JONES,
JOHN WILLIAM

(September 25, 1836–1909), was a Confederate Chaplain during the Civil War, serving in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. He was instrumental in the numerous revivals that swept through troops, resulting in over 100,000 conversions. Chaplain J. William Jones had been ordained a Baptist missionary and was preparing to leave for China when the war broke out. He enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army and within a year began serving as a chaplain. His reports of the ongoing revival that he had witnessed among the Confederate troops are recorded in his work, Christ in the Camp, published in 1887:

Any history of this army which omits an account of the wonderful influence of religion upon it—which fails to tell how the courage, discipline, and morale was influenced by the humble piety and evangelical zeal of many of its officers and men—would be incomplete and unsatisfactory.2749

It is believed that no army in the world’s history ever had in it so much of genuine, devout piety, so much of active work for Christ, as the Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of our noble Christian leader.2750

On the bloody campaign from the Rapidan to Cold Harbor in 1864, when the army was constantly in the trenches or on the march, and fought almost daily, Bryan’s Georgia Brigade had a season of comparative repose, while held in reserve, when they had from three to five [religious] meetings a day, which resulted in about fifty professions of conversions, most of whom … [were] baptized in a pond which was exposed to the enemy’s fire, and where several men were wounded while the ordinance was being administered.2751

Chaplain Jones wrote of a Captain in the Georgia Brigade who was converted at one of the prayer meetings. The Captain professed publicly:

Men, I have led you into many a battle. … Alas! I have (also) led you into all manner of wickedness and vice. … I have enlisted under the banner of the Cross, and mean, by God’s help, to prove a faithful soldier of Jesus. … I call upon you, my brave boys, to follow me, as I shall try to follow “the Captain of our salvation.”2752

Chaplain Jones records that one evening General Stonewall Jackson had discussed strategies with his generals. As they left the meeting, A.P. Hill remarked to Richard Ewell, “Well, I suppose Jackson wants time to pray over it.” Later Richard Ewell found General Jackson on his knees fervently praying for guidance, and exclaimed, “If that is religion, I must have it.”2753

August 21, 1863, had been declared a Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer for the South. Chaplain J. William Jones took note of the response:

I can never forget the effect produced by the reading of this order. … A precious revival was already in progress in many of the commands. … The work of grace among the troops widened and deepened and went gloriously on until over fifteen thousand of the soldiers of Lee’s army professed repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour.2754

Chaplain J. William Jones had visited General Robert E. Lee’s tent, along with Chaplain B.T. Lacey, who was Stonewall Jackson’s Chaplain. They told the General that he was being prayed for by all the chaplains. As Jones recorded, tears came to General Lee’s eyes as he said:

Please thank them for that, sir—I warmly appreciate it. And I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation, and need all of the prayers they can offer me.2755

After the war, Robert E. Lee accepted the invitation to serve as the President of Washington College. In 1869, he invited his former chaplain, John William Jones, to address the student body. Afterward he said:

Our great want is a revival which shall bring these young men to Christ. We poor sinners need to come back from our wanderings to seek pardon through the all-sufficient merits of our Redeemer. And we need to pray earnestly for the power of the Holy Spirit to give us a precious revival in our hearts and among the unconverted.2756