1861 June 29

[a continuation of the previous day's letter from John W. Jones]

I was called off yesterday evening to go to Winchester
for the box wh[ich] you wrote me the other day you
h[a]d sent. The pants sent me were too small but
I exchanged them for another pair in the box wh[ich] fit
very well and for wh[ich] accept my thanks. Pen, Ed, & I
were put on guard at seven yesterday evening and
will not be relieved until seven this evening and I
am now writing at the guard house – or rock rather
as our present “guard house’ consists of a rocky
hill pretty well shaded. Pen has just gotten Sister’s
letter and it was a real treat to us as were also
the letters from you, Ma & Lute recd. two or three
days ago. I hope that all of our letters from the C.H.
will come safely now and that ours to you
will also go straight. But it is a sore trial to
me not to be able to get letters from Page –
I have not recd. a line from her since I left home
and fear that she has not gotten one in
ten of my letters. And by some strange careless-
ness Sister’s letter to Page and your’s to
Jimmie (although plainly directed to Kurrill’s shop)
were sent to me the other day with your letters.
We have sent Kit Walthal down for our box
and hope most sincerely that it will come
safely to hand. – We heard yesterday evening a
well authenticated account of a fight near
Romney (9 miles off) in wh[ich] the Ashbys (Dick
& Turner) figured very conspicuously. Dick
Ashby (who has be[The rest of this page on the right side is missing.]
Turner was made
a party of five
were suddenly
U. S. dragoons.
their way throu[gh]
in doing so with
six or seven
self being ver
not dangerously ^‘mortally’
soon after that

[p. 4]
hastily collecting some 15, or 20 of his men
& pursued the enemy, overtook them
(now reinforced to sixty) charged them,
with his men dismounted, put them to
flight, sent back for some more
men and then chased them over the
Potomac and into their lines. He killed
six of them with his own hands and
twenty-seven of them are known to have
been killed while we lost only two men
and several wounded. – You ask about the
Chaplaincy – I am called off on duty now
and must write you about it in my
next. Best love to all. Will write again soon.
Your most aff son
J. Wm. Jones
John has left me this little dirty space in wh.[which] to write –
to some of you. I can scarcely collect my ideas in so short a
space and under the circumstances wh. have been men-
tioned by John. Standing guard rainy nights is different from
sleeping on feather beds and the fact is I had much rather
engage in the last mentioned performance; its all right
however, and I am satisfied. Our boys are getting on tolerably
well. Gum Beadles broke out last night with measles – is not very
sick [Left corner of page is missing.] added to our brigade &
Hill resuming his
have not time to
and dine and get ready
Lute’s letter direct
to her & sister very
Very Affectionately
F. Pendleton Jones

Turner Ashby, 1828-1862, was a relative of the Jones brothers on their mother's side. Turner's brother Richard "Dick" Ashby was mortally wounded in the brief skirmish with a Union patrol described above in Pendleton's letter. In July of 1861 General Joseph E. Johnston appointed Turner Ashby a lieutenant colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry. He would play an important role in the upcoming Manassas/Bull Run campaign by screening the movements of the Confederate army.

MSS 13407