13. Newton’s Own Family Sees Him In Two Different Ways
One of the first people to write an account of Newton Knight’s life was his son, Thomas Jefferson “Tom” Knight. Tom, who wrote a memoir titled The Life and Activities of Captain Newton Knight in 1935, makes Newton out to be a great war hero who makes him proud. While the biography does leave out certain areas in Newton’s life, such as his common-law marriage to Rachel Knight, which happened after the Civil War, it is clear that Tom sees Newton as a prominent historical figure who should never be forgotten in history.
While Tom wrote considerably about his father’s heroism and fighting for equality among African Americans during a time where this was dangerous, other members of Newton’s family does not feel the same. In fact, Newton’s own great-niece, Ethel Knight, wrote a book titled Echo of the Black Horn: An Authentic Tale of ‘The Governor’ of the ‘Free State of Jones.’ in 1951 where she calls Newton a traitor to the Confederate States of America. Furthermore, she wrote about the subject Tom failed to mention, Newton’s secret relationship with a freedwoman named Rachel.
Ethel even took this a step further to state the Knight Company which her uncle had founded to try to help the injustices of the African American community during the Civil War was unjust. She said that Newton manipulated others to join his cause. Ethel also stated that he was a cruel man who was ignorant and a murder. She stated she wrote the book to try to bring out the truth to who her uncle was and believes that he should not be held in such high standards or given a legacy.