14. Newton Knight Is Portrayed In Popular Media
While Newton Knight is not the most famous Confederate Soldier to come out of the American Civil War, what he did during the Civil War should not be lost in history, and there are a few people who are trying to make sure of this. One of these people is Gary Ross, who is a director of the film. He developed a movie titled Free State Of Jones which was released in 2016. The movie starred actor Matthew McConaughey and is said to have followed Newton’s life pretty closely.
The movie follows Newton through the Civil War, where he goes home for a bit to see his nephew killed, his growing dislike for the Confederate Army, and befriends an enslaved woman named Rachel who has secretly learned how to read. The movie then follows Newton as he secedes from the Confederate Army and begins to fight for the inequality the African Americans face, including how he continues to do this after the Civil War ends.
There is also a novel turned into a film which was inspired by the actions of Newton Knight. James H. Street in 1942 wrote this novel titled Tap Roots. A few years later, in 1948, the book was turned into a movie with the same name. The film was directed by George Marshall and starred Van Heflin, Boris Karloff, and Susan Hayward. This movie basically follows Newton’s action on how he tried to protect African Americans through seceding from the Confederate States of America.