Hi Again, and Welcome to another episode of the really show I'm your host Aaron Ross.
Today's show Uncivil Rebels Part 2, Newton Knight - BAM!
And don't forget we would really appreciate it if you'd subscribed. Born in 1873 Newton Knight was a farmer in Mississippi
In a County didn't have very many slaves
Rich Southerners were the ones who benefited mostly from slavery
Not the common people like Knight [Grunt]
exactly. Newton was an up standing guy and by the beginning of the Civil War his personal convictions led him to be strongly opposed
to secession the war and the slavery
by 1861 most of Mississippi was egar to fight and had no tolerance for those not in full sport of the Confederacy
Holy Smokes! Newt understood the situation pretty well and in order to avoid persecution and possible execution went ahead
and enlisted in the Confederate army soon after that the 20 negro law was passed by the Confederate Congress
this absolved slaveholders who owned 20 or more from actually having to fight
thus cementing the conflict as a rich man's war but a poor man's fight
and in a short time after that Newt found out that the Confederate cavlery had seized all his families hourses
[grunt] angry and frustrated Knight deserted and made the long dangerous journey back to his home in Jones County
eventually Newt was caught but he refused to return to duty,
I'm like duty. Say duty again.
subsequently
he was tortured at everything he owned was taken from him or destroyed by the Confederacy
shortly after his family was left destitute the siege of Vicksburg was taking place in the aftermath of the chaos that ensued
Knight took action
to raise a small army of 125 men from the local counties to defend themselves against the Confederacy
they became known as the Knights company
PAOW! they hid out of the wilderness and were aided by blacks and whites who were sympathetic to their cause
by 1864 Pres.Jefferson Davis became aware of Knights open rebellion and that they were quote
proclaiming themselves Southern Yankees and resolved to resist by force of arms all efforts to capture them
Da, Da, Daaaa.
Boya!!!
eventually a substantial Confederate force was brought in and the open rebellion was squashed but Knight and a few others
were never captured shortly the war ended
and soon after Union troops were in Mississippi
keeping order and protecting the rights of the newly freed slaves, and shortly after that Knight was commissioned in the U.
S. Army charged with leading teams to distribute food to starving people in nearby counties and
to rescue children were still being held as slaves. Unfortunately it wasn't quite a happy ending back then the Republican
party was the progressive party and push for change in the Democratic Party pushed back against them Republicans were soon
forced out of power and inequality returned to oppress the newly freed blacks. This is done through intimidation and
violence by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan
sometime after 1875
Knight married former slave and insurgent compatriots Rachel
they lived on his farm and had several children together
although the situation was precarious because as you can imagine an openly mixed-race couple living together was a
little dangerous and Mississippi in that time
Knight lived to the ripe old age of 85 passing away in 1922
and even though it was illegal from black-and-white to be buried in the same cemetery together
he was buried next to his wife who passed away in 1899 on their property his epitaph reads: He lived
for others
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Well that's our show for today thanks again for watching will see you next time
Oh Man, it's all coming together, it's all mixed up, it's all , it's all one. It's all connected.