Between late 1863 and mid-1864, an armed band of Confederate
deserters battled Confederate cavalry in the Piney Woods region of
Jones County, Mississippi. Calling themselves the Knight Company
after their captain, Newton Knight, and aided by women, slaves, and
children who spied on the Confederacy and provided food and
shelter, they set up headquarters in the swamps of the Leaf River.
There, legend has it, they declared the Free State of Jones.
In this UNC Press Short, excerpted from The Free State of Jones:
Mississippi's Longest Civil War, Victoria E. Bynum traces Newton
Knight's story from his enlistment in the Confederate Army, to his
desertion and formation of the Knight Company, to the violent
clashes with Confederate authorities that culminated in the
infamous Lowry raids of 1864.
UNC Press Civil War Shorts excerpt compelling, shorter narratives
from selected best-selling books published by the University of
North Carolina Press and present them as engaging, quick reads.
Produced exclusively in ebook format, these shorts present
essential concepts, defining moments, and concise introductions to
topics. They are intended to stir the imagination and encourage
further exploration of the original publications from which these
works are drawn.
