Garnett
Richard Brooke Garnett was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was killed during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
, Amiel W. Whipple, and Israel B. Richardson
Israel B. Richardson
Israel Bush Richardson was a United States Army officer during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army...
, all of whom would also die in combat.
Assigned as a second lieutenant to the 7th Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, he was on frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
duty before returning to the U.S. Military Academy in 1845 as an assistant instructor of infantry tactics, serving until 1852. From 1854 until 1855, he served on a board commissioned to revise rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
and light artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
military tactics, and received a promotion to captain on March 3, 1855. Jones performed garrison duty at various forts across the country for a short period before participating in the Utah War
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
from 1858 until 1860.
Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War and VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, Jones resigned his commission in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
on May 27, 1861 to enter the Confederate service as a captain of artillery. He was appointed a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of infantry and served in what became the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
. He participated as a staff officer in Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
's Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, Front Royal
Battle of Front Royal
The Battle of Front Royal, also known as Guard Hill or Cedarville, was fought May 23, 1862, in Warren County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
, the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
, the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, and Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. In May, Jones was promoted to brigadier general in Edward "Allegheny" Johnson
Edward Johnson (general)
Edward Johnson , also known as Allegheny Johnson , was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
's division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
to replace John R. Jones (not related). During Johnson's assault on Culp's Hill
Culp's Hill
Culps Hill is a Battle of Gettysburg landform south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a heavily wooded summit of . The east slope is to Rock Creek , 160 feet lower in elevation, and the west slope is to a saddle with Stevens Knoll with a summit lower than the Culps Hill summit...
at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, Jones suffered a severe wound to his head that put him out of action. In August, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
called Jones "a good commander" when he assigned him to lead the brigade vacated by William "Extra Billy" Smith, who had returned to Virginia as governor. Late in the year, Jones was wounded again during the Mine Run Campaign.
In the early days of the Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
of 1864, Jones was killed at the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
while attempting to rally his wavering men. His brigade had taken a position on the south side of the Orange Turnpike. Shortly before 1:00 p.m., it was hit hard by Brig. General Joseph J. Bartlett
Joseph J. Bartlett
Joseph Jackson Bartlett was a New York attorney, brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and postbellum international diplomat and pensions administrator for the United States Government. He was chosen to receive the stacked arms of General Robert E...
's V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
brigade, which began pushing back the Confederates, many in disorder. Jones and his aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
Robert Early were killed while desperately trying to restore order. Jones's body was eventually returned home and buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Charlottesville.
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...
wrote of Jones's death in his official report on the Wilderness, "I considered his loss an irreparable one to his brigade."
Jones's sister was married to famed Confederate general A.P. Hill's older brother Thomas.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals