Private Andrew Jones
Pvt. Andrew Jones
Pvt Andrew Jones was born about 1827 in Franklin County, Virginia, and enlisted on October 3, 1864, in Johnsonville, Tennessee. He was described as 37 years old, 5’9” tall, with black complexion, black eyes, and black hair. His occupation was listed as farmer, and he enlisted for three years. Jones was paid $100 of a $300 bounty.
He served with the 13th United States Colored Infantry Company F. Already serving in this regiment was another Jones from Franklin County, a younger soldier. We have no way of knowing if they are related or simply took the same surname from a former enslaver. This regiment was placed on railroad guard duty in Tennessee and Alabama on the line of Nashville & Northwestern Railroad until December 1864. The regiment was noted for their part in the repulse of Confederate Gen. John Hood’s attack on Johnsonville on September 25 and the Battle of Nashville on December 15-16, 1864, although Jones was sick and hospitalized during that battle.
Jones got sick and landed in the hospital two separate times. The first was a stint between December 1864 through February 1865. The second was between September and October of 1865. He survived the war and mustered out with his regiment on January 10, 1866.
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The National Archive could not locate his pension file although a certificate number suggests he did receive a pension after the war. There is no indication that he was married or had a family. Freedman’s Bureau record for 1865 –1872 identified Andrew Jones as an employed laborer in Pulaski TN, for John Fry who provided clothing and paid his doctor bills. Later in life, Andrew appeared to adopt another name, Andy Lewis, recorded as an alias on a pension application filed in 1891 and again in 1904.
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Contributors: Breanna Helton, Sarah Plummer and Cathie Cummins