Jones, a cousin of
Robert E. Lee, graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1851 and was commissioned a
second lieutenant in the cavalry, serving in
New Mexico, where he participated in the
Gila Expedition. In 1861 while serving on recruiting duty at
Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, he was ordered to take a detachment of recruits to
Harpers Ferry, Virginia to protect the arsenal there from being taken by approaching
Virginia militiamen. Unable to defend against an overwhelming force, he ordered the weapons and stores be destroyed, and retreated into
Pennsylvania. == Later life and death ==