


Many reasons have been proffered as to why Newton would fight for a cause he opposed. However, when the civil war broke out in April 1861, Newton signed up to fight for the Confederate army. His Role In The American Civil Warįrom the onset, Newton was opposed to slavery as a result of his religious beliefs. They would go on to have nine children together. In 1958, he got married for the first time to a woman by the name, Serena Turner and they both continued the farming life in Jasper County, Mississippi. Newton did not receive any formal education but was homeschooled by his mother. Unlike many farmers in the south, they did not rely on slaves to do their farm work but instead enlisted the help of their children to do so. Even though his grandfather (John “Jackie” Knight) was a slaveholder, Newton (and his father, Albert) never took part in the inhumane practice. Newton, on growing up, equally became a farmer. Newton Knight was born in Jones County, Mississippi, in 1929. While some regard him as a betrayer of the southern cause, others see him as a hero and champion of the rights of the downtrodden. He is one of the divisive figures in the history of the American civil war. Newton Knight is however not without some controversies. He did not only gather his own army to fight the separatist forces but also freed his home county of Jones County from the rule of the Confederate government. Newton Knight was a white farmer who opposed slavery and revolted against the Confederate forces in the course of the American civil war.
