Civil War Union Army Officer. He joined the Union Army in the first summer of the war, and was mustered in as a Sergeant in in Company E, 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry on September 18, 1861. He rose in rank during the war, being promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on December 5, 1862, 1st Lieutenant on July 4, 1864, and and Captain and commander of his Company on October 10, 1864. He gained a lasting place in American military history in the early morning of July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There he commanded one of the most forward videttes of Union General John Buford's cavalry forces west of the town, and around seven o'clock in the morning he squeezed off a round at Confederate forces that were crossing nearby Marsh Creek. This is considered the opening shot of the Battle of Gettysburg, an engagement that would see over 52,000 men killed, wounded and missing over the next three days. Captain Jones would served through the rest of the war, and being honorably mustered out on July 17, 1865 at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1886 a monument was erected to the "First Shot" where he stood on that morning, and can be seen today on Chambersburg Pike at Knoxlyn Road, three miles west of town.
Civil War Union Army Officer. He joined the Union Army in the first summer of the war, and was mustered in as a Sergeant in in Company E, 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry on September 18, 1861. He rose in rank during the war, being promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on December 5, 1862, 1st Lieutenant on July 4, 1864, and and Captain and commander of his Company on October 10, 1864. He gained a lasting place in American military history in the early morning of July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There he commanded one of the most forward videttes of Union General John Buford's cavalry forces west of the town, and around seven o'clock in the morning he squeezed off a round at Confederate forces that were crossing nearby Marsh Creek. This is considered the opening shot of the Battle of Gettysburg, an engagement that would see over 52,000 men killed, wounded and missing over the next three days. Captain Jones would served through the rest of the war, and being honorably mustered out on July 17, 1865 at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1886 a monument was erected to the "First Shot" where he stood on that morning, and can be seen today on Chambersburg Pike at Knoxlyn Road, three miles west of town.
Bio by: RPD2
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