Civil War & Reconstruction

Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones

Theme and Time Period

“We Stood firm to the union when secession Swept as an avalanche over the state. For this cause alone we have been treated as savages instead of freeman by the rebel authorities.”

Newton Knight, Petition to Governor William Sharkey, July 15, 1865

Newton Knight was born in 1837 near the Leaf River in Jones County, Mississippi, a region romantically described in 1841 by the historian J.F.H. Claiborne as a “land of milk and honey.” The landscape was dominated by virgin longleaf pines. Wolves and panthers still roamed the land.

Newton Knight and the Legend of the Free State of Jones Lesson Plan

OVERVIEW

Mississippi’s heritage is rich in folklore that few regions throughout the country can rival, and the story of Newton Knight and the Free State of Jones is no exception. During the American Civil War many Mississippians of Jones County defied the state’s secession from the Union and, under the leadership of Newton Knight, made guerrilla warfare against the Confederacy. The tale of the “Free State of Jones” and Newton Knight is one of courage, conviction, and … legend.

Corinth in the Civil War: At the Crossroads of History

Theme and Time Period

“Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards,” declared a Union general early in the American Civil War. A Confederate general agreed, saying, “If defeated here [Corinth], we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause.”

Corinth in the Civil War: At the Crossroads of History Lesson Plan

OVERVIEW

Located at the intersection of two major railroads, the town of Corinth was destined to be a Union target during the American Civil War. From the spring of 1862 until the winter of 1864, Union troops occupied this northeast Mississippi town. Like other places in north and central Mississippi, Corinth’s Civil War story is one of bloodshed, occupation, and destruction.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 3, 4

Cotton and the Civil War

Theme and Time Period

If slavery was the corner stone of the Confederacy, cotton was its foundation. At home its social and economic institutions rested upon cotton; abroad its diplomacy centered around the well-known dependence of Europe…upon an uninterrupted supply of cotton from the southern states.

Frank L. Owsley Jr.

Black Confederate Pensioners After the Civil War

Theme and Time Period

The service of African Americans with the Confederate army during the American Civil War has long intrigued historians and Civil War buffs. Were these men soldiers or servants? Did they get shot? Why did they serve, and what was the nature of the relationship between Bblack servants and their White masters in uniform? The answers to these questions may never be completely understood, but one thing is clear from a variety of sources: African Americans were an integral part of the Confederate war effort. 

Vicksburg During the Civil War (1862-1863): A Campaign, A Siege Lesson Plan

OVERVIEW

By the spring of 1863, the only major city on the Mississippi River still under the control of the Confederacy was the city of Vicksburg. Maintaining control of Vicksburg was essential to the unity of the Confederate states. Confederate troops, as well as Vicksburg citizens, heroically held out for 47 days before surrendering to Union forces. It was during this 47-day siege that the citizens of Vicksburg, while the city was under steady shelling, were forced to live in caves.

Letter To A Wife On Death Of Her Husband

Theme and Time Period

Return to Mississippi Soldiers in the Civil War

 

Hd. Qrs. Mabry’s Brig.
Camp W Okolona Miss.
July 20, 1864
Mrs. Maj. Robb. C. McCay

With feelings of deepest sorrow I announce to you the death of your husband: Maj. Robert C. McCay 38th Miss. (Mounted Infty.). He was killed in battle at Harrisburg Miss. on the 14th Inst. while gallantly leading his regiment.

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