Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Newton Knight Company Muster Roll and Relief Bill (Z/2344).
Creator/Collector: Newton Knight and others.
Date(s): 1863-1880.
Size: 0.67 cubic ft.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: Laura Heller, 2016.
Provenance: Gift of Dorothy Knight Marsh and Florence Knight Blaylock, of Soso, Mississippi, on April 21, 2016; Z/U/2016.013
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Curator permission to view original. See Digital Archives exhibit.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Newton Knight Company Muster Roll and Relief Bill (Z/2344), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:
Newton Knight

Newton Knight, born in Jones County, Mississippi, was the son of Albert Knight (1799–1864) and his wife Mary Mason Rainey Knight (1805-1868). His birthdate has been a topic of discrepancy, with some records recording it in November of 1837 and others documenting it on November 10, 1829. Newton had seven siblings, and they were educated at home by their mother. Newton Knight married Serena Turner (1838-1923) in 1858, and they lived on a small farm in southwest Jasper County, Mississippi. The couple had eight children.

Although Newton was a grandson of John "Jackie" Knight (1773–1861), one of the largest slaveholders in Jones County before the Civil War, his father Albert neither owned slaves nor inherited any after John Knight's death. Newton also never owned slaves. Newton deserted from the Confederate Army and staged a Unionist rebellion that included African-American and white residents of Jones County, Mississippi against the Confederacy in 1864 and 1865. The area was sometimes referred to as the "Free State of Jones."

Knight had separated from his wife, Serena, by the mid-1870s. He married Rachel, a freedwoman formerly held as a slave by his grandfather.  Newton and Rachel Knight had several children before her death in 1889. Newton Knight died February 16, 1922 at the age of 92, and he is buried in the Knight Family Cemetery in Jasper County, Mississippi.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection includes a muster roll, or roster, of Newton Knight's company listing the men serving in it from its organization at Sal's Battery in Jones County, Mississippi, on October 13, 1863 until September 10, 1865. The roster identifies captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, and privates by name. Also included is a list of battles fought by Newton Knight's company and recorded dates of the battles. There is also a copy of Senate Bill 1330, which was a bill for relief of the company's members and introduced in the United States Senate by Mississippi Senator Blanche Bruce on February 17, 1880. On the verso of the damaged document is a letter dated March 2, 1880, describing the problems facing the bill, however the signature of the writer is missing. A postscript includes the initials of the letter author, which appear to match those of Joel E. Welborn of Shubuta, Clarke County.

Researchers should note, it has been determined that the muster roll and list of battles probably was written from memory and not documented at the time of the events. For instance, Knight lists the Battle at Big Creek Church as February 1, 1864, however the Fifteenth Confederate Cavalry Regiment had not left Mobile for Jones County until March 2, 1864. Furthermore, scholars have since regarded Knight's muster roll in this collection as a handwritten copy, possibly dated around 1870. He may have made handwritten copies as supporting evidence for his first attempt to petition the government for compensation in 1870.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Muster roll, circa 1870.

The muster roll states that it is a list of the United States infantry that organized and equipped at Sal's Battery, Jones County, Mississippi, on October 13, 1863 and commanded by Captain Newton Knight until September 10, 1865. The list includes the names of soldiers who mustered into the company, when they enlisted, and the length of their service. The roster also records soldiers who were captured, wounded, killed, or "run down by hounds and hung." An additional piece to the muster roll is a handwritten copy of the soldiers listed in rows 43-48. Although the document appears dated 1863 through 1865, it has been determined by scholars that the muster roll was written from memory, probably around 1870.

Box 1, folders 1-2

 

Series 2: Relief Bill and letter, 1880.

On February 17, 1880, Mississippi's United States Senator Blanche Bruce brought to the 46th Congress a relief bill, known as Senate Bill 1330, for Newton Knight and his company for their services in the United States infantry from 1863-1865. The bill gives the names of soldiers and the requested monetary amount for their relief. A handwritten post-script indicates that the writer wrote to Senator Bruce to correct the names and signed J.E.W. The signed initials on the postscript appear to match that of Joel E. Welborn, of Shubuta, Clarke County.

On the reverse side of the Senate Bill 1330, a handwritten letter addressed to Captain Newton Knight and dated March 2, 1880, discusses the writer's concerns about Senator Bruce and inaction to push the senate bill on behalf of Knight's Company. The writer states that it is an easy matter to get a bill introduced to a committee but that it often takes management to get the committee to act on it favorably. The handwriting appears similar to the handwriting on the other side of the bill, so one may agree that the writer of the letter is also L.E.W.

Box 1, folder 3

 

Series 3: List of Battles, circa 1870.

This is a handwritten list of battles fought by Newton Knight's Company, listing the first one at Sal's Battery, Jones County, near Smith's Store on October 13, 1863. The list consists of fifteen battles documented with dates and general location. The last described on the list is a skirmish on January 10, 1865. On the reverse side of the list, an additional handwritten list of four names of soldiers along with their status as wounded or killed, however no dates indicated. Although the document appears dated 1863 through 1865, it has been determined by scholars that this list of battles was written from memory, probably around 1870.

Box 1, folder 4

 
Box List:

Folder 1: [Muster Roll, circa 1870]. "The following is a list of the company of United States infantry organized and equipped at Sales Battery, Jones County, Mississippi, on the 13th day of Oct. A.D. 1863 and commanded by Capt. Newton Knight until the 10th day of September A.D. 1865."

Folder 2: A handwritten copy of the soldiers listed in rows 43-48 of the larger muster roll, circa 1870.

Folder 3: Senate Bill 1330, February 17, 1880 and handwritten note addressed to Captain Newton Knight, March 2, 1880.

Folder 4: [List of battles, circa 1870]. "Firs Battel Fought at Sals Battery, Jones Co., Near Smiths Store, October 13, 1863."