Alexander Caldwell Jones was an American lawyer, journalist, diplomat, and

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Presidential pardson for ex-Confederates from Virginia and West Virginia

Early life

He was born in 1830 near

Moundsville, West Virginia Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia metropolitan area. The population was 8,122 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County. Th ...

, at that time a part of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, to Garrison B. Jones and Martha Houston. He enrolled at

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

on July 28, 1846, and was graduated on July 4, 1850.Alexander C. Jones, Class of 1850
''VMI Civil War Generals'' He then studied law and moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

territory, where he became a district attorney and served as probate judge in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1858-1860 he served as Minnesota's adjutant general.

Civil War

When his native state declared its secession from the United States in 1861 he returned to Virginia, where he joined the 44th Virginia Infantry. He was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel on May 1, 1862, and was wounded in the

Battle of Gaines's Mill A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. After convalescing from his injuries and serving in the Bureau of Conscription he resigned his commission on June 16, 1863, and requested a transfer to the Trans-Mississippi Dept. There he served on Gen. Magruder's staff and was then given the command of a Texas brigade of infantry. Gen. Kirby Smith recommended his promotion to brigadier-general on March 16, 1865, although there is no confirmation of his appointment. Jones was paroled in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

on July 24, 1865, as a "brigadier-general". He was given a presidential pardon, dated August 15, 1865, sponsored by the Attorney General and the Hon. J. J. Jackson, which described him as a "rebel brigadier general".

Later life

Jones left for Mexico to serve under Emperor Maximilian until the fall of his regime. He then returned to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, and lived in Wheeling with his wife Ella Clemens' family. He became the editor of the

National Intelligencer The ''National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser'' was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., from October 30, 1800 until 1870. It was the first newspaper published in the District, which was founded in 1790. It was originally a Tri- ...

, but that newspaper failed in 1869. In 1880 he was appointed U.S. Consul in Nagasaki and was transferred in 1886 to the China embassy in Chungking, where he died on Jan. 13, 1898.Allardice, Bruce S
''More Generals in Gray''
Louisiana State University Press, 1995, pp. 137-138.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Alexander C. 1830 births 1898 deaths People from Moundsville, West Virginia Virginia Military Institute alumni People of West Virginia in the American Civil War Military personnel from Minnesota American diplomats Confederate States Army officers Military personnel from West Virginia People from Wheeling, West Virginia Editors of West Virginia newspapers