Admin/Biog History	Sergeant William Jones, Company I, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry (Not to be confused with William B. Jones of the same company) enlisted from Hortonia on December 23, 1861. He mustered out on February 17, 1865 upon the expiration of his term of service. In 1895 he is listed in the Wisconsin Veterans Census at PO Hortonville, Wisconsin. He is not listed in 1905.
Category	8: Communication Artifact
Classification	Archives
Collection	Civil War Small Collections
Dates of Accumulation	June 13, 1863
Abstract	Letter from Sergeant William Jones, Company I, 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, to his brother. This is not the same man as William B. Jones who also served in Company I, but was discharged in 1862. The battle he mentions while they were escorting a supply train from Fort Sott to Fort Blunt. Fort Scott, Kansas, June 13th [1863] Dear Brother, Your letter was received just a week ago, the day I returned from a trip to Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation . [It is] about 200 miles south of this [place] on the Arkansas River. We were attacked by the secesh on the morning of the 25th of May, near Fort Gibson, by 1500 men who attempted to take the [forage]train. We repulsed [them], killing about one hundred, and we lost only five. I received a letter from Henry , written sometime in April. I did not answer it, as his time is out and he will be home. He must write soon, as he [has] there the tax that Allen claimed, and you paid. [It] is an illegal tax, made so by [the] clerk of the supervisors and could not be collected. He put the valuation of another forty [acres] to your land and yours to another. I stood ready to pay the tax when the board would correct it and they never dared sell the land and give a deed of it. They sold the land once before, and I paid what the tax ought to be legally, and have saved almost one half. I have the certificate to home now. I knew that Allen bought the certificate, but I did not think he would take that way to get it illegally, but there's no way to get it back now. I will pay it up. You shall not be the loser. The reason why I did not let you know about it was that it was all safe while I was there. And I worked to get the tax cut down and would not pay [an] illegal tax. And I could not write every little incident connected with it, as I had some of my own land in the same fix. And I was going to fight it out, and if you knew it you might be uneasy. Not understanding all about it, I will pay the tax this fall. Allen shan't pay any more taxes for me. I must close, my respects to sister Sara, Jabez, Ruth, Frank & George. From your brother William Jones
Event	Civil War
Legal Status	Oshkosh Public Museum
Notes	Sergeant William Jones, Company I, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry (Not to be confused with William B. Jones of the same company) enlisted from Hortonia on December 23, 1861. He mustered out on February 17, 1865 upon the expiration of his term of service. In 1895 he is listed in the Wisconsin Veterans Census at PO Hortonville, Wisconsin. He is not listed in 1905.
Object ID	SC411.5.58.5
Object Name	Letter
People	Jones, William
Subjects	Civil War Soldiers Cavalry Guards Military life 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry Campaigns & battles Taxes Frontier & pioneer life Farming
Title	Letter from William Jones to brother

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Last modified on: July 22, 2007