Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Charles H. Jones (b. circa 1847 - d. 1903)
MSA SC 3520-5146
USCT Soldier, Kent County, Maryland

Biography:

    Charles H. Jones was born in Betterton, Kent County, Maryland1 around March 15 18472.  Jones did not have to endure the perils of slavery as he was free born. 3 Before the war he was a farmer by occupation in Kent County. 4 As the Civil War progressed, Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 enabling free blacks and slaves to join the war effort for the Union cause. 5  Although, Maryland was not considered part of the proclamation, many still took advantage of the opportunity. 6 Free blacks, such as Jones, would help in leading the crusade against slavery. 

    Jones enlisted in Company F of the 7th U.S. Colored Troops regiment on September 27, 1863. 7  During the war, he served as a private before being promoted to corporal. 8  The 7th regiment participated in numerous battles that included places, such as Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. 9  While in Florida, Jones' Company (F) was one of three sent to protect Fort Hatch, a Union camp near Jacksonville. 10  It was in Jacksonville that he contracted a disease within his right eye. 11 That disease would hinder him for the remainder of his life.  Charles H. Jones was officially discharged from the army on October 13, 1866 at Indianola, Texas. 12  The regiment was in Indianola for 18 months after the war serving as a garrison.  13  However, Company F was ordered to Lavaca, Texas where they were required to patrol prisoners and administering the oath of allegiance.  14

    After the war, he married Frances Perkins in Kent County, Maryland. 15 According to an affidavit from Frances' sister, Rachel Perkins, the two were married in Chestertown, Maryland at the home of Rev. Wm. Frisby. 16 They married just two years after his discharge on June 17, 1868.  By 1890, a pension application acknowledges his various disabilities including disease of the eyes, heart and head, while also suffering from rheumatism and neuralgia. 17  In 1898, Charles and Frances had four children listed on a pension application with their birth dates ranging from 1873 to 1885. 18 The couple moved to Baltimore after their marriage where they resided at 946 South Eutaw Street19 and 623 King Street20. It was the latter address where Charles H. Jones died on July 2, 1903. 21 He was buried at the National Cemetery in Baltimore on July 5, 1903. 22


Endnotes:

1. BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record), Dates: 06/1903-09/1903, Charles H. Jones, Reel: CR 48123, MSA CM1132-80.

2. Ibid.

3. COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY (Bounty Rolls), 1864-1880, Volunteers, Charles H. Jones, Reel: SR 4438, [MSA SM183-1], Page 145.

4. Ancestry.com. U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865, Company F, 7th Regiment, Charles H. Jones, Image Number 283.

5. Agnes Kane Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, Civil War: 7th Regiment United States Colored Troops 1863-1866 (Baltimore, MD: Mullac Publishers, 1990), 1.

6. The Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland and the University of Maryland College Park, Maryland, A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland, 2007, 16.

7. Ancestry.com. U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, Company F, 7th Regiment, Charles H. Jones.

8. Ibid.

9. Callum, 41.

10. Ibid., 19.

11. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) [MSA SC 4126] Charles H. Jones, Box 16, Folder 316, Pages 5, 16.

12. Ibid., 5.

13. Callum, 34.

14. Ibid.

15. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) Charles H. Jones, Page 38, 39, 41.

16. Ibid., 28.

17. Ibid., 3

18. Ibid., 39.

19. Ibid., 3.

20. Ibid., 24.

21. BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record), Dates: 06/1903-09/1903, Charles H. Jones, Reel: CR 48123, MSA CM1132-80.

22. Ibid.

Researched and written by Tanner Sparks, 2012.

Return to Charles H. Jones' Introductory Page
 
 


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