Biography of Marcellus Jones

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Marcellus Ephraim Jones Biography

Marcellus Ephraim Jones

In 1858, Jones moved to DuPage County Illinois. He lived in Danby (now Glen Ellyn), until the American Civil War when Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers. Jones enlisted in Company E of the 8th Illinois Cavalry on August 5, 1861. Jones was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on December 5, 1862, First Lieutenant July 4, 1864, and Captain on October 10, 1864. All three commissions were signed by Illinois Governor Richard Yates.

On July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg, Jones commanded one of the regiment's vedette posts on the Chambersburg Pike, the road Lee's army used to march from Cashtown to Gettysburg. About 7:30 AM, Jones noticed a cloud of dust on the road to the west, indicating that the Confederates were approaching. At that point, Jones borrowed Corporal Levi S. Shafer’s carbine, aimed it with the assistance of a fence rail, and fired a shot at "an officer on a white or light gray horse." His was the first of approximately one million shots that would be fired at Gettysburg over the next three days.

To memorialize the location of his “First Shot” at the Gettysburg battle, Jones traveled to the spot in 1886 and placed a marker shaft made of Naperville Illinois Granite to memorialize his deed. This “First Shot Marker” sits today on the north side of Rt. 30 (Chambersburg Road) at its intersection with Knoxlyn Road.

Jones usually receives the credit of firing the first shot, but others have also staked claims to the honor. Years after Jones' claim, troopers of the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry claimed that they had opened fire on enemy scouts from Richard Ewell's corps of Lee's army, long before Jones opened fire. Troopers in the 9th New York Cavalry said they were fired on by enemy soldiers near Hunterstown. Corporal Alphonse Hodges of the 9th New York also laid claim to the title when he said his picket post on Willoughby Run fired on advancing Confederates on the Chambersburg Pike.

Regardless of what happened, Jones and his comrades honored their claim by erecting a small stone monument that you can see standing behind this state highway marker. Cut in a quarry near Naperville, Illinois, the “First Shot" monument stands five feet high and tapers from an 18-inch base to 9 inches at the top. Unveiled in 1886, it is inscribed as follows:

“First shot at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, 7:30 A.M.
Fired by Captain M. E. Jones with Sergeant Shafer's carbine, Co. E, Eighth Regiment Illinois Cavalry.
Erected by Captain Jones, Lieutenant Riddler, and Sergeant Shafer. Erected 1886."

The men purchased the small plot of ground from the owner of a house that still stands behind the monument. Seldom visited by most visitors to the Gettysburg battlefield park, this weathered monument commemorates the opening of the war's bloodiest battle. Three days later, more than 51,000 men in blue and gray lay dead, dying, wounded, or captured. [source: wikipedia.org]