|
 John
B. Jones (1834-1881) -
Confederate officer and Major in the Texas Rangers,
John B. Jones was born in Fairfield District
South Carolina, on December 22, 1834 to
Henry and Nancy (Robertson) Jones. He moved with his family to Texas
when he was just four years old, first settling in Travis County. He
attended Rutersville College near La Grange, Texas
before moving back to
South Carolina, where he attended Mt.
Zion College at Winnsboro.
After he graduated he returned to Texas
and began farming and stock-raising. When the
Civil War
broke out, he volunteered in the
Confederate Army as a private in Colonel Benjamin Terry’s Texas Rangers.
However, only after a month, he was appointed Adjutant of the Fifteenth
Texas Infantry and remained in the Trans-Mississippi Department throughout
the war. He saw service in Texas,
Arkansas,
Louisiana and Indian Territory.
In 1863, he was appointed Adjutant-General of a brigade.
At wars end, Jones took the defeat of the
Confederacy hard, and after the war, he spent some time traveling in
Mexico and Brazil trying to establish a colony for other disgruntled
former
Confederates. However, never finding a suitable location, he returned
to Texas
and in 1868 was elected to the Texas State Legislature, but did not take
the seat.
In May, 1874, he was appointed by Governor Richard Coke, Major of the
Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers
and took command of six companies. While in command, he participated in a
number of Indian
skirmishes with the
Comanche,
Kiowa and
Apache. In 1877,
he was sent to El Paso in an attempt to restore order among the citizens.
That same year, he was sent to Lampasas, Texas
to negotiate a truce in the notorious Horrell-Higgins Feud. He was also
involved in capturing or killing a number of
outlaws
including Sam Bass in 1878.
In 1879, he was appointed as the Adjutant-General of the State of Texas.
While serving as adjutant general and still commanding the Frontier
Battalion, he died of natural causes in Austin on July 19, 1881. He is
buried in Oakwood Cemetery.
John B. Jones is a member of the Texas Ranger
Hall of Fame.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, November, 2010.
|
|
|
From the Rocky Mountain General Store
 Wild
West Photo Art -
Images include collages, photographs with with watercolor and poster
effects, colorized black & white photos, and digital enhancements to
improve the composition of the finished product. Prints are available in
photos,
giclee fine
art, and canvas. Artwork by
Kathy Weiser-Alexander.
|
