1. Newton Knight was an American farmer, soldier, and Southern Unionist in Mississippi, best known as the leader of the Knight Company, a band of Confederate Army deserters who resisted the Confederacy during the Civil War.
34 Facts About Newton Knight
1. 2.
Newton Knight has long been a controversial figure in the region, with people divided over his motives and actions.
3.
Films about Newton Knight have included Tap Roots, directed by George Marshall, and Free State of Jones, directed by Gary Ross and starring Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight.
4.
Newton Knight's mother changed the record after he shot an African American boy to get him out of being punished in court.
5.
Newton Knight was the eighth of the twelve boys, and was raised a poor farmer boy, making his living farming, building houses for his neighbors.
6.
Newton Knight was born near the Leaf River in Jones County, Mississippi, most likely in November 1837, to Albert Knight and his wife.
7.
Newton Knight's birth year has been recorded by his son, Tom Knight, in a biography as 1830, and his grandniece, Ethel Knight, wrote that he was born in 1829.
8.
However, it is possible Newton Knight gave the wrong year of his birth to the census takers to hide his family origin.
9.
Newton Knight was probably taught to read and write by his mother, as there were no public schools for yeomen children.
10.
John Jackie Knight moved to Mississippi in 1801, settling first in Union County and then moving to the area of Jasper County in 1811 to establish plantations Newton's father, Albert neither owned slaves nor inherited any after his father's death.
11.
Newton Knight's son wrote that he was morally opposed to the institution due to his Primitive Baptist beliefs.
12.
Newton Knight married Serena Turner in 1858, and the two established a small farm just across the county line in southwest Jasper County, Mississippi.
13.
Newton Knight joined the Confederate Army in July 1861, enlisting in the 8th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.
14.
Newton Knight was enraged when he received word that Confederate authorities had seized his family's horses for their use.
15.
In early 1863, Newton Knight was arrested and jailed for desertion, and possibly tortured, by Confederate authorities.
16.
On October 5,1863, McLemore was shot and killed in the Ellisville home of Amos Deason; Newton Knight is believed to have killed him.
17.
Newton Knight had taken to the swamp on the Leaf River to evade authorities, finding other deserters and fugitive slaves there.
18.
Newton Knight was elected "captain" of the company, which included many of his relatives and neighbors.
19.
Newton Knight harassed Confederate officials, with numerous tax collectors, conscript officers, and other officials being reported killed in early 1864.
20.
Newton Knight later stated his company had unsuccessfully attempted to break through Confederate lines to join the Union Army.
21.
Newton Knight led a raid that liberated several children who were still held in slavery in nearby Smith County.
22.
Newton Knight had returned to his farm in Jasper County, where he cultivated local crops.
23.
In 1870, Newton Knight petitioned the federal government for compensation for several members of the Newton Knight Company, including the ten who had been executed by Lowry in 1864.
24.
Newton Knight provided sworn statements from several individuals attesting to his loyalty to the Union, including a local judge and a state senate candidate.
25.
Newton Knight supported the Reconstruction administration of Republican Governor Adelbert Ames.
26.
Newton Knight married Rachel, a freedwoman formerly held in slavery by his grandfather.
27.
Newton and Rachel Knight had several children before her death in 1889.
28.
Newton Knight died on February 16,1922, at the age of 92.
29.
Tom Newton Knight portrayed his father as a Civil War-era Robin Hood who refused to fight for a cause with which he disagreed.
30.
Newton Knight argued that most members of the Knight Company were not Unionists but had been manipulated by Knight into joining his cause.
31.
The great-grandson of Major Amos McLemore, who Newton Knight allegedly assassinated, Leverett argues that the Newton Knight Company's actions did not represent most residents of Jones County.
32.
Newton Knight provides evidence that a majority were loyal to the Confederacy.
33.
Newton Knight concludes that Jones County never seceded from the Confederacy.
34.
Newton Knight writes that Newt Knight and two followers contended that they had never left the Union.