Hi Judy,

Here's the info on Elias from the GAR Post and Ancetry

Elias Jones is listed in the book, Fields of Freedom, United States Colored Troops from Southwestern Pennsylvania by Ron Gancas. Here is Elias' entry:

Jones, Elias - CWSS - County Records - Census

Member of Colonel Robert G. Shaw, G.A.R. Post #206

Private/55th Massachusetts

Regimental Service: Readville: 22 Jun 1863-23 Sep 1865

Battles: Honey Hill

Sworn In: 4 Jun 1863

Muster Out: 29 August 1865

Height 5'10"

Complexion: Dark
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Born: Shippensburg (1842)

Enlisted @ Age 21

Occupation: Farmer from Shippensburg, PA

Joined Post #206: 26 Sep 1890 at age 48 years old

Offices Held: Post Guard

1890 Census: 33 Fountin St., Allegheny City, PA

Died: 18 Apr 1903

Buried by Allegheny County @ Uniondale Cemetery, Pittsburgh

In the book, Grand Army of the Republic Department of Pennsylvania, Personal War Sketches of the African American Members of Col. Robert G. Shaw Post No. 206 Pittsburgh by Diane Ragan, Elias' entry reads:

Jones, Elias

55 MA
Company H
Infantry
Private
Age 21 at enlistment
Enlistment or Muster in Date: 4 June 1863
Muster Out or Discharge Date: 29 Aug 1865
Mustered Out or Discharged at: Charleston, SC
Date of Birth 1842
Place of Birth Shippensburg, PA
Date of Death: Apr 18, 1903
Age at Death 61
Cemetery: Union Dale
Indigent Burial: Yes
Occupation: Farmer
Joined Post: 26 Sept 1890

Biographical Notes: Descriptive book shows he was 5'10" with dark complexion, brown eyes, and black hair, farmer by occupation. Charles Jones, Shippensburg, Cumberland Co., PA was listed as contact in Descriptive Book under "Remarks". Resided at 33 Fountain St., E.D> 181, Allegheny City in 1890 Census. Invalid pension filed March 1901. Sarah E. Jones filed widow's pension (date illegible) from PA.

Have you seen his U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 at Ancestry.com? It states he was actually born in Maryland and lived in Shippensburgh Borough as opposed to Shippensburg Township.

Name: Elias Jones
Residence: Shippensburg, Cumberland, Pennsylvania
Class: 1
Congressional District: 15th
Age on 1 July 1863: 23
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1840
Race: Black
Marital Status: Unmarried (Single)
Place of Birth: Maryland

On Ancestry, it looks like his widow Sarah filed for his pension on April 28, 1908

Also on Ancestry it looks like he mustered in to the 55th Mass at Readville, MA; on the Company Muster rolls for Nov and Dec 1863 he was absent as he was sent to the General Hospital in Beaufort, SC on Dec 27, 1863, in March and April and May and June of 1864, it's hard to read, but it looks like he may have been charged for transportation to Harrisburg, PA. His hospital records state that he was born in Frederick County, MD, that his father, Charles Jones, lived in Shippensburg, PA and that he was in the hospital for chronic diarrhea.

His Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999 say:

Name: Elias Jones
Military Branch: Army
Veteran of Which War: U.S. Civil War
Cemetery Name: Union Dale
Cemetery Location: Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

He is in Section A, Range 136 with a government headstone