Newt Knight: Robin Hood or Renegade?
On October 5, 1863, Major McLemore sat in front of the fire in the comfortable home of Amos Deason. He had been sent from Atlanta to round up a growing number of deserters who hid out in the swamps of Jones County, led by Newt Knight. After the siege of Vicksburg, the number of deserters swelled. The responsibility to round up these men brought the Confederate Major face to face with an enemy as deadly as Yankees. Thus Jones County's personal "civil war" began. This "inner" war of Knight and company versus the Confederacy drew women, children and slaves onto a field of battle that often included their homes. Ethel Knight in her book, Echo of the Black Horn, gives vivid accounts of such deadly skirmishes. Victoria Bynum's book, The Free State of Jones, gives a more scholarly, less vivid account of the event. Whatever his motives or intent, indeed, whether Knight was a Union sympathizer or simply a self-preservationist, both books include accounts of murder and theft by Knight and his followers. On page 108 of Ethel Knight's book we read that Newt and his men, "...often ate food that had been taken from a family or from the supplies of the destitute Confederate soldiers." On the other hand, these Confederates raided homes for food and horses also . Poor people of Jones County! They undoubtedly did want to be free - of Rebels, of Knight and his deserters, and of Yankees.
The Amos Deason Home
The house is located at the corner of Deason and Anderson streets, 1.34 miles to the East. It is also known locally as the "Old Anderson" home because of
the family's long tenure and prominent connection to the town's history. Amos and Eleanor Deason built the house circa 18 45. It is the oldest standing structure in Jones County. What appears to be a masonry exterior is actually hand hewn planks constructed to resemble stone. The Greek Revival front entrance is enhanced by a wrap-around porch. It was the first house in Jones County to be painted. However, it is the history of events preceding and occurring during the Civil War which gives the house its' importance. Believing the Civil War would be a "rich man's war" and a "poor man's fight," many Jones Countians wanted to vote not to join the Confederacy. An anti-secessionist, J D. Powell, was elected to represent Ellisville in Jackson when the vote was taken. However, Mr. Powell gave in (sic) peer pressure or group sentiment and voted to secede. Amos Deason refused to take sides and declared his home to be neutral territory and open to everyone. When Major McLemore, a Confederate officer, was sent to Ellisville to round up Newt Knight and his band of Confederate deserters, he stayed at the Deason home. On the night of October 5, 1863, Knight slipped up to the house under cover of darkness and shot and killed McLemore as he sat in front of the fireplace. Legend has it that the blood stain which soaked the heart pine floor reappears in damp weather although it was scrubbed numerous times. McLemore's ghost is rumored to walk through the house at night. Isaac Anderson, Deason's grandson, moved into the house prior to 1900 with his wife, the former Sarah Rebecca Pool. The couple raised ten children in the house. Their mother took care of her home, her husband and their family. She cleaned,
cooked, sewed, preserved, knit socks, made clothes, and taught them the Scripture. A. D. Anderson, one of the children, opened the Nehi Bottling Company in Ellisville in 1926. I. R. Anderson another son, owned several sawmills, the Ford Motor Company in Laurel and what is now known as Laurel Oil, parent Company of this Shell Station/General Store.
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