Jenkins recruited a company of the 5th South Carolina Infantry
Regiment and was elected as
colonel on April 13, 1861. He fought under
David R. Jones at the
First Battle of Bull Run and later was brigaded under General
Richard H. Anderson. During the April 1862 reorganization of the army, Jenkins retained his command of the 5th South Carolina. At the
Battle of Seven Pines, Anderson was temporarily put in division command while Jenkins got brigade command of his own regiment, the 6th South Carolina, and the
Palmetto Sharpshooters. He led with distinction in that battle, leading his brigade around the Union's flanks to their rear and forcing them to retreat 1.5 miles to the rear. During the battle, he was wounded in the knee. Also during that year Jenkins was colonel of the
Palmetto Sharpshooters. Considered one of the war's "boy generals", he was promoted to the rank of
brigadier general on July 22, 1862, at the age of 26. He was later wounded at the
Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, this time in the shoulder and chest. Consequently, Jenkins was absent from the
Army of Northern Virginia when it fought the
Battle of Antietam. Jenkins' brigade served in the division of
Maj. Gen. George Pickett at the
Battle of Fredericksburg, although it was not engaged. Pickett's division participated in the campaign of
Lt. Gen. James Longstreet against
Suffolk, Virginia, in 1863, but Jenkins' brigade was retained near
Richmond, Virginia, missing the
Battle of Gettysburg. Jenkins and his brigade went with Hood's Division of the
First Corps to Tennessee in the fall of 1863, and participated in the second day's fighting of the
Battle of Chickamauga on September 20. When division commander Maj. Gen.
John Bell Hood was elevated to lead a corps; a bitter rivalry broke out over his succession. Brig. Gen.
Evander Law had been in the division since it was created and had already commanded it on several occasions, including at Gettysburg and Chickamauga. However Jenkins was the senior officer, being promoted three months earlier, and with support of Longstreet took command. The internal quarrel greatly hindered the unit's efficiency in late 1863. When the corps returned to the Army of Northern Virginia in early 1864 the issue was resolved when Brig. Gen.
Charles W. Field, who was senior to both, was assigned to the division, given command and promoted to Major General. On January 16, 1864, Jenkins led his brigade to victory in the small
Battle of Kimbrough's Crossroads against Federal cavalry. During the
Battle of the Wilderness, Jenkins was riding with Lt. Gen. Longstreet when both were struck down by friendly fire on May 6, 1864. Although Longstreet survived, Jenkins died of his head wound a few hours later, and was buried in
Magnolia Cemetery,
Charleston, South Carolina. ==Personal life==