The Rebels You Rarely Hear About
Monday, 27 July 2015 00:00
By William C. Anderson, Truthout
"This law ... makes it a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." - Confederate Private Jasper Collins speaking to Newton Knight about the "Twenty-Negro Law," which allowed planters who owned 20 or more enslaved Africans to be exempt from Confederate enlistment ...
One of the most famous instances of defector resistance within the Confederate Army was the "Free State of Jones" within Mississippi. Years into the conflict that divided the nation, many people in Mississippi were opposed to the war. Arguably the most famous was a farmer by the name of Newton Knight, who lived in Jones County. A legend in his own right, Knight spoke out forcefully against the idea that he and his comrades should be swept up into a war that they were being forced to fight against their will. He led a guerrilla unit known as the "Knight Company," which actively fought against the Confederacy ...
Next door to Mississippi, in the "Heart of Dixie," the "Republic of Winston" also rose up in opposition. Many there held sentiments that were parallel with Jones County defectors. Keep in mind that Alabama was the home of the Confederate capital, Montgomery, and the original site for the secession effort of the Confederate States of America (which was established at the Montgomery Convention). Still, the people of the pro-Union County of Winston saw no reason to fight alongside the rest of Alabama and came close to seceding from the Confederacy. Many Winston residents hid and fled north to avoid conscription into the Confederate army. By the war's end, Winston had provided twice as many soldiers to the Union as it did to the Confederacy ...
Meanwhile, in Scott County, Tennessee, many people overwhelmingly voted against secession, causing violent confrontations between Union-loyal Scott countians and Confederate soldiers. The county defied Tennessee's decision to secede, and the county court, by resolution, seceded from Tennessee. Residents formed the "Free and Independent State of Scott" ...
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32057-confederate-deserters-the-rebels-you-rarely-hear-about
