Robert Jones' success had been inspired by ambition and provided by opportunity. The second generation master of his domain had successfully gotten into developing cotton raising in north Alabama during the expansion of cotton production in the 1840's - '50's. He had been able to become a rich and powerful man owning 22,000 acres, several businesses and over a hundred slaves. The well drained, good-watered red land was rich and productive and Robert Jones made his fortune from it, his slaves and cunning. Daniella, his daughter, and her children were heirs to his wealth. Colonel Jones had weathered the storm of civil conflict, economic upheaval, anarchy and social revolution that was the "War Between the States", the "War of Rebellion" - America's Civil War. Some folks gossiped that he worked with both gray and blue. He still had wealth after the war. Most didn't.
Daniella Ellen Jones Sherrod, widow of Benjamin F. Sherrod (d. 1861), had turned twenty-four in August. She was her father's joy and hostess, tending the mistress duties of the fine mansion, Caladonia. Now with the end of slavery, both she and Colonel Jones were challenged with all the implications of former slave owners. The freedman had no life skills except what was learned in the slave system. A new system of capital and labor, employer and worker, was in its early development phase. Within twenty years the sharecropper arrangement would be the production arrangement for most of southern agriculture. New challenges require creativity and toughness. The Joneses of north Alabama had those qualities.
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"Daniella, I'm so very pleased to learn of the health and security of you and yours. The times are most disrupted," Joseph Wheeler said as he sat in the Jones plantation mansion parlor.
Mrs. Sherrod, dressed in an attractive day dress of pale lavender and brown, responded, "My General, we have been fortunate and I deeply appreciate your concern. The receipt of your letters has been such a delight. It is most touching that you with all your trials have thought of me."
"Mrs. Sherrod, Daniella, the thoughts of you and our friendship was as a light in the darkness. Yes the time in Delaware was difficult but I'm here now. It will take time for the past to be past. But I am ready for what comes, save one thing," Joseph responded.
"Joseph, please let me be of assistance. It is a difficult time but we have been fortunate, thankfully. If it is within my means, I would be honored to provide whatever you might need to be successful in New Orleans or wherever you choose."
His clothing seemed odd and uncomfortable. He was aware of the difference in the feel of his civilian boots, boiled shirt and differently cut suit. His cavalry boots, military tunic, and sturdy uniform trousers had been his shield, his armor for over a decade. Now he was unarmed in a place of civilization, not conflict. He was no longer a warrior who knew his place and job. His new assignment was not a scouting chore, planning tactics, a raid or movement around the flank of a menacing opponent. The chore ahead of him was of a different nature, an unfamiliar task.