Newton Knight Research Paper

Newton knight was a farmer in mississippi who fought for freedom and secession of Jones county. Knight and the people of jones county put their lives so they could be free from the grip from the confederacy. The confederacy took many of non-slave farmers and put their lives on the front line to fight for what they didn’t even believe in. Knight opposed the state seceding from the United States, saying that white farmers like himself did not support slavery. He was a man of individual rights and equality, which was what the united states did not have at the time.
Newton Knight was born Jone county, mississippi on November 1837 to Albert Knight and his wife. He was not very educated, but he was taught by his mother on how to read and how to

write. Newton was a grandson of John Knight who was one of Jones County's largest slaveholders before the war. newton parents never owned slaves and neither did newton himself when he older. Newton Knight was married twice in his lifetime to Serena Turner and having one child with her and with his other wife Rachel Knight and having two children with her.
To avoid being drafted and put with a group of strangers, on May 13, 1861 knight enlisted with his friends and became a private field medic. The confederate congress passed a law known as the “Twenty- Negro Law” plantation owners who owned 20 or more slaves to not have to participate in fighting. This made newton and many of his friends furious. His friend Collins soon went AWOL, and newton got a letter saying the confederate army seized his horses. It was not long before newton followed his friend collin’s footsteps and deserted the army to head back to Jones county. Less than a year later knight was captured by confederate troop, court martialed, and tortured. he had returned to his unit but, newton still managed to throw down his weapons and go AWOL that june, near Abbevill, Mississippi. He hiked a dangerouse 200 miles back to his beloved hometown. Newton fled to the mississippi swamps where all runaway slaves and deserters went for sanctuary.
Newton pledged to never return back into the hands of the confederate army and swore to protect the people of jones county. At the newtons household and farm, newt taken prisoner by the ruthless confederate army. They tortured poor newt and destroyed everything he owned. The confederate killed all of his life stock and took what was left of their crops which left him and his family food deprived and no way to make a living. While he was having problems so were many jones county soldiers. They came home from a big battle only to find out that there wife and kids had starved to death because the wives could not not take care of the land because that had to care for the children. Newton was the only one that deserted confederacy, there was many confederate soldiers who left the army and came back to jones county.
Newton Knight organized a company of 125 men called “The Knight Company” to defend themselves from the confederate. Knight was the captain of his small but powerful militia group. They would defend the town of jones from raiding confederate troops and to avoid capture from the troops the men would disappear back into the swamps. The knight company rebelled against the confederacy by many ways like; impending tax collectors,taking confederate army supplies and giving them to the people of jones county, and by killing any supporters of the confederacy. Newton’s company fought a total of 14 skirmishes against confederate troops in jones county, It wasn’t long until the hole confederacy heard words about a small company of men rebelling against the confederacy.

On july 12, 1864 as newt raised the united states flag over the courthouse in Ellisville, the people of jones county declared their independance from the confederacy and during spring of 1864 they have took over and controlled the confederate government in jones county. Colonel Lowrey was sent down to crush the knight company by using his harsh tactics. Many of knights company where on the run, some went back
to their old units and some were captured and hanged. However Newton Knight was never captured. By april 1885 the union took the victory and the civil war was finally over. Newton was asked by the United states to distribute 1,000s of pounds of food to starving people in jones county.
During the 1830s economic crisis, there was a mass migration of people from the Jones County. This made the county to be referred to as Free State of Jones. In the time of the American Civil War, many soldiers left the force without permission. They settled in Jones County and the neighboring counties. These deserters later formed the Knight’s company, which was led by Newton Knight, to fight soldiers who were sent to capture them. This marked the rise of Newton Knight as a force to reckon with.
Newton Knight was born on 10th November 1830.

He later wedded Serena. He started his military career as a volunteer on 15th May 1862. During the Civil War, he abandoned the confederate army after the passage of “Twenty Negro Laws” to impress the Union. on 31st December 1863, Newton Knight is reported to have left without permission .This is an act of sabotage, since he had sworn allegiance to the confederation army. Newton Knight and other deserters were therefore liable to arrest, due to their criminal act. In his effort to fight back, Newton Knight led a gang, calling itself the “Knight’s Company”, which weighed a guerilla war on the confederation soldiers at River

leaf.
There are stories of how Confederate Colonel Robert Lowry attempts at punishing the gang led by Newton Knight.

During his time with the confederacy army, Newton Knight, is a traitor, as he is loyal to the union but hiding under the façade of the confederacy. His criminal activities can be illustrated by his rebellion. The book gives an account of Newton Knight’s role in making Jones County a Free State. we see the attempts by him to talk to the Republic of Jones. Newton Knight took over from Major R. Robinson as the head of the Republic of Jones and Colonel Lowry takes over from Colonel Maury as head of the Confederate force.It is apparent that, Knight and his men were blood thirsty. On 5th October 1863, an confederate officer was killed by Knight and his Men in Ellisville. This shows the criminal activities undertaken by him in Jones County. He is on record for the killings of tax agents working for the confederation. Knight was notorious for fighting with the government; it is on record that between 1st November 1863 and 10th January 1864, his gang clashed with the government three times. On 3rd February 1864, again, Knight and his deserters are said to kill Reverend Carlisle. It seems Knight and his company was notorious for killing the pro-confederates. Knight led company, was also known for looting and vandalism. Knight led his followers to raid a confederate supply depot and a supply train. On 3rd March 1864, Paulding is raided by Knight, between Meridian and Quitman.

Knight last fight with the authorities was in 10th January 1865. It is however seen that after the last battle with him, the authority regained control of the Jones Count. Although having been born of a family of slave holding, he was totally against slavery. This partly explains why he left the confederate army. Knight left after the passage of the “Twenty nigro laws”, this law required that any farmer or planter who had over twenty slaves was not allowed to fight. People call this “a rich man’s war, a poor man’s fight”. This move angers him and he leaves the force without permission. It is believed that he killed the tax collectors to protect women and children.
His criminal activities disturbed peace in Jones County. He was a killer, Knight was behind the killings of confederate authorities, among his victims was McLemore and two tax collectors. He was also a rebel, he quit the confederation force without permission and then wages guerilla attacks against the government. Knight was also a traitor as he was a union loyalist yet worked for the confederation. He was a looter; there are cases of Knight leading his gang to raid the confederation’s supply depot and also attack on the cargo train. Lastly he waged attacked against the government, in his quest to withdraw the County of Jones from the Confederation. Despite his anti-slavery and compassion for the helpless stand, Knight participated in several criminal activities. During the 1830s economic crisis, there was a mass migration of people from the Jones County. This made the county to be referred to as Free State of Jones. In the time of the American Civil War, many soldiers left the force without permission. They settled in Jones County and the neighboring counties. These deserters later formed the Knight’s company, which was led by Newton Knight, to fight soldiers who were sent to capture them. This marked the rise of Newton Knight as a force to reckon with.

From 1867 to 1876, to protect the rights of black people of jones county, more than 200 blacks were elected to state and federal offices in Mississippi as members of the Republican Party. However, political equality would soon be challenged by the Democratic Party. Newt knight became a strong republican supporter in order to help secure black civilians saftey and rights. In 1872, newt was appointed as a deputy U.S. Marshal for the Southern District.
In the statewide elections of 1875, violence and election fraud kept most Republicans from voting. Democratic candidates that committed to “white power” were put into office and corrupting the mississippi government. Kluh Klux Klan members shot out the windows of the Governor’s Mansion to intimidate the republican governor. The governor pleaded for federal troops to help maintane peace and order, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused. The republican Governor tried organizing a state militia to protect the voting process and him. In 1875, Newt Knight was appointed as Colonel of the First Regiment Infantry of Jasper County, but black votes could not be protected. Blacks could not vote freely in Mississippi again for nearly 100 years.
Newt retreated to his farm in Jasper County after 1875 and brought the former slave Rachel, with him. His white wife, Serena, soon left and Newt and Rachel were married. She gave birthed him several children. Newt faced danger for living openly with a black woman. But, as he liked to say, “There’s a lots of ways I’d rather die than be scared to death.”