Matthew McCaughey’s recent interview with CBS News on his upcoming movie “The Free State of Jones was very interesting to me. “Free State of Jones,” which is expected to be released this month, is based on the true story of a poor white farmer by the name of Newton Knight who lived in Jones County.
Knight rebelled against the Confederacy during the Civil War by rallying other poor farmers and local slaves to rebel against the confederate army because they believed the cause was only to help the rich plantation owners and not the poor farmers who owned no slaves. The 20 plus law allowed men who owned 20 slaves are or more to be exempt from fighting; meanwhile, the poor farmers were drafted in to fight which led Knight to believe it was a rich man’s war and poor man’s fight. This led Knight to fight to for Jones County to secede from the Confederacy.
My mother, Jane Scott Roberts, was born and raised in Laurel and remembers just bits and pieces of the Newton Knight story. She told me she can remember her mother and father mentioning it but she doesn’t remember enough about it. Therefore, she said she is definitely looking forward to seeing the movie.
The interesting part of the CBS interview is how some of the ones who was interviewed for the story feel the legend of Knight was that of a hero for helping the poor; while others including some members of SCV (Sons of the Confederate veterans) view him as a traitor for deserting the cause and rebelling against the confederacy.
I am huge war movie buff and enjoy any movies or documentaries from the Civil War and Vietnam War. I have to admit, I’ve never heard of the legend of Newton Knight until I started seeing clips about the upcoming movie. It intrigued me to do some research and look up books that are available on the Newt Knight story and the story is quite interesting. I am looking forward to seeing this movie as well.
