James Burrell Jones (far left)
James Burrell Jones’ second son is born tonight, the day before eighteen-year old Jones marches off to war, leaving his teenage wife to raise two children and tend their south Georgia farm. She “did all the farming, plowed, hoed and everything that has to be done on a farm. She also spun and weaved and all of the clothes for herself and three children and took care of all the cows and hogs.”
Born in 1842 in Wayne County, Georgia, Jones grew up in the countryside. “It was about fifteen miles to the nearest store and we only went to town about twice a year. My mother spun and weaved all of our clothes.”
Jones’ army experience encapsulates the family connections that often led Confederate men to enlist in the army:
I left July 31, 1861. We went to Lulaton and formed our company and elected our officers. Capt. J. C, Nickles was elected Captain and Harley Jones, my brother was elected first lieutenant. James knox, my wife’s uncle was elected Second Lieutenant, John F. Highsmith, my wife’s brother was elected third Lieutenant and I was elected sargent. As there was no train on the Brunswick road we had to march to Brunswick the distance of 30 miles. Not being used to walking such a long distance we were pretty well worn out when we landed at Brunswick, there we joined in with twenty six (26th) Georgia Infantry and there we formed a regiment and Carry W. Stile was our Col. and William McDonald was our Lieutenant Col.
Jones summarizes his life as a Confederate soldier:
I had not been used to camp life and I was taken sick and was sent to the hospital. The Physician of our regiment who was in charge of the hospital was W. B. Folks from Waycross. He gave me a discharge in disability from service, I left the command and returned home I stayed and home until 1862. I re-enlisted in the Fourth Georgia Batallian, 1862 and Captain Turner came from, Thomas County with a squad of men. The companies had more men than they needed, myself and four others from Kings Co. volunteered and went into Turner’s Company. So there was enough men transferred from other companies to fill out Turner’s Company. Then we fromed the Fourth Georgia Calvary. Clinch was our Col. and John L. Harris was out Lieutenant Co. I helped to form two companies and two regiments. I remained on the regiment. Then came a message for us to meet the enemies at Olustee, Florida. There we gained the victory of that fight and after the battle we stayed in Florida some time, doing picket duty (watching) at different points in Florida. They sent a squad of our men to Ft. Gates and the Yankees came out and captured the whole picket and carried them away.
Sometime after that we returned back to Screven Georgia where we had been stationed. We soon received orders to go to a place near Savannah, then we dismounted and was sent to Johns Island in South Carolina to meet the enemies there. Then we put the enemies to flight again. They charged their work just before day light. They elevated their guns too high and shot above our heads, only a few of our men were killed. But when they got back to the gun boat, we got behind the bankment where they were stationed. They shelled us with grape and canister. When they hit the bankment they would knock the dirt all over us. We were careful enough not to put our heads above the bank. We was behind the bank to keep the shells from hitting us. We returned back to Savannah and stopped at Macon awhile. Then we were sent to different parts of Georgia to meet our enemies.
He survives the war, recalling:
After I returned home I farmed and timbered twelve years. After that I went in the turpentine business six years. Since that time I have been engaged in different occupations …. I have been married four times and the father of twenty children, only seven now are living. I have about sixty grand children near one hundred great grand children and six great great grand children. I could say a good many other things but time and space want admit.
In the post-war years, Jones is converted to the Baptist faith:
I was desirious to know the plan of salvation. I lay down on my bed one night with the same desire, there came a light from the East going toward the East Coast. When it got near me it made a quick change and went right into my breast. In a few minutes there came a second light in the same place and the same change, about the same time came a third. When I roused up I was in a prostrate conditiion, I had no power, no weight, no strength and I was a light body within. Now this showed me that I had no power within myself to gain the influence of God myself, righteousness was all done away with. It was some little time before that feeling vanished away. Now I don’t know what those lights were unless it was the Father, Son and Holy Ghosts. Now I have fone(?) from time to time, it seems, as far away from God as I could but when I go to church and hear a gospel sermon preached those lights appear to me as same as ever, I could not get rid of them, I finally went to the Primitive Baptist Church and offered myself and was received. There were two ladies who joined the same time I did. When I related what I had to the church, there was a precious sister came next to answer her questions, when they asked her what she had to say in reguards to her feeling she said I had told her feelings better than she could. It gave me great satisfaction that somebody else had witnessed as same as I had.
Source: The recollections of James Burrell Jones, dictated in 1927 (link)
