The following letter was written by 19 year-old Owen Jones (1842-1921), the son of Isaiah Jones (1812-1888) and Matilda Darrah (1812-1888) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Owen enlisted in Co. K, 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves (32nd Volunteers). This regiment was organized at Philadelphia and moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, on 20 May 1861. They remained in “Camp Washington” at Easton until 22 July when they moved to Harrisburg where they were mustered into the US Service on 28 July. Owen was promoted to corporal on 1 March 1862 and then discharged on a surgeon’s certificate on 2 December 1862. After the war, Owen was employed as a police officer in Philadelphia.
Owen’s letter was written on 1 May 1863 from Falmouth during Gen. Irvin McDowell’s advance on Fredericksburg with 30,000 men. Their objective was to gain control of the town and potentially cross the Rappahannock River to continue their march on Richmond. Stonewall Jackson’s maneuvers in the Shenandoah Valley, however, disrupted this advance and forced McDowell to withdraw.
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