5. After Leaving the Confederate Army, Newton Was Caught By The Confederate Army But Never Regretted His Decision
Of course, leaving the Confederate Army was frowned upon by the Confederacy. Therefore, once Newton went, they were on the hunt for him and all the others who had left the Confederate Army after the Twenty-Slave Law announcement. While it took the Confederacy a few months to find Newton, he was found in May of 1863 at his home. However, instead of arresting him right away for leaving the Confederate Army, he was given a chance to go back into the Confederate Army. Newton refused this request and, therefore, he was arrested.
Upon Newton’s arrest, he was sent to the prison and, in a sense, became a prisoner of war on the same side he once fought for months prior. While it is not certain, some reports said the Confederacy tortured Newton while he was in prison. It is certain that the Confederacy did leave Newton and his family with nothing. They destroyed everything that Newton Knight had worked for, including his homestead, his mule, horses, and any other possessions Newton had. However, this only further enraged Newton against the Confederacy. Later in his life, Newton said this of his decision to desert the Confederate Army, “if they had a right to conscript me when I didn’t want to fight the Union, I had a right to quit when I got ready.”