J. William Jones (25 September 1836 – 17 March 1909) was an American Southern Baptist preacher and writer who became known for his evangelism and devotion to the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.
After editing the papers of Gen. Robert E. Lee, Jones became the Secretary-Treasurer of the Southern Historical Society for 14 years and served on his denomination's Home Missions Board.
[1][2][7] In writing about wartime chaplaincy, Jones estimated that he baptized 520 soldiers and preached at meetings (often with ministers of other Protestant denominations) that resulted in the conversion of at least 2000 men.
He later estimated that four-fifths of the college students had become Christians in army camps, and that nearly all were maintaining their faith, many becoming pillars in their local churches.
Jones also defended the reputations of Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson in many venues, as well as denounced Reconstruction and ignored violence of Southern white nationalists against African Americans.
During his final years supervising Baptist missionaries (including his four sons), Jones also was the chaplain-general of the United Confederate Veterans (1890 to 1909).
[1][2] Survived by his widow, sons and grandchildren, he was buried in Richmond, Virginia with Jefferson Davis and other Confederate veterans at Hollywood Cemetery.