Samuel Jones (December 17, 1819 – July 31, 1887) was a major general in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. At the midpoint of the war, he commanded the Department of Western Virginia, defending the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and the vital salt mines. Later he commanded the district of South Carolina.

Early life

On December 17, 1819, Samuel Jones was born at "Woodfield", his parents' plantation in

Powhatan County, Virginia Powhatan County () is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,033. Its county seat is Powhatan. Powhatan County is included in the Greater Richmond Region. The James River forms the coun ...

. His father, Samuel Jones, was a nephew and ward of Governor

William Branch Giles William Branch Giles (August 12, 1762December 4, 1830) was an American statesman, long-term United States Senate, Senator from Virginia, and the List of governors of Virginia, 24th Governor of Virginia. He served in the United States House of R ...

, of Virginia, under whose care he was brought up, and a graduate of Princeton College. Jones' mother was Ann Moseley, daughter of Mr. Edward Moseley, of Powhatan County. Jones was appointed a cadet at West Point

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

from Virginia July 1, 1837, and was graduated and was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 2nd Artillery Regiment on September 28, 1841. His first duty was on the Maine frontier, at Houlton, pending the Disputed Territory controversy with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was on duty at West Point, 1846–51, as assistant professor of mathematics and assistant instructor in artillery and infantry tactics. He was appointed assistant to the Judge Advocate of the Army at Washington and continued in the discharge of the duties of his position until he resigned his commission in the Army of the United States April 27, 1861. Thus immediately prior to the

he was on the staff of the Judge Advocate of the Army in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Civil War

With the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

of Virginia in 1861, Jones was commissioned as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the State of Virginia corps of artillery on May 1, 1861 in the military force of Virginia and later was promoted to be Colonel. He later joined the Provisional Confederate Army and was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in recognition of his service, and on July 21, 1861, was promoted to brigadier general (the brigade consisted of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Georgia, and the Fourth Kentucky Regiments of Infantry and Alberto's Artillery). On July 22, 1861, he was made Chief of Artillery and Ordnance of the C.S. Army of Northern Virginia. He served on the staff of General P G T Beauregard at the

First Battle of Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Francis S. Bartow Francis Stebbins Bartow (September 6, 1816 – July 21, 1861) was an American lawyer and politician from Georgia. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and became a politician in the Confederate States of America. Ba ...

, which had lost its commander on the field of Manassas. On January 22, 1862, C.S. Army Brigadier General Jones was appointed to the command of the department of which Pensacola was the headquarters. He was promoted to major general on March 10, 1862.Eicher, p. 325. On September 23, 1862, he was assigned to the command of the Department of East Tennessee. From December 4, 1862, until March 4, 1864, Jones commanded the Department of Western Virginia, with his headquarters at Dublin, Virginia. He was in general charge of the operations in defense of the

Virginia and Tennessee Railroad The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was an historic gauge railroad in the Southern United States, much of which is incorporated into the modern Norfolk Southern Railway. It played a strategic role in supplying the Confederacy during the American ...

and the vital

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

s. The September 1863 Battle of Blountville was the initial step in a Union attempt to force Jones and his command to retire from

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

. Jones was replaced in favor of General John Cabell Breckinridge. From April 1864 to October 1864, he was in command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. He then commanded the District of South Carolina until January 1865. When the Union Navy began shelling

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, Jones placed fifty captured Federal officers brought into town under guard. He then advised Union Maj. Gen. John G. Foster to stop the bombardment unless he wanted to risk killing his own men. An irate Foster retaliated by placing captured Confederates, including Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, directly in the line of fire from Jones's guns. In February 1865, Jones was named the commander of the Department of Florida and South Georgia, a post he held until the end of hostilities. Here he made one of the last stands of the Confederacy at the

Battle of Natural Bridge The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought during the American Civil War in what is now Woodville, Florida near Tallahassee on March 6, 1865. A small group of Confederate troops and volunteers, which included teenagers from the nearby Florida Mi ...

, and held his position until the surrender at

Appomattox, Virginia Appomattox ( ) is a town in Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County. ...

. He surrendered at

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

on May 10, 1865.

Postbellum

From 1873 to 1875, Jones served as president of the

Maryland Agricultural College The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Universi ...

. Jones died in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .
University of Maryland Timeline

External links

Confederate Army Major General Samuel Jones' Frock Coat, Model 1861
at

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...