The Free State of Jones

• Baptists and the American Civil War: March 31, 1864 -- " Newton Knight, Confederate deserter and Primitive Baptist...remains controversial almost a century after his death."
• Did Jones County Secede from the Confederacy? -- "Newt himself, as well as his 1st Sgt., Jasper J. Collins, and Jasper’s son, Loren, all denied the myth of secession during their lifetimes."
• Free State of Jones (2016) -- "We Stood firm to the union when secession swept as an avalanche over the state."
• Jasper Collins and the ‘Ellisville Patriot’ -- "For many Southern renegades, their actions during the Civil War marked a single instance in which they felt compelled to defy the expectations of the larger Southern community."
• Newt Knight vs. The U.S. Court of Claims -- "Newt Knight was relentless in his efforts to gain compensation for himself and his men from the U.S. Government for having served the Union."
• Newton Knight -- "Knight Cemetery, Jasper County, Mississippi"
• Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones -- "Private Jasper Collins, was furious: “This law...makes it a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”"
• Rachel Knight and Her Descendants -- "There were but two options open to Rachel’s descendants,...remain in Mississippi...to suffer racial discrimination and prejudice...as blacks...The other option for Rachel’s descendants was to move to other states where they were not known and could passa blanca..."
• Rachel Knight and Her Descendants, Part 2 -- "Newt set Rachel and her children up in a house next door to his family and brought them up as white."
• Rachel Knight and Her Descendants, Part 3 -- "They were raised as white in an isolated environment and had difficulty being accepted by either whites or blacks."
• ‘The Free State of Jones’ Battles Civil War Cliches -- "...this will likely be the first exposure to the history of Reconstruction for many moviegoers."
• The True Story of the ‘Free State of Jones’ -- "He was a Primitive Baptist who didn’t drink, didn’t cuss, doted on children and could reload and fire a double-barreled, muzzle-loading shotgun faster than anyone else around."
• Who was Newt Knight of “Free State of Jones?” -- "A number of Knight family members served the Confederacy, including Newt who enlisted in the 8th Mississippi Infantry, Co. K, in August of 1861 for a one-year term."
• Why I wrote the Free State of Jones -- "...the American Revolution and the opening of the Southwestern frontier—shaped attitudes toward authority and government among these plain folks of the Old South."