Jones, William C., b. ca.1844
Rank:	Private
Regiment:	38th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Co. A (1862-1865)
Service:	1862 July 28-1863 July 4

Background note:

William C. Jones, an 18 year old clerk from Cambridge, Mass., enlisted in Co. A. of the 38th Massachusetts Volunteers during the summer of 1862. The best of intentions, however, did not keep him in the army for long, for less than a year later, he was discharged after contracting a strength-sapping illness. His age may have played a minor role in his discharge, as his superiors apparently considered him too young to bear the full duties of an infantryman.

During Jones' brief enlistment, he saw a good deal of the war zone, if not of action. At about the end of August, 1862, the 38th Massachusetts Infantry was ordered to Baltimore, and they remained in Maryland until November, when they were assigned to join Banks' expedition to Louisiana. Boarding the S.S. Baltic, the regiment arrived at Ship Island on December 13th, and proceeded to Carrollton, La., on New Years day, and to Baton Rouge in March. At about the same time that the regiment was experiencing its first action during the Bayou Teche expedition in the first week of April, Jones fell out of the ranks, too weak to bear arms. He received his discharge on July 4.

Scope and contents:

William C. Jones' Civil War correspondence provides a very thorough documentation of one young recruit's very uneventful service in the 38th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Having taken ill just as his regiment entered into its first action during the Vicksburg Campaign, Jones' letters -- all addressed to his mother -- include no battle accounts and no stories of confrontations with the enemy. They are, however, a fine resource for examining the routine of army life, from the camps outside Baltimore to steamer travel on the Mississippi to camp life in Louisiana. A literate and entertaining writer, Jones' letters include comments on his superiors, his religious views, and secessionists and the southern population.

The collection contains two letters addressed to Jones's mother, one from the Capt. J. P. Richardson (Co. A), and the other from Walter W. Hammond, referred to as the "poet of Cambridge." Both letters reassure Mrs. Jones of her boy's well being.

The William C. Jones Papers have been fully microfilmed.

Reference:

Powers, George Whitefield. The story of the Thirty eighth regiment of Massachusetts volunteers. (Cambridge, 1866).

M-2279
Recat. 3/97 rsc

Link to subject index to the William C. Jones Papers

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