On 11 September 1862, Joseph H. Jenkins was appointed an Acting Assistant Paymaster in the Mississippi Squadron of the U.S. Navy, and in that rank was assigned to USS General Bragg. General Bragg operated in the Mississippi River and vicinity during the Civil War. After a brief detachment on 30 May 1864 to Washington, D.C. to settle accounts, Paymaster Jenkins was then assigned to USS Savanah on 18 August 1864 with orders to report no later than 1 September. Savannah served as a practice ship for the Naval Academy and was based in Brooklyn. Jenkins resigned from the Navy on 21 April 1865.
From the description of Papers, 1862-1865. (Navy Department Library, Naval History & Heritage Command). WorldCat record id: 50990340
