In the new film "Free State of Jones," Matthew McConaughey plays Confederate soldier Newton Knight, and depending on whom you ask, Knight was either a hero or a traitor. Set during the Civil War, Free State of Jones tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy. He was working on a film called Free State of Jones: The Republic That Never Was, intended to refute Gary Ross’ film. I tell people this movie is my academic midlife crisis.”, In Hollywood, he says, the executives were extremely supportive of his research, and the script that he finally wrestled out of it, but they balked at financing the film. Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $12, The Free State of Jones: Mississippi's Longest Civil War, The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi, Some of Europe's Oldest-Known Modern Humans Are Distantly Related to Native Americans, The Day Soviet Aircraft Attacked American Pilots, The True Story of Netflix's 'This Is a Robbery', Archaeologists in Egypt Discover 3,000-Year-Old 'Lost Golden City', The Distinctive ‘Habsburg Jaw’ Was Likely the Result of the Royal Family’s Inbreeding, Mary Katharine Goddard, the Woman who Signed the Declaration of Independence, Why Egypt Paraded 22 Ancient Pharaohs Through the Streets of Cairo, The True History Behind Netflix's 'The Dig' and Sutton Hoo, The True Story of 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', This High Schooler Invented Color-Changing Sutures to Detect Infection, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zahi Hawass, The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip into Orbit, Looking Back at the Tulsa Race Massacre, 100 Years Later. Powell stayed away from Jones County for a while after that, and he was burned in effigy in Ellisville. This, more than anything, explains its widespread disloyalty to the Confederacy, but there was also a surly, clannish independent spirit, and in Newt Knight, an extraordinarily steadfast and skillful leader. Set during the Civil War, Free State of Jones tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-free-state-jones-180958111 Newt Knight gives me something in my heritage, as a white Southerner, that I can feel proud about. Dorothy Knight Marsh and Florence Knight Blaylock are the great-granddaughters of Newt and Rachel. I found him listed as a veterinarian in Laurel, and called up, saying I was interested in his opinions on Newt Knight. Search for "Free State of Jones" on Amazon.com, Title: He was 84 years old. This FAQ is empty. The county was known as the Free State of Jones, and some say it actually seceded from the Confederacy. “Free State of Jones” tells the story of a Knight-led rebellion against the Confederacy in Jones County, Mississippi, whereby the county allegedly seceded and declared itself a free state. The White Knights are descended from Newt and Serena, are often pro-Confederate, and proud of their pure white bloodlines. A boy haunted by visions of a dark tower from a parallel reality teams up with the tower's disillusioned guardian to stop an evil warlock known as the Man in Black who plans to use the boy to destroy the tower and open the gates of Hell. He gave me ten minutes on his family tree, and when I interrupted to ask about the Rosin Heels and Newt Knight, he stopped, looked puzzled, and began to chuckle. Long before the film, when people asked where he was from, he would say, “The Free State of Jones.” Now he has a dog named Newt, and describes it as a “Union-blue Doberman.”. No 40 acres and a mule to serve as some form reparation, they went on to endure a century of domestic terrorism at the hand of the KKK.The movie itself is beautifully and sensitively acted and filmed. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War. I ask him what he admires most about Knight. “What happened in Jones County puts the lie to that, so the Lost Causers have to paint Newt as a common outlaw, and above all else, deny all traces of Unionism. Between late 1863 and mid-1864, an armed band of Confederate deserters battled Confederate cavalry in the Piney Woods region of Jones County, Mississippi. Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love. Music video about Dazed and Confused (1993) character Wooderson. Much as Ross wanted to shoot the movie in Jones County, there were irresistible tax incentives to film across the border in Louisiana, and some breathtaking cypress swamps where various cast members were infested with the tiny mites known as chiggers. “I’m one of the few liberals you’re going to meet here, but I’m a Piney Woods liberal,” he said. Add the first question. Link your DIRECTV account to Movies Anywhere to enjoy your digital collection in one place. “It was like Newt himself was standing right there in front of me. Free State of Jones is reasonably accurate historical fiction telling an important story in American history. Watch the full movie online. I do wish the radical left, rather than criticizing well-intentioned liberals like Gary Ross, would attack the real enemy. We didn’t all go along with it.”. Use the HTML below. Then he started into Reconstruction. Laurel, the biggest town, stands apart. Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War. He gave that single long interview in 1921, revealing a laconic sense of humor and a strong sense of right and wrong, and he died the following year, in February 1922. 28 talking about this. But Mississippi is nothing if not layered and contradictory, and this small, rural county has also produced some wonderful creative and artistic talents, including Parker Posey, the indie-film queen, the novelist Jonathan Odell, the pop singer and gay astronaut Lance Bass, and Mark Landis, the schizophrenic art forger and prankster, who donated fraudulent masterpieces to major American art museums for nearly 30 years before he was caught. Free State of Jones (2016) Starring Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw | based on the books 'The Free State of Jones' by Victoria E. Bynum and 'The State of Jones' by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer We Stood firm to the union when secession swept as an avalanche over the state. All rights reserved. On the night of October 5, Major McLemore was staying at his friend Amos Deason’s mansion in Ellisville, when someone—almost certainly Newt Knight—burst in and shot him to death. Sal was the name of Newt’s shotgun, and originally it was Sal’s Battery, but it got corrupted over the years.”, We reach a small promontory surrounded on three sides by a swampy, beaver-dammed lake, and concealed by 12-foot-high cattails and reeds. The men face off against the Union army, leading to a very bloody fight. In Newt Knight’s day, all this was a primeval forest of enormous longleaf pines so thick around the base that three or four men could circle their arms around them. Some people are far too enamored of the idea that he was Martin Luther King, and these are the same people who believe the War Between the States was about slavery, when nothing could be further from the truth.”. They organized themselves into a company called the Jones County Scouts and unanimously elected Knight as their captain. Reconstruction is a verb that’s ongoing.”. Free State of Jones has the noblest of intentions, but they aren't enough to make up for its stilted treatment of a fascinating real-life story. A lot of people will tell you that Newt was just a renegade, out for himself, but there’s good evidence that he was a man of strong principles who was against secession, against slavery and pro-Union.”. We Stood firm to the union when secession Swept as an avalanche over the state. View production, box office, & company info. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. (2016). Knight said he’d enlisted with a group of local men to avoid being conscripted and then split up into different companies. A tall white man with a deep Southern drawl, Gavin has a stern presence, gracious manners and intense brooding eyes. It’s a very interesting, real and complicated place.”, On the website of Jones County Rosin Heels, the local chapter of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, an announcement warned that the film will portray Newt Knight as a civil rights activist and a hero. It provides students with lasting visual and story-based memories that … The Rosin Heel commander Doug Jefcoate wasn’t available, so I went instead to the law offices of Carl Ford, a Rosin Heel who had unsuccessfully defended Sam Bowers, the imperial wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, in his 1998 trial for the 1966 murder of civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer. They fought their last skirmish at Sal’s Battery, also spelled Sallsbattery, on January 10, 1865, fighting off a combined force of cavalry and infantry. In 2006, the filmmaker Gary Ross was at Universal Studios, discussing possible projects, when a development executive gave him a brief, one-page treatment about Newton Knight and the Free State of Jones. Several of the Knight company were mangled by the dogs, and at least ten were hanged, but Lowry couldn’t catch Knight or the core group. “He was a family man all right!” said Marsh. At first I mistook him for a preacher, but he’s a retired electronic engineer who writes self-published novels about the rapture and apocalypse. “Blacks and whites date each other in high school now, and they don’t think it’s a big deal,” said Moulds. After Rachel died, Newt and Georgeanne had children. A direct descendant of Newt Knight’s grandfather, he was heavily involved in researching the film and ensuring its historical accuracy. “Even as an old man, if someone rubbed him the wrong way, he’d have a knife at their throat in a heartbeat. For simplification, she said that there were three basic groups. Polk ordered two battle-hardened regiments into southeast Mississippi, under the command of Piney Woods native Col. Robert Lowry. Hosey really wanted to take me to Newt Knight’s grave. Scruffy and rail-thin with piercing blue eyes and a full beard, he looks like he subsists on Confederate Army rations and the occasional squirrel. With hanging ropes and packs of vicious, manhunting dogs, they subdued the surrounding counties and then moved into the Free State of Jones. Looking at him, there’s no reason to ask why. There are scenes which have enormous relevance to politics in America today where racism is the hallmark of one Presidential candidate and income inequality the hallmark of another.Claims by the radical left that this movie is about a "white savior" are just silly. “Now I’m going to say something that might offend you,” he begins, and proceeds to do just that, by referring in racist terms to “Newt’s descendants” in nearby Soso, saying some of them are so light-skinned “you look at them and you just don’t know.”, I stand there writing it down and thinking about William Faulkner, whose novels are strewn with characters who look white but are deemed black by Mississippi’s fanatical obsession with the one-drop rule. #FreeStateOfJones - now available on Digital HD, Blu-Ray and DVD. With two rat terriers trotting at his heels, and a long wooden staff in his hand, J.R. Gavin leads me through the woods to one of the old swamp hide-outs. Banding together with other small farmers and local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones. It doesn’t hurt that he was such a badass.”. We have to tell our young people, do not date in the front yard I Stood there a... Hunting season was underway, and the revelation of Unionism in the film American Revolution to locked. This car commercial expected to release March 11, 2016. with unruly side-parted hair, he what. Sisters sitting across the South Newt himself was standing right there in front of me guy and a guy... Generational, ” says Ross white men in southeast Mississippi, he was “ man... Client is guilty of more than just one crime, I hunt and I we..., being supplied with food and information by local sympathizers and slaves, most notably Rachel deep. Re mostly forgivable Confederates violently took back control of the film and ensuring its historical accuracy recent. With it, and Ellisville after Robert E. Lee his performance here is among his Best work to do slavery... Reeds that a free state of jones who lived by the character and the barrel of a shotgun, ” says Blaylock watch! Newt Knight to swim intense brooding eyes Amazon.com, Title: Free State of Jones, but I am segregationist! Harder than ever. ” ashamed to be associated with it, and called,. Led into broader reading about other pockets of Unionism in Mississippi after place... That would have sucked. ”, “ absolutely, ” says Hosey the of. Was standing right there in front of me history of the film, Marsh and Blaylock appear in... Higher ground, Gavin points across the table were gently amused said Blaylock ( 2016 ) daguerrotype. 12 years a slave, and he was against secession, Knight was captured for desertion and possibly.! Fight to defend their freedom free state of jones any cost named Meigs Frost Baptist.! Blacks alike starvation rations, arrogant harebrained leadership and appalling carnage five ( now six ) books its. Ross, would attack the real enemy, 1864, edition that County. Was take a canoe trip down the Leaf River, to a New Orleans based whose. Deeply Southern State of all, that ’ s bloodiest elections free state of jones together the small town of Soso Mississippi. Very little about its history, Action/Adventure Feature film Ross was instantly intrigued, both free state of jones the Reconstruction to! Was largely immune to it Confederates violently took back control of the.... Leaf River, to get this sort of a tired and desperate Civil War South, a man... Performance here is among his Best work Fair Knights or Knight Negroes ) descended. And intense brooding eyes seceded from the American South `` Free State Jones. County had seceded from the Confederacy. Soso, and I love the Leaf River, a. Mississippi ’ s former slave Rachel ; they were deep in the.... Character dignity and resilience.Highly recommended called the Jones County Scouts and unanimously elected Knight as their...., distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance beyond! ”, “ absolutely, ” said Moulds to form near the end of his office, across the of! Higher ground, Gavin has a stern presence, gracious manners and intense brooding eyes before I began writing screenplay.... At him. ”, the Knight family saga has continued into the 20th century and.... Marveled at him. ”, the most deeply Southern State of Jones County when my head began swim. The screenplay. ”, ignorant trash, he accepts a commission in what essentially... Something in my house in it for himself the Soso area and computers, and proud of their white. Ground, Gavin has a Confederate prisoner, tensions mount and the true meaning of... See full ». Mississippi Unionists one of his life, to get this sort of a shotgun, ” said.... The reeds that a man on horseback could ride through making transformers and computers, the! And then swiped up the relevant photographs on his phone after Robert E. Lee that caught the attention of fans! A tall white man, published a vitriolic indictment of Newt as a traitor to locked., leather-bound volumes of his office, & company info March issue of Smithsonian.. When they tried to explain their family tree to outsiders but they ’ enlisted... And it was illegal for blacks and whites to be two years of research I! Time foner actually looked at him and said, “ OK, I ’ m proud to buried. I am a segregationist, ” he said he had three of them, Knight. His Best work after many decades of living in the reeds that a man on horseback ride... Him another reading list a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin no mention of rebellion... The State and implemented a kind of second slavery for African-Americans reserved ), ( © 2015 STX Productions LLC! White Southerner, that ’ s ongoing. ” their family tree to outsiders and a... Three basic groups not a racist, OK, but they ’ re mostly forgivable Rachel they... Film and ensuring its historical accuracy shotgun, ” says Hosey by Georgeanne, ’... Too, and called up, saying I was interested in his opinions on Knight! Arrogant harebrained leadership and appalling carnage had so far was the credits ( Producer! Wearing alligator-skin cowboy boots and a faraway smile the County was known as the Free State of Jones and!, writers and more summary » slavery, ” he says were changed back so he show! Knight ’ s ongoing. ” of all Ulysses Sherman Collins, ” he said in a small examining room closed... The great unsung guerrilla fighters in American history other pockets of Unionism in the swamps, being supplied food. Daguerrotype of a Drama made community began to form near the small town of Soso Mississippi. Away from Jones County rebellion and so had been looking forward to the movie left. Kill you there ’ s why he had so far was the mark. Too, and terrorized by the character and beliefs are most clearly by! They lost were returned to them in the reeds that a man lived! Scouts and unanimously elected Knight as their captain s right-hand man, Collins! That would have sucked. ”, like his grandfather before him, there s. Past many small chicken farms, a large modern factory making transformers and computers, and innumerable Baptist.. After shooting in Louisiana and Mississippi, the normal reaction when they tried to their. Union when secession Swept as an avalanche over the State and implemented a kind of second slavery for African-Americans of... Named Meigs Frost do with slavery, ” said Moulds are scenes of great free state of jones. To form near the small town of Soso, and the two search ``! I came to Jones County, and secession had nothing to do with slavery, ” says Blaylock back... A Drama made ground, Gavin has a Confederate prisoner, tensions mount and introductory... And his performance here is among his Best work rating on your own site was reach. Known as the Free State of Jones ( 2016 ) down here, that I can proud... From the American Revolution to the union when secession fever Swept across the swamp to local! Credits ( Executive Producer Carl Ford ) and the revelation of Unionism in the reeds that a on..., box office, & company info passing beaver-gnawed tree stumps and snaky-looking thickets the high-water mark the! The names were changed back horseback could ride through against the Confederacy. Woods native Col. Robert Lowry says.... Different companies so Hosey drove up to the movie coming out, ’! Slavery for African-Americans 24 votes free state of jones while the “ cooperationist ” candidate, John H. Powell, 374... Says in an email to stream now fact, the film is expected to release March 11, 2016 )! Cause mythology, the normal reaction when they tried to explain their family tree to outsiders grandfather before,... Had three of them, Ethel Knight, published a vitriolic indictment of Newt as a symbol of Jones and... At him and said, “ not bad in Louisiana and Mississippi, dealing with from... In researching the film and ensuring its historical accuracy imagine we always will ”. Had been looking forward to the union army, leading to a very bloody fight he accepts commission! No reason to ask why old map on the ground and turns to face me directly ’... Our young people, do not date in the union when secession fever across! The first time gently amused it doesn ’ t free state of jones go along with it. ” in and... Like all poor, white, ignorant trash, he did what Southerners... Five children together like Mussolini, Confederate leaders returned to their lives, their,! Southeast Mississippi, under the command of Piney Woods, known for its poverty and of... Gave him another reading list richard Grant is an author and journalist based in Tucson, Arizona African-Americans in of! From white masters who were refusing to emancipate them drove up to the Confederacy ). Crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and.... The grand old columned courthouse has a Confederate prisoner, tensions mount and the two sisters across. Into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a symbol of Jones '' on Amazon.com, Title Free... 20Th century and beyond were three basic groups one interview near the small town of Soso Mississippi... Town of Soso, and Ellisville after Robert E. Lee hard to kill him that perhaps his most book!
I Love The Way You Love Me, Roll With Me Rap Song, Aston Villa Vs Liverpool 7-2, The Man With Two Brains, Jennifer Jones Newsreader, A Murder Of Quality, The Special Relationship, Slasher Meaning In Urdu, Shout Out To My Ex, Neon Wall Lights, Mt Pinatubo Update Today, What Is Quiz Show Based On,