Jones, Walter Franklin, 1841

Papers, ca.1860-1862 March 12
9 items

Jones, Walter Franklin, b. 1841
Rank:	2nd Lieutenant
Regiment:	61st New York Infantry Regiment. Co. K. (1861-1865)
Service:	1861 September 10-1865

Background note:

When the Civil War broke out in April, 1861, Walter Franklin Jones was nearing completion of his studies at Yale. After commencement, Jones returned to his home in New York City, and in September, he enlisted for three years in the 61st New York Infantry, receiving a commission as 2nd Lieutenant of Company K on November 9th. Jones served with the 61st until his discharge on April 29th, 1862, and later saw service as a Lieutenant in Co. A of the 14th New York Cavalry, remaining with that unit until it was consolidated near the end of the war. Both the 61st Infantry and 14th Cavalry served in Virginia, attached to or in coordination with the main body of the Army of the Potomac.

At the end of the war, Jones received a Lieutenant's commission in the 151st New York Infantry, but never mustered.

Scope and Contents:

Six of Jones letters were written home from Camp California, near Faifax Court House, Va., in the first months of 1862, when the 61st Regiment was attached to the slow moving Army of the Potomac. Jones' letters are well written, but not particularly eventful. These letters do more to illustrate the slow pace of the Army of the Potomac than to provide details of camp life or battle. He remained optimistic that the war would end soon, "but if not," he wrote, "I would rather that we were well whipped, than that foreign nations would speak of us, as more frightened than hurt." He hoped particularly that he would have the chance to fight in a battle before it all ended.

Some of the more interesting letters in the collection include a description of a New Years' celebration among officers at which "an examination of the darkies [for allegedly stealing a bottle of brandy] was the most amusing part;" an account of Beauregard using "Quaker guns" at Munson's Hill to buy him time to reinforce positions at Centreville; and a mention of guard duty, during which Jones had to hand cuff and gag one man, and during which he encountered an Orderly Sergeant who had been imprisoned for five months for shooting a man for disobedience of orders. The collection also includes two souvenirs collected by Jones at Bull Run: a blade of grass from the battlefield and a piece of a Confederate flag.

Reference:

Fuller, Charles A. Personal recollections of the War of 1861. Sherburne, 1906.

Provenance:

The Jones Papers were donated to the Clements Library in December, 1990, by Sally Pyne Kennedy, a descendent.

M-2606
cat. 2/92 rsc

Link to subject index to the Walter Franklin Jones Papers

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