He may have had a commission in the Confederate Army or the Missouri State Guard, the latter of which was formed from secessionist Missourians.
The Kingdom of Callaway was a county in Missouri that did not agree with the politics of either side in the American Civil War.
What made Callaway unique was that the Union general John B. Henderson signed a peace treaty with the Kingdom in October 1861, thus lending legitimacy to its existence.
Jones was subsequently captured by Union forces and convicted for treason at a court martial.
After the war, he was active in Democratic Party politics and was elected a state representative in 1875.