UNDER THE CONFEDERACY
6i
siege of Vera Cruz. He also served in the
United States Coast Survey with Alaury,
and at the naval observatory. He assisted
Dahlgren in conducting his experiments
with the Dahlgren gun, and at his request
Lieut. Jones was ordered to the Merriinac
as ordnance officer, and at her return from
her cruise he was selected by Dahlgren as
executive officer of the ordnance ship Ply-
mouth, which was the first to mount an
eleven inch gun upon a naval carriage. He
later served as ordnance officer of the Para-
guay expedition. Jones, coming of a Vir-
ginia family distinguished in public service
for many generations, was proud of his
state and believed in the right of secession,
and on the day of the passage of the seces-
sion ordinance at once resigned his com-
mission. Gov. Letcher appointed him a cap-
tain in the Virginia navy. With Capt. Pe-
gram he organized an expedition, and seized
the naval powder magazine from under the
guns of the Cumberland, and other men-of-
war. The battle of Bull Run was fought
with this powder. He then performed a
useful service in improving the harbor de-
fences of Norfolk and James river. He
erected batteries at Jamestown island,
which lend so much to the present pictur-
esqueness of the site of the first settlement.
Here he experimented with targets to test
the efficiency of different kinds of arms for
ships and in November, 1861, was ordered
as executive and ordnance ofificer to the
Mcrriiunc, which had been scuttled In' the
Federals, when they abandoned the navy
yard at Norfolk. He aided in converting the
Mcrrimac into the Virginia, plated Avith
iron two inches thick. He served as third
in command, in the battle of March 8, 1862,
with the Federal wooden fleet, which was
defeated. In this conflict Flag Officer Lieut.
Franklin Buchanan and F^lag Lieut. Minor
were both wounded and disabled and Jones
commanded the Virginia in the battle next
day with the Monitor. The engagement lasted
four hours, at the end of which time the
captain of the Monitor was blinded by a
shell, and his ship retired from action. The
I irginia was unable to get close enough to
the Minnesota to destroy her, and steamed
back to Norfolk. As Lieut. Buchanan was
unable to resvmie command, the government
at Richmond placed the Virginia under Com-
modore Josiah Tatnall and made Lieut
Jones his sei:ond ; Commodore Tatnall as-
sumed command March 29, 1862, and on
April II the reconstructed J'irginia steamed
down the Roads expecting again to meet
the Monitor, but the fleet of United States
vessel was behind Fort Monroe and did
not come out for a second trial ; on May 8
the Virginia again went down to the Roads,
to find the Monitor, Nangatuck, Galena and
a number of heavy ships shelling the Con-
federate batteries on Sewell's Point, and on
the approach of the Virginia the fleet retired
under the protecting guns of Fort Mon-
roe, and Tatnall, despairing of obtaining an
open fight, fired a gun to the windward and
took the Virginia back to her Jjuoy. After
the evacuation of Norfolk by the Confederate
forces, the Virginia steamed down the Eliza-
beth river to co-operate with the army, but
or. reaching Hampton Roads the pilots de-
clined to venture farther up, and Commo-
dore Tatnall gave orders to destroy her,
and she was burned on the shore near Craney
Island, the crew escaping by marching to
Suffolk and taking the cars to Richmond,
Lieuts. Jones and John Taylor Wood being
the last to leave the famous vessel, which
