- Sam Jones (Confederate Army officer)
Infobox Military Person
name= Samuel Jones
lived=December 17 ,1819 –July 31 ,1887
caption=
nickname=
placeofbirth=Woodfield, Virginia
placeofdeath=Bedford Springs, Virginia
allegiance=Confederate States of America
branch=
serviceyears= 1861–65
rank=
unit=
commands= Department of Florida and South Georgia
battles=American Civil War
awards=
relations=
laterwork=Samuel Jones (
December 17 ,1819 –July 31 ,1887 ) was a major general in theConfederate States Army during theAmerican Civil War .Early life
Jones was born in
Woodfield, Virginia . He graduated from theUnited States Military Academy in 1841 and was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S.Artillery . He served at a variety of posts throughout the westernfrontier .Civil War
With the
secession of Virginia in 1861, Jones was commissioned as amajor in the state corps of artillery. He later joined the Provisional Confederate Army and served as chief of artillery and ordnance. He was promoted tocolonel in recognition of his service, and on July 21, 1861, to brigadier general. He was promoted to major general on March 10, 1862. [Eicher, p. 325.]From
December 4 ,1862 , untilMarch 4 ,1864 , Jones commanded the Department of Western Virginia, with his headquarters atDublin, Virginia . He was in general charge of the operations in defense of theVirginia & Tennessee Railroad and the vital salt mines. The September 1863Battle of Blountsville was the initial step in a Union attempt to force Jones and his command to retire fromEast Tennessee .He then commanded the district of South Carolina until January 1865. When the
Union Navy began shellingCharleston, South Carolina , 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' 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, when he surrendered at Tallahassee on
May 10 ,1865 .Postbellum
From 1873 to 1875, Jones served as president of the
Maryland Agricultural College .Jones died in
Bedford Springs, Virginia , and is buried inHollywood Cemetery inRichmond, Virginia .References
* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* [http://www.urhome.umd.edu/timeline/ University of Maryland Timeline]Notes
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