In January 1776, at age 23, Jones was commissioned as Lieutenant in Babcock's/Lippitt's Regiment, which was raised in Rhode Island. By September he was promoted to captain.
On March 4, 1778, Jones was commissioned as captain of Marines on board the sloop USS Providence. He is credited with originating the phrase "a few good men." On 20 March 1779 in Boston, Capt. Jones advertised for "a few good men" to enlist in the Corps for naval duty. The term seemed ideally suited for Marines, mainly because of the implication that "a few" good men would be enough. This term has survived for over 200 years and has been synonymous with U.S. Marines ever since.
He was captured at the Siege of Charleston in May 1780, was later exchanged, and served until the end of the war. He was probably discharged, along with most of the Continental armed forces, in November 1783.
By right of his service in the Continental Army and Marine Corps, Jones became an Original Member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati.[3]
After the war, he became a justice of the peace.[1]
Political career
Jones was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1807.[1] He was Speaker of the Rhode Island State House of Representatives two terms, in 1809–10 and 1810–11.[4] Jones was a Federalist and won the gubernatorial election against incumbent James Fenner in 1811 by just a few hundred votes. Jones opposed the War of 1812, considering the war unjust, and asserted his authority in using the state militia amid concerns about the defense of the coastline.[5] Originally balking at the requirement of sending 500 troops for federal service, he nonetheless relented, and the troops served as part of the 25th Regiment, U.S. Infantry.[6] He was re-elected five times, but having been defeated when seeking a seventh term, he retired from the public life.[1] He was the only Federalist ever to serve as Governor of Rhode Island.
Personal life
On February 28, 1787, Jones was married to Anne Dunn, daughter of Samuel Dunn, of Providence. He had one child, Harriet, who went on to marry Thomas C. Hoppin.[2]
Jones nephew, William Henry Allen, was an American naval officer during the War of 1812.
Jones was the great grandfather of Rhode Island governor Elisha Dyer and the great great grandfather of governor Elisha Dyer Jr.
^Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc. p. 182.
^"William Jones". National Governors Association. January 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
^"War of 1812 Military Collection". Rhode Island Historical Society. Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division. September 1997. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
