Following the attack on Fort Sumter in April of 1861, Jones returned to Claiborne County to enlist as a private in the Claiborne Guards, Company H (later Company K), Twelfth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry. After his company commander was killed at the battle of Seven Pines, Virginia, Jones was promoted to the rank of captain in June of 1862. He was captured twice and wounded three times during the war. Jones was last wounded at the battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia, on August 18, 1864. He was captured and sent to Fort Delaware Prison on the Delaware River. However, Jones was exchanged as a prisoner of war after only two months. He rejoined the Twelfth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, after fully recovering from his wounds. Jones was last captured at the battle of Fort Gregg, Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865. He was first sent to the Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C., and then to Johnson’s Island Prison, Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio. Jones took an oath of allegiance to the United States government on June 18, 1865, and he was released from military prison.

Jones returned to Claiborne County on July 4, 1865, and he began farming a portion of the family plantation. He married Mary H. Calhoun on October 24, 1867. The couple had eight children: Cabell Calhoun (b. January 1870), Anna Amelia (b. October 1872), William Thomas (b. March 1876), Mary Lou (b. April 1878), Etta (?) Eliza (b. November 1879), Virginia Hughes (b. February 1882), Archelaus Kirkland, and John Meriwether. The Jones family lived at Collina, near Port Gibson, Claiborne County. Jones was elected to the board of supervisors of Claiborne County in 1875. He was elected as chancery clerk of Claiborne County in 1877 and served until 1897. Jones was an active communicant of Saint James Episcopal Church, Port Gibson, until his death on February 2, 1911.

The first section contains field notes that Jones apparently made while he was a civil engineering student. The field notes consist of hand-drawn plots of unidentified land, with distances measured in links noted between specific man-made or natural landmarks. Also included are names and addresses, presumably acquaintances of Jones, and about a page-and-a-half of what are apparently square-dance calls.

The second section contains military personnel-related notes that Jones kept while serving in Company K, Twelfth Regiment, Mississippi Infantry. The notes are similar in format to a muster roll and include such information as rank, absences, and whether a soldier was captured, killed, on picket duty, a prisoner, or wounded. Also included are lists of names with monetary amounts noted beside each one. Some of these lists may relate to soldiers’ pay or the value of personal effects recovered from deceased soldiers. At the end of the section is an alphabetically arranged list of names, which notes rank and whether a soldier was discharged or killed, and if so, how and where he died.

The third section contains a diary that Jones kept between January and June of 1865. The entries record his thoughts on the war, troop movements, and weather conditions. Of interest are entries that Jones made between April and June regarding the defense of Fort Gregg and his subsequent capture on April 2, 1865. Jones also relates his experiences at the Old Capitol and Johnson’s Island prisons. In the last entry on June 20, 1865, Jones mentions preparing to board the steamboat Missouri in order to return home to Mississippi.

1. Field Book. 1861-1865; n.d. 1 bound volume.