b. 1849 Davidson County, North Carolina. d. 23/12/1911 Efland, North Carolina.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 07/05 – 20/08/1877 Little Muddy Creek & Camas Meadows, Montana & Idaho.
William H. Jones was born in Davidson County, North Carolina in 1842. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army in Louisville, Kentucky and joined the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. Jones later became a regimental farrier and a sergeant. While on frontier duty in the Rocky Mountains in 1877, he was twice cited for gallantry against the Plains Indians in the Montana and the Idaho territories. The first occurred against the Sioux at Little Muddy Creek on May 7, and the second against the Nez Perce at Camas Meadows on August 20, 1877. It was during this last battle that Jones suffered a serious knee injury. For his actions at these engagements, he received the Medal of Honor on February 28, 1878. Jones returned to North Carolina after leaving the military and died in Efland, North Carolina on December 23, 1911, a day before Christmas Eve. He was buried at the Efland Methodist Church Cemetery.
MOH CITATION:
Gallantry in the attack against hostile Sioux Indians 7 May 1877 at Muddy Creek, Mont., and in the engagement with Nez Perce Indians at Camas Meadows, Idaho, 20 August 1877, in which he sustained a painful knee wound.
BURIAL LOCATION: EFLAND METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY, EFLAND, NORTH CAROLINA.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
