The Free State of Jones and The Echo of the Black Horn: Two Sides of the Life and Activities of Captain Newt Knight

by Thomas Jefferson Knight, Ethel Knight, Jim Kelly (Foreword)

Subject of the upcoming film Free State of Jones , this book provides recollections of the man who took on the Confederacy during the Civil War and established the liberated Mississippi county.

Soldier, Father, Rebel. Outlaw. A man of deep convictions, Captain Newt Knight disagreed with the values of the South and was accused of deserting the Confederate army. He was a believer in doing what was just. During the Civil War, he formed his own band of deserters who would rebel against the Confederacy and support the Union. In the spring of 1864, the government in Jones County was effectively overthrown, and, the county was dubbed “The Free State of Jones.” Eventually, Knight would establish a mixed race town for both whites and former slaves to inhabit together.

This edition merges two rare books on the subject; Thomas Jefferson Knight’s The Life and Activities of Captain Newt Knight and Ethel Knight’s The Echo at the Black Horn . Each paints a singular portrait of this elusive historical figure. Was he Civil War-Era Robin Hood or a manipulative cult leader? Both surely have fictitious elements determined by the authors' biases. Historian Jim Kelly provides a forward that helps examine the importance of each position on Newt Knight’s role in the conflict and what his motivations truly were.

Now the subject of a new feature film, the experiences of Newt Knight will be brought back to light. This highly informative book helps to explore his life and give an in-depth look at the man—through the eyes of his son and grand-niece.

Genres: History

404 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2016

Reviews

[John Findlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having seen ads for the movie by the same name, I thought it would be interesting to read about the "Free State of Jones". I was surprised to learn that this book was actually two books in one, and that both were written by relatives of Newt Knight, the leader of the group. It was even more surprising to recognize that the opinions were so divergent. In short, Tom Knight, the son of Newt, makes him out to be a true leader in the South during the Civil War, and a man who recognized that the South was wrong. In this version, Newt organizes a group of revolutionaries who protect the women of Jones County from the exploits of the Confederate Army. The Echo of the Black Horn is written by a great grandniece of Newt Knight, and portrays him very differently. To her, he was a scoundrel who deserted from the Confederate Army and killed his sister's husband. His men were themselves cruel to the people of Jones County, and also brought in the Confederate Cavalry in an attempt to catch them. But, most importantly in her eyes, he was too friendly to "Negroes" and resulted in too many mixed race babies being born in Jones County. I suppose that one should recognize that these books were written before the Civil Rights Era, but it is still painful to hear the racism expressed by the authors. Of the two accounts, I tended to believe the one written by the son, as the second was almost a smear campaign. But, most likely, the truth lies in-between. And it was heartwarming to hear that there were groups of people in the Deep South who did not worship the Confederacy.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

My biggest gripe with this book is a lot was made up (conversations, looks on people's faces, emotions)- especially in the second part. I also kept reminding myself to put when the second part was written into context, but is was still strong negative racial bias. I'm appalled at some of the racial beliefs, but that did give me a better appreciation of what African Americans endured.

The first part of the book was written by Captain Knight's estranged son Tom. Basically, a collection of stories that had no logical order - some backtracking or going sideways, but very "pro" Captain Knight. The second part had a logical order, was very "against" Captain Knight.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well he was an interesting character in an interesting time, but the two halves of the book were so different and the author of the second part, writing in the 50s, is such a racist pig that it was really hard to keep going. Some editing and an editorial voice beyond the introduction would have been really helpful.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subject of this book is intriguing: there was actually a county in Mississippi that did not wish to secede in 1860. Jones County’s representative to the secession convention turned against his electors and voted for secession. Its male citizens were conscripted into the Confederate army. Some began deserting when they heard from home about the depredations and insults afforded their women and farms. Soon, there was a renegade band of deserters ambushing the local Confederate army troop sent to return them to their units or hang them. Their leader was Newt Knight. His band’s exploits are repeated numerous times, along w/ his murders and association w/ a mulatto woman that he bought in order to keep her and her children together.

This puts a nice spin on the story. The book itself is nearly unreadable. The first part is written by Newt’s estranged son Tom, after Newt’s death. The sentences are all run-on; new stories begin mid-sentence even. Some stories are repeated multiple times. The second part of the book is written by a niece and is filled w/ virulent racism so sickening that I could hardly read it. She addresses the same stories yet again and then adds the story of Rachel, the mulatto, and her multiple part-negro, mostly white children, who she assures the reader repeatedly, were NOT NOT Newt’s children, but instead fathered by multiple members of Newt’s band of deserters. Newt supposedly forced a couple of his children to marry a couple of Rachel’s children so that the children’s children would be less than one-eighth negro and thus be White.

This was all disgusting, and all the attitudes in the South that I hate. I just don’t see what attracted Matthew McConaughey to make a movie from this dreck.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful combination of accounts of the pro-Union Southerner Newton Knight, who fought against the Confederate authorities in Mississippi. The first section consists of favourable accounts by Knight's son and a newspaper interview Newton gave shortly before he died in 1922. The last section is a long biography by another relative Ethel Knight, who regarded her kinsman as a traitor to the Southern cause. Ethel Knight was a racist who thought slavery was a good thing and was sorry the south lost the war so unsurprisingly she did not approve of Newton Knight. Both the writers are heavily biased, one for and one against, so for a balanced view try the 'The Free State of Jones' by Vikki Bynum.

[Lois Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This is real Civil War. No Gone With the Wind. The first part being an oral history is fascinating as it is toll by someone who livo through the times. As it happened and what life was like. The second part is the whole story. It also explains a lot about the War Between the States. It is a very different picture of Newt Knight then you saw in the film and probably more accurate, but as fascinating.