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Brigadier General William Edmonson Jones
Brigadier-General
William E. Jones was born near Glade Spring, Washington county, Va., in
May, 1824. He was educated at Emory and Henry college and at West Point,
and began service in the United States army with the rank of brevet second
lieutenant in the class of 1848. In 1847 he had received from Emory and
Henry college the degree of master of arts. His connection with the old
army continued until his resignation in 185 7, he then having the rank of
first lieutenant, mounted rifles. During this period he first served in Missouri
and Kansas, marched to Oregon in i849, remained there and in Washington Territory
until 1851 and after that was mainly on duty in Texas. After his retirement
he was engaged in farming in his native county until 1861. Upon the passage
of the ordinance of secession he had ready a company of cavalry, the Washington
Mounted Rifles, with which he joined Stuart in the Valley and took part
in the First Manassas campaign. At this time Gen. J. E. Johnston declared
that his company was the strongest in the First Virginia cavalry regiment,
"not surpassed in discipline and spirit by any in the army," and recommended
that Stuart be given brigade command and that Jones, "skillful, brave and
zealous in a very high degree," should succeed to the colonelcy, with Fitzhugh
Lee as lieutenant-colonel. Consequently he became colonel of the First,
upon the organization of Stuart's brigade, and in the spring of 1862 was
intrusted by Stuart with important duties in watching the enemy from the
Blue ridge to the Potomac. He was watchful and vigorous and made the enemy
feel his presence. Soon afterward, being displaced by a regimental election,
he was assigned to the Seventh regiment, Robertson's brigade. Rejoining Stuart
in August his regiment fighting splendidly at Brandy Station, and he was
distinguished in the Second Manassas campaign, winning commendation on several
other occasions. He participated in the raid around McClellan's army following,
the battle of Sharpsburg, and on November 8th, having been promoted brigadier-general,
was assigned to command of Robertson's, or the "Laurel brigade," largely
composed of the men who followed Ashby in the valley. December 29th he
was assigned to command of the Valley district, including his brigade and
all other troops operating in that region, being selected for this post
by Stonewall Jackson. With the co-operation of General Imboden he made,
in April and May, i863, a very successful raid upon the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad west of Cumberland, destroying an immense amount of public
and railroad property. Then joining Stuart with his splendid brigade, he
bore the first shock, and both in morning and evening the brunt of battle,
in the famous cavalry fight of Brandy Station, June 9, i863, his brigade
ending the fight with more horses and more and better small-arms than at
the beginning, and capturing two regimental colors, a battery of three
pieces and about 250 prisoners. During the advance of Lee into Pennsylvania,
Jones, who, had been pronounced by Stuart "the best outpost officer" in the
cavalry, was depended upon mainly to cover the rear and flank of the army.
He defeated a Federal cavalry regiment at Fairfield, Pa., and after the
retreat of Lee was begun pushed forward rapidly to protect the wagon trains
of Ewell's division. Hurrying on with his, staff on the night Of July 4th,
he found Emack's Maryland company with one gun, holding at bay a Federal
division, with only half the train gone by. He joined in the desperate
fight in person and with his companions until his command was scattered
by a charge of cavalry. Separated from his followers, he made his way alone
to Williamsport and organized all the men he could gather in the confusion
for the defense of the place before the arrival of Imboden. Then, with half
a dozen companies, he made his way through the enemy's lines to his command,
and returned with it to participate in the attacks on Kilpatrick at Hagerstown
and on Buford at Williamsport. During the campaign, he reported, his brigade
fought in three battles and the affair at Boonsboro, and captured over 600
prisoners. Soon afterward an unfortunate break in his relations with General
Stuart, which had existed since the fall of 1861, became so intensified as
to have serious results. Col. O. R. Funsten was given temporary command of
the brigade, and on October 9th General Jones was ordered to report for duty
in southwest Virginia. There he organized an excellent cavalry brigade,
with which he co-operated with Longstreet in east Tennessee, and in November
defeated the enemy near Rogersville. At Saltville, Va., in May, 1864, with
Gen. John H. Morgan, he foiled Averell's designs against that post, defeated
the Federals at Wytheville, and pursued them to Dublin. On May 23d he was
assigned to command of the department of Southwest Virginia in the absence
of General Breckinridge. It was at that moment a position of great importance,
as the district was in a turmoil on account of the incursions of Averell
and Crook and Sigel, and Hunter was preparing to advance on Lynchburg. Early
in June three strong columns of the enemy were marching against him, and he
made a stand with his own brigade, Imboden's and Vaughn's before Hunter, at
Piedmont. In the desperate fight which followed, June 5th, he was killed and
his body fell into the hands of the enemy.
Confederate Military History, Vol. III, ppp. 616-618
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