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My movie was based more on Hollywood than history. I read that If someone wanted to know about the real Newton they should find historical evidence and facts about him than just the movie. Newton was furious when he found out about the 20-negro law. He left the Confederate side of war forever. In the movie it didn't show how furious he was compared to how mad he actually was. Newton was told he had to go back in the war and fight for the confederacy and he refused. Due to him refusing he ended up being taken as prisoner. The movie showed nothing about him being prisoner and having him be asked to fight again. The government ruined everything that he owned due to him being prisoner. My movie actually showed them taking their hogs and burning their house. That part was kind of accurate to history.

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Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones | Mississippi History Now

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Home " Articles " Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones

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This movie taught me about the civil war by showing what goes on outside of just the big battles. The movie shown the people he who lived in the swamp area and how they survived from the slave patrols who went after runaway slaves.  In the movie it also taught me about how the women dealt with the injured soldiers and how they took care of them if they were injured.

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I would definitely recommend this movie for entertainment. The movie kept me on my toes on to what was going to happen with the Negros from the swamp and to see if they could out through the government. The beginning was a little confusing but after that it was very easy to follow what was happening. I also thought that it was very accurate to the war. I really liked the movie because not a lot of movies about the civil war are like this movie. I think that because a lot of the movies were based on Lincoln and the major battles. This movie was a 10/10

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Some things they could improve on would be to have events that lead up to the big event because I was kind of confused in the beginning till it got to the climax of the movie. Also there could have been more communication going on with Newton's family to show that is who is family was. I did not know that the boy that was following him around in the battle and got shot was his nephew. I had to look that up.

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Negro soldiers became a part in the Civil War on the union side. They were either escaped slaves that crossed the line also known as contraband soldiers. The became contraband to fight against the confederates since the south treated them so bad when they were enslaved. Another way they were in the civil war was by having slave revolts and they could also be armed slave revolts where they could have guns and would attack their slave owners. That helps me understand why the Negros that were in the swamp were trying to attack the government.

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You Found It! An incredible picture and story on Civil War Negro Soldiers

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Civil war slave revolts were becoming popular in the civil war. In 1861 The attack on Fort Sumter a group of slaves in Adams county Mississippi, tried to time an uprising with the union troops. Although word got out and around 40 slaves were executed. In West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri,Kentucky,Illinois,North Carolina in 1859. I think this helps me understand why Newton and his militia were attacking the government. They held an armed revolt where they surprise attacked the city.

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Slave rebellions were a continuous source of fear in the American South, especially since black slaves accounted for more than one-third of the region's population in the 18th century. Laws dictating when, where and how slaves could congregate were enacted to prevent insurrection and quell white paranoia. It's estimated there were at least 250 slave rebellions in America before slavery was abolished in 1865.

Because plantations in the South were smaller than those in other parts of the Americas-and because whites often outnumbered slaves-slave rebellions in the South were less frequent than in the Caribbean and South America.

Additionally, slavery in America was rigorously policed to a degree that made rebellion a near-impossibility. Most slave revolts occurred outside the plantation system, in larger cities or areas of small farms. In these locales, slave controls were more lax and rebellious slaves could move about more freely.

The largest slave rebellion outside the United States was the successful insurrection of black slaves that overthrew French rule and abolished slavery in Saint Domingue, thereby establishing the independent nation of Haiti.

SLAVE REVOLTS BEGIN

The first recorded slave revolt in the United States happened in Gloucester, Virginia, in 1663, an event involving white indentured servants as well as black slaves.

In 1672, there were reports of fugitive slaves forming groups to harass plantation owners. The first recorded all-black slave revolt occurred in Virginia in 1687.

Virginia was the host of several thwarted uprisings, including one in Richmond in 1800 and Spotsylvania County in 1815, but the state was also the scene of the most notorious slave rebellion in American history: Nat Turner's Revolt.

NAT TURNER

Slave Nat Turner was self-educated and prone to religious visions, which fueled his belief that a Day of Judgment was coming. In 1831, he enlisted the help of several other men to rebel.

In the morning hours of August 22, Nat Turner and his group murdered their master and his family. After swelling in size to about 60 slaves by afternoon, with more killing and a face-off with a white posse, the group scattered, and Virginia prepared for war. In the aftermath, about 60 slaves were executed.

Turner hid in a hole for a month and a half before discovery. Brought to trial, he was hanged a week later. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 was inspired in part by Nat Turner's rebellion.

STONO REBELLION

One of the bloodiest slave rebellions, known as the Stono Rebellion or Cato's Conspiracy, started in South Carolina in 1739, at the Stono River Bridge near Charleston.

One September morning, 20 slaves broke into a store, stole weapons and supplies and headed for the refuge of Spanish-ruled Florida, leaving 23 murder victims in their path.

Growing into a group of 100 upon arriving in Florida, the rebels stopped in an open field and made a ruckus in hopes other slaves would hear them and join. A local militia confronted the group, with most of the escaped slaves caught and executed.

Charleston had 19 years earlier been the center of a plotted revolt by 14 slaves planning to destroy plantations and attack Charleston. Betrayed, they fled, attempted to convince Creek Indians to join their uprising and were captured in Savannah, Georgia. All were executed upon return to Charleston.

In 1816 in Camden, slaves planned to set fire to the town and kill the white population. Seventeen slaves were arrested and seven executed. In 1829, a more successful attempt saw 85 buildings torched and razed to the ground.

NEW YORK SLAVE REVOLTS

In the 18th century, slaves comprised 20 percent of the population in New York City, and 1712 saw the city as host to a significant revolt centering on enslaved warriors from Africa's Gold Coast.

Earlier in the year, some slaves planned an uprising in April with local Indians. Armed with guns, swords, knives, and axes, 23 men gathered in an orchard at the northern tip of the city before setting fire to a slave owner's home.

A group of white men arrived to put out the fire and were ambushed-nine of them were killed. Soldiers were dispatched, and the rebels had fled to the forest, where they were eventually captured, though six committed suicide. After trials, 27 slaves were convicted, with 21 of them killed in public executions.

In 1708, a slave uprising in Long Island resulted in the death of seven whites and the execution of four slaves.

In 1741 in New York City, after a robbery in February and several arsons over the next few months, police believed a revolt was brewing and rounded up black men, both slaves and free. A series of trials followed with resulting executions and deportations, though the alleged conspiracy is now considered a fabrication by the judge and some witnesses, fueled by hysteria.

Albany was also the scene of several alleged plots that were foiled, including one in 1793 in which a group of slaves burned down several buildings.

GERMAN COAST UPRISING

The 1811 German Coast uprising was the largest slave revolt in American history, given the numbers of people involved.

Taking place along the Mississippi River north of New Orleans, in an area known as the German Coast, the ultimate plan was to destroy sugar cane plantations, free every slave in the state and take control of New Orleans.

On January 8 about 30 slaves entered their owner's mansion, killing the master's son while the master fled to warn other plantation owners, which sent mobs of frantic whites fleeing to New Orleans.

The rebels armed themselves and left to destroy the nearest plantation, joined by other slaves and eventually numbering more than 100 people. Abandoning their march to New Orleans, they slipped away from soldiers and retraced their steps north.

A group of nearly 100 planters confronted the slaves, who had taken refuge in a plantation. About 40 slaves were killed. Some were captured and forced to watch injured rebels get tortured. Others escaped into the swamp, only to be tracked down and killed.

The majority of the German Coast slaves put on trial for rebellion were found guilty and executed, with their mutilated corpses put on public display for other slaves to see.

AMISTAD SHIP REVOLT

Shipboard slave revolts weren't uncommon in the 18th century. In 1764 the slave ship Hope erupted in rebellion, with men in the hold forcing their way on deck twice and killing nine crew members before eventually being seized by Spanish forces.

The most famous revolt at sea took place on the Spanish slave ship in 1839, involving Africans being shipped out of Cuba. The 53 men seized control of the vessel and spared the lives of two Cubans who promised to maneuver the boat back to Africa.

After wandering the seas for two months, the ship docked in Long Island, where the Africans were taken into custody and endured a two-year-long court battle for their freedom. In January 1842, they were able to return to West Africa.

The only successful slave revolt on an American ship happened in November 1841 when the Creole left Richmond for New Orleans to sell a cargo of tobacco and 135 slaves.

A fight between guards and slaves turned into a full rampage onboard. Once the slaves seized control, they set course for the Bahamas, where all 135 slaves were given their freedom.

CIVIL WAR-ERA SLAVE REVOLTS

Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, there were numerous attempted insurgencies. In 1859, on the plantation of former President James K. Polk in Mississippi, his widow watched as armed slaves barricaded themselves in protest.

Additional uprisings were reported in West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina that year.

In 1860, 14 cities in north Texas faced arson via a plot between slaves and white co-conspirators. There were multiple repeated eruptions in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and other Southern states.

In 1861, heartened by the attack on Fort Sumter, a group of slaves in Adams County, Mississippi, tried to time an uprising with the arrival of Union troops. Word got out about the plot through a child, which resulted in the execution of as many as 40 slaves. This scenario also involved several white co-conspirators.

Throughout the Civil War, there were reports of conspiracies and unrest among slaves all over the South, coming to an end only with the defeat of the Confederate States of America and finally, in 1865, emancipation.

SOURCES

Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion. Junius P. Rodriguez, ed.
American Negro Slave Revolts. Hebert Aptheker.
Reader's Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors.
American Slave Revolts and Conspiracies. Kerry Walters.

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Slave rebellions were a continuous source of fear in the American South, especially since black slaves accounted for more than one-third of the region's population in the 18th century. Laws dictating when, where and how slaves could congregate were enacted to prevent insurrection and quell white paranoia.

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For my source I choose the news paper from  March 12, 1864 it is showing a picture of slaves helping soldiers escape war. In the movie Newton was a soldier who was escaping war to get his nephew back to his family to get buried. In the movie Newton escapes and then helps the African Americans to get the government off their back about escaping and not being enslaved.

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This Civil War Harper's weekly has a picture of slaves helping escaping Union Soldiers

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Secondary Source #2     Popular history  

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Secondary Source #2     Popular history  

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NightJohn Author Gary Paulsen
I choose NightJohn for my children's book popular history. The story is narrated by a female slave Sarny at the Waller plantation. Waller has a new slave called John who was beat a lot and Waller treated him awful. John really wants tobacco and will trade for it and Sarny hears him and wonders what could he trade since he came to the plantation with nothing. John tells her that he will trade her knowledge that he has for tobacco even though that skill is forbidden to slaves. They meet in the middle of the night where john teachers her how to read and write. That is where he got the name NightJohn. John learned to read and write when he escaped slavery and went to the north. He was very grateful that he learned to read and write that he came back to the south to help slaves. I think this connects to my movie because towards the end of the movie Rachel a female fugitive slave that was a part of the swamp tough African Americans to read and write it was not in secret though because they were free but she was still teaching them like NightJohn.

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The Free State of Jones
Newton Knight is a battlefield medic in the Confederate Army. He deserts the army when he saw his nephew die in the war and finds out about the 20-negro law and goes back to Jones County, Mississippi.  He runs away and is helping Negros from a swamp survive and kill the government officials that are after the African Americans. He forms an army of people from his county and the people from the swamp against the Confederates.
His army ruins the confederates corn supply and holds guns to their faces and threatens the lieutenant. Newton and his Militia take down the confederacy flag and put the american flag up on the flag pole. The government is burning down families properties to get back at the militia. Newton gave a speech about the conditions of free state of Jones. The militia keeps going till the end of the war and thrives against the Confederates. People of the militia are getting hung. The Militia hid in a coffin and had a fake funeral and they hopped out of the coffins and started shooting and killed important people to the confederacy government. A battle happens in Ellisville, Mississippi and the Militia ran the confederates out of the town. With the war being over, freedmen could have their own land for the first time in their life. A woman who was free started a school for African Americans to learn to read and write.