The free state of Jones

400 pages

English language

Published Feb. 20, 2016 by Duckworth Overlook.

ISBN:: 9780715650776
OCLC Number:: 947089822

(1 review)

"Between late 1863 and mid-1864, an armed band of Confederate deserters battled Confederate cavalry in the Piney Woods region of Jones County, Mississippi. Led by Newton Knight and calling themselves the Knight Company after their captain, they set up headquarters in the swamps of the Leaf River, where, legend has it, they declared the Free State of Jones. Adding further controversy to the legend is the story of Newton Knight's interracial romance with his wartime accomplice, Rachel, a slave. From their relationship there developed a mixed-race community that endured long after the Civil War had ended, and the ambiguous racial identity of their descendants confounded the rules of segregated Mississippi well into the twentieth century. The Free State of Jones traces the origins and legacy of the Jones County uprising from the American Revolution to the modern civil rights movement. It shows how the legend--what was told, what was embellished, …

"Between late 1863 and mid-1864, an armed band of Confederate deserters battled Confederate cavalry in the Piney Woods region of Jones County, Mississippi. Led by Newton Knight and calling themselves the Knight Company after their captain, they set up headquarters in the swamps of the Leaf River, where, legend has it, they declared the Free State of Jones. Adding further controversy to the legend is the story of Newton Knight's interracial romance with his wartime accomplice, Rachel, a slave. From their relationship there developed a mixed-race community that endured long after the Civil War had ended, and the ambiguous racial identity of their descendants confounded the rules of segregated Mississippi well into the twentieth century. The Free State of Jones traces the origins and legacy of the Jones County uprising from the American Revolution to the modern civil rights movement. It shows how the legend--what was told, what was embellished, and what was left out--reveals a great deal about the American South's transition from slavery to segregation; the racial, gender, and class politics of the period; and the contingent nature of history and memory."--Back cover.

7 editions

Bill Day reviewed The Free State of Jones by Victoria E. Bynum

Review of 'The Free State of Jones' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I don't often pick up a book after seeing a movie, much less a movie trailer, but in this case I am glad I did. Victoria Bynum presents a detailed history of a rebellion of small farmers, deserters from the Confederate Army, and escaped slaves against the Confederate slave holding aristocracy. Loyal to the Union, Captain Newton Knight successfully fought off repeated Confederate cavalry raids from 1863 to the end of the Civil War, and was notorious throughout the next century not only for his successful resistance to the "Lost Cause," but also for his extended mixed race family. Knight has been alternately lauded for his daring and initiative in fighting off the Confederate Army and sustaining the people of a poor county in Mississippi and vilified for his defiance of the South's increasingly draconian segregation. Despite Professor Bynum's measured academic tone, the moving story of a gallant band who …

I don't often pick up a book after seeing a movie, much less a movie trailer, but in this case I am glad I did. Victoria Bynum presents a detailed history of a rebellion of small farmers, deserters from the Confederate Army, and escaped slaves against the Confederate slave holding aristocracy. Loyal to the Union, Captain Newton Knight successfully fought off repeated Confederate cavalry raids from 1863 to the end of the Civil War, and was notorious throughout the next century not only for his successful resistance to the "Lost Cause," but also for his extended mixed race family. Knight has been alternately lauded for his daring and initiative in fighting off the Confederate Army and sustaining the people of a poor county in Mississippi and vilified for his defiance of the South's increasingly draconian segregation. Despite Professor Bynum's measured academic tone, the moving story of a gallant band who stood fast against the dark tide of secession and segregation shines forth. I highly recommend this book not only as an antidote to racist Southern mythology but also to the caricature of the South as uniformly illiterate and bigoted. Careful in its analysis, this story is also refreshing and inspirational in its humanity. One place where interested readers can continue the conversation is Professor Bynum's blog, Renegade South.

Subjects

Military deserters
History
Unionists (United States Civil War)
Racially mixed people
Social conditions
Social aspects

Places

Mississippi
Jones County
Jones County (Miss.)
United States