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; they set up headquarters in the swamps of the Leaf River; where; legend has it; they declared the Free State of Jones. The story of the Jones County rebellion is well known among Mississippians; and debate over whether the county actually seceded from the state during the war has smoldered for more than a century. Adding further controversy to the legend is the story of Newt 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.Victoria Bynum traces the origins and legacy of the Jones County uprising from the American Revolution to the modern civil rights movement. In bridging the gap between the legendary and the real Free State of Jones; she shows how the legend--what was told; what was embellished; and what was left out--reveals a great deal about the South's transition from slavery to segregation; the racial; gender; and class politics of the period; and the contingent nature of history and memory.
#979206 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 1999-10-25 1999-10-06Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .88 x 5.91l; 1.08 #File Name: 0807847763352 pages
Review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A Compelling ArgumentBy Jonathan M. BryantYoung has managed to combine many factors in this work. He cogently explains how costal planters could perceive themselves as paternalistic masters protecting their slaves while at the same time literally driving those slaves to death in the name of profit. Even more cleverly; he traces the spread of this paternalistic; anti-capitalist rhetoric of the planters through their growing network of commercial capitalism. A revealing read.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant; insightful; and thought-provoking. A great read.By A CustomerMr. Young has outdone himself. His book not only offers well-argued insights on the subject matter; but his prose is sharp; funny and beautifully crafted. I recommend this book not only for historians; but for anyone looking to take an adventurous ride through our nation's earliest years. Mr. Young is clearly a young historian on the rise. I eagerly await his next work.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant; insightful; and thought-provoking. A great read.By A CustomerMr. Young has outdone himself. His book not only offers well-argued insights on the subject matter; but his prose is sharp; funny and beautifully crafted. I recommend this book not only for historians; but for anyone looking to take an adventurous ride through our nation's earliest years. Mr. Young is clearly a young historian on the rise. I eagerly await his next work.
