{"product_id":"the-free-state-of-jones-mississippis-longest-civil-war","title":"The Free State of Jones: Mississippi's Longest Civil War","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetween late 1863 and mid-1864  an armed band of Confederate deserters battled Confederate cavalry in the Piney Woods region of Jones County  Mississippi. Calling themselves the Knight Company after their captain  Newton Knight  they set up headquarters in the swamps of the Leaf River  where  legend has it  they declared the Free State of Jones.  The story of the Jones County rebellion is well known among Mississippians  and debate over whether the county actually seceded from the state during the war has smoldered for more than a century. Adding further controversy to the legend is the story of Newt Knights interracial romance with his wartime accomplice  Rachel  a slave. From their relationship there developed a mixed-race community that endured long after the Civil War had ended  and the ambiguous racial identity of their descendants confounded the rules of segregated Mississippi well into the twentieth century.  Victoria Bynum traces the origins and legacy of the Jones County uprising from the American Revolution to the modern civil rights movement. In bridging the gap between the legendary and the real Free State of Jones  she shows how the legend--what was told  what was embellished  and what was left out--reveals a great deal about the Souths transition from slavery to segregation; the racial  gender  and class politics of the period; and the contingent nature of history and memory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44965096357941,"sku":"ByrdShop_0807826367","price":113.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780807826362.jpg?v=1770488593","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-free-state-of-jones-mississippis-longest-civil-war","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}