\On this upcoming Veterans Day our families wish to remember all of our veterans, including our family members who served in all of the major wars from the Gulf War to Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI, the Spanish American War and the Civil War.
We are disappointed with the removal of statues of Confederate generals, and thereby contributing to rewriting U.S. history. We believe these statues were placed to commemorate the service of some brilliant military minds and they were not meant to be racist. About 150 Confederate generals graduated from West Point and served during the Civil War.
The Civil War was fought to preserve the Union and many Americans from the North and South fought huge battles which raged from 1861 to 1865, and they are part of our history.
Our family relates to the experiences of two members who fought in many battles during the Civil War.
Sergeant First Class (SFC) John B. Jones, my wife's [Elizabeth Ann (Jones) Moskowitz] grandfather, and William E. Jones, my wife's great uncle, were from the Arcade/Sandusky, NY area and were in an upstate New York cavalry regiment. John enlisted on September 2, 1861 in Freedom, NY as a private in the 5th NY Cavalry regiment.
The following are excerpts from a few of SFC John B. Jones's letters to his sister Ann Jones: "Madison Court House, VA, August 8, 1862---Last week there were three regiments of us sent out from Culpepper to Orange Court House. The rebels fell back to the village. G and H companies had an awful fight with them for a little while; Centerville, VA, Oct. 29, 1862---Well, Ann, we had a very severe skirmish with the rebels since we left camp. There were two regiments of our cavalry on picket duty in a place called Thoroughfare Gap. The rebels came out one morning and drove them out; Amosville, VA, July 27th, 1863---We crossed the Rappahannock River........, a part of our division had a right smart skirmish with the rebel Gen. Longstreet's corps.; Stevensburg, VA, Dec. 6, 1863---Our division was left on the left side of the Rapidan River. The rebels had strong rifle pits...... They tried to shell us out of those buildings........ The 2nd New York Cavalry relieved us; March 7th, 1865---Was taken prisoner on Mount Jackson in Shenandoah Valley."
John was force marched to Staunton, VA then Charlottesville, and then ended up in a prison in Richmond. He was released on April 4, 1865 in the area of Annapolis, MD, and he was mustered out as First Sergeant on June 30, 1865 in Elmira, NY. John died on September 24, 1918 when WWI was still raging in Europe. Two of his sons, Alton Christmas Jones (Elizabeth Moskowitz's father) and William Howard Jones (Elizabeth Moskowitz's uncle) were in France fighting the Germans. As U.S. Marines they were in a number of the major offensives during the war under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Lejeune. William Howard received the French Croix de Guerre medal and the U.S. Silver Star medal for exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy. He single handedly held off a German attack using a machine pistol at Blanc Mont, France on October 3, 1918.
We should not be obliterating U.S. history. Leave the statues standing, and honor all veterans.
