Portrait photograph of Charles Pinckney Jones

Charles Pinckney Jones (September 17, 1845 – February 22, 1914) was an American soldier and politician. Jones was born in Pendleton County. He enlisted in the Confederate States Army. He served as a Private in the

18th Virginia Cavalry The 18th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia, in southwest Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valle ...

; and according to the Fort Stevens Confederate order of battle the unit was assigned to Imboden's and W.L. Jackson's Brigade participating in the Gettysburg Campaign, skirmishing the Federals in western Virginia. Later the cavalry served in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

before disbanding in April, 1865. He attended the

University of Virginia Law School The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

graduating with distinction in 1868. He established a law practice in Monterey, Virginia. On January 17, 1872, he married Martha Jane Wilson, great-great-great granddaughter of Colonel John Wilson, a longtime member of the Virginia House of Burgesses until his death in 1773. Jones was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1883. In 1885 he was elected to the Virginia State Senate, serving the counties of Highland, Bath and Alleghany until 1897. From 1898 to 1906, he was a member of th
Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia
and in that first year was elected by the board to be the Rector of the University. He was the last Rector to serve the university before they adopted the presidential system for the school. The first president of the University, Edwin A. Alderman, was informally installed as President September 15, 1904. Charles P. Jones formally inducted the new president at a ceremony on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's birthday anniversary, April 13, 1905.2 Alumni Bulletin of the University of Virginia, Vol 4-6
/ref> He died in Monterey, Virginia. The C.P. Jones House and Law Office at Monterey was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Charles Pinckney 1845 births 1914 deaths Confederate States Army soldiers Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Highland County, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Virginia state senators 19th-century American politicians People from Pendleton County, West Virginia 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers