William E. Jones

William E. Jones
William "Grumble" Jones
Birth name	William Edmondson Jones
Nickname(s)	Grumble Jones
Born	(1824-05-03)May 3, 1824 Washington County, Virginia
Died	June 5, 1864(1864-06-05) (aged 40) Piedmont, Augusta County, Virginia
Buried at	Old Glade Spring Presbyterian Church, Glade Spring, Virginia
Allegiance	United States of America  Confederate States of America
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1848–1857 (USA) 1861–1864 (CSA)
Rank	First Lieutenant (USA) Brigadier General
Commands held	7th Virginia Cavalry
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Edmondson "Grumble" Jones (May 3, 1824 – June 5, 1864) was a planter, a career United States Army officer, and a Confederate cavalry General, killed in the Battle of Piedmont in the American Civil War.

Jones was born in Washington County, Virginia. After graduating from Emory and Henry College in Virginia in 1844, he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1848, ranking twelfth out of 48 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Mounted Rifles. He served with the cavalry fighting Indians in the west and was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1854. His nickname, "Grumble", reflects his irritable disposition, undoubtedly exacerbated by the death of his wife, who was washed from his arms in a shipwreck shortly after their marriage in 1852 while en route to Texas. He resigned his commission in 1857, and became a farmer near Glade Spring, Virginia.

At the start of the Civil War, Jones joined the 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment as a Captain, commanding a company he had raised. On May 9 he was promoted to Major in Virginia's Provisional Army, and later that month both Jones and the regiment were transferred into the Confederate Army. Jones served under Col. J.E.B. Stuart in the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. The following month he was promoted to the rank of Colonel was given command of the 1st Virginia Cavalry.