“If there is a place worse than hell, I am in it.” Abraham Lincoln, Dec. 1862
The Civil War. There’s not much new that I can say about this period of U.S. history that played out on the battlefields from 12 Apr 1861 to 9 Apr 1865. Just four years. It took almost 20 years for the South to officially recover. For some areas and families, recovery never happened.
Some fast facts about the Civil War:
l There were Whites and Blacks in the North and South who were slave owners;
l There were many White Southerners who did not agree with the tenets of the Confederate States of America (CSA) and disagreed with their slave-owning fathers, often referred to as Southern Yankees;
l Union and Confederate troops in the border states and southern states got their food and supplies by plundering what they needed from locals as they marched from one area to another;
l As a result of this plundering along with the burning of crops in the South, almost everyone was literally starving;
l For almost a whole generation during and after the Civil War in the South, some family lines came close to dying out. Sons and husbands were killed in the war leaving widows and young daughters with no marriage prospects.
Thanks to my son-in-law BAC and his Powell family, this has been the most incredible family-history research journey of how one Powell couple’s Civil War story expanded into a whole county and made American history!
Abbreviations: RoJ - Republic of Jones; Pvt. - Private; Sgt. - Sergeant
Act One - Secession
1860 - Jan 1861
For over 100 years, slavery had been a part of life in Mississippi. Seems like everyone owned slaves: wealthy plantation owners, young couples starting a family, even the elderly. Our slave-owning families included the Graves, Knights, Powells, and Wades (1850 and 1860 Federal Slave Schedules). However, not everyone could afford slaves, and many religious men thought it was a sin, especially around Jones County, Mississippi.
On 31 Oct 1860 Jones County had 3,323 people: 2, 916 white and 407 slaves (from Federal Census Records). Secession fever was sweeping the South, and a secession convention was going to be held in January 1861. So, Jones County took a vote on the issue. The secessionist candidate, J.M. Baylis, received 24 votes, and our cousin, John Hathorn Powell, Jr., the cooperationist candidate, received 374. (From https://www.americancivilwarforum.com/newton-knight-hero-of-jones-county-or-outlaw-13238.html)
Pvt. John Hathorn Powell, Jr. (Jones Co. Delegate to 1861 MS Secession Convention)
The Mississippi Secession Convention was held from Jan 7-26, 1861 in Jackson, MS. On 9 Jan 1861, John Hathorn Powell of Jones County voted against seceding but later in the day changed his vote. He offered no remarks or reason for the change. On page 47 of the original document titled “A Declaration”, it is made clear that he ended up going along with the opening statement:
“Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery--the greatest material interest of the world.” (From “Proceedings of the Mississippi State Convention…” at https://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/missconv/missconv.html)
Enter our cousin, Newt Knight, infamous leader of Knight’s Company and charismatic head of the Republic of Jones, more popularly known as the Free State of Jones.
In Newt’s own words:
“Fact is, Jones County never seceded from the Union into the Confederacy. Her delegate seceded. …There was only about 400 folks in Jones County then. All but about seven of them voted to stay in the Union. But the Jones County delegate went up to the state convention at Jackson, and he voted to secede with the rest of the county delegates. He didn't come back to Jones County for awhile. It would 'a' been kinder onhealthy for him, I reckon.” (Interview with Newton Knight of Mississippi was originally published in the March 20, 1921, edition of the New Orleans Item. By Meigs O. Frost. Reprinted online at the Times Picayune website NOLA.com on 19 Jul 2019 (accessed 28 Oct 2023)).
In fact, the day after the citizens of Ellisville, Jones County, received this news, John’s effigy was hanged and burned. He returned but remained unpopular until they moved from Jones County.
1861 Feb 8 - the Confederate States of America (CSA) breaks away from the United States.
1861 Apr 12 - the Civil War officially begins.
1862
First, here’s an introduction to the real-life cast of characters involving the Knight, Powell, Valentine, and Wade families. Direct ancestors are in bold and include relatives involved in Newt’s band of deserter outlaws consisting of 125 men known as Knight’s Company and/or living in the Republic of Jones (also known as the Free State of Jones) area near Soso, Jones County, Mississippi:
Pvt. Alpheus Knight, our Cornelia Knight’s and Newt Knight’s cousin, enlisted 1 May 1861
Newton “Newt” Stuart Knight, our Cornelia Knight’s cousin, enlisted 13 May 1862 in Jasper CountyPvt. William Martin “Dickie” Knight, our Cornelia’s brother, cousin of Newt, enlisted 1 May 1861
Pvt. Benjamin F. Knight, our Cornelia’s brother, cousin of Newt, enlisted 3 May 1862
Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell, enlisted 13 May 1862
Sgt. Daniel Webster Wade, husband of Cornelia Ann Knight, enlisted 12 May 1862Pvt. Elisha Benton Wade, brother of Sgt. Daniel Wade, enlisted 12 May 1862
Brothers of our Mary Marzella Valentine, wife of Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell, are left to right, standing:
Timothy Warren Valentine(Twin) - born 21 Jul 1855 (too young to enlist)
Pvt. James Morgan Valentine (RoJ) - enlisted about 1861
Millard Filmore Valentine - born 1851 (too young to enlist)
Seated left to right:
Pvt. William Bryant Valentine - enlisted 13 May 1861
Sgt. John Ira Valentine (RoJ) - enlisted about 1861
Pvt. Richard Hammett “Ham” Valentine (RoJ) - enlisted 1 Aug 1861
George Andrew Valentine (Twin) - born 21 Jul 1855 (too young to enlist)
A total of 11 men enlisted with two being our direct ancestors.
Act Two - Siege
Since the South had focused most of its attention on growing cotton, most of the food grown in the United States was in the North. As a result, both Union and Confederate troops in the border states and southern states got their food and supplies by plundering what they needed from locals as they marched from one area to another. As a result of this plundering along with the burning of crops in the South, almost everyone was literally starving.
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, 1939 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2jR62cTTKo)
Desperation along with disenchantment with the realities of war motivated many men to desert from the Confederate army including desertions in six Mississippi counties: Jones, Perry, Jasper, Smith, Covington, and Wayne. Newt was conscripted to fight at Vicksburg in 1862 but deserted before he got there. Even though defiance was brewing, many of our relatives did join the Vicksburg Campaign, which began in 1862.
1863 May 18 - Siege of Vicksburg Begins
President Abraham Lincoln remarked, “Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.” (Source: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/vicksburg)
Brothers at Arms Against Each Other
After Union troops tried unsuccessfully to fight the Confederate troops around Vicksburg, they decided to surround Vicksburg to stop supplies and Confederate troops from entering the town. This resulted in Confederate troops plundering what they could from the locals.
Grim Humor at Vicksburg “During the waning weeks of the Siege of Vicksburg, artilleryman Marion Berry Richmond recalled a humorous exchange with federals. He and his comrades in the 1st Mississippi Light Artillery were within audible range of the Yanks. “One night we asked them what they had to eat over there. The reply enumerated ‘beef, good bread, molasses, coffee,’ etc., and then asked what we had to eat. Some wag replied that we had ‘hot biscuit, young lamb, butter, coffee, cake,’ etc., when a Yank yelled back, ‘and pea meal.’” Both sides roared with laughter. (From Mississippi Faces: Portraits from the Matthew L. Oswalt M.D. Collection published 6 Jun 2022 at https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2022/06/06/mississippi-faces-portraits-from-the-matthew-l-oswalt-m-d-collection/ (Accessed 29 Oct 2023))1863 July 4 - Siege Ends
Pvt. Richmond (pictured above) might have fought alongside our relatives. Pvt. Alpheus Knight, our Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell, our Sgt. Daniel Webster Wade, Daniel’s brother - Pvt. Elisha Benton Wade, Sgt. John Ira Valentine, and Pvt. Richard “Ham” Valentine along with 30,000 troops were starved into surrendering to Union General Grant.
“A few hours later, Union supply wagons rolled up with an enormous amount of food. Richmond and his hungry comrades ate until they were stuffed, slept until they digested the meal, and then repeated the cycle. Three days later, they signed the Oath of Allegiance to the federal government.” (From Mississippi Faces: Portraits from the Matthew L. Oswalt M.D. Collection published 6 Jun 2022 at https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2022/06/06/mississippi-faces-portraits-from-the-matthew-l-oswalt-m-d-collection/ (Accessed 29 Oct 2023))
It was the final, major battle in the Vicksburg Campaign. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, a critical supply line.
Act Three - We’re Not Gonna Take It!
After Vicksburg, our Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell and our Sgt. Daniel Webster Wade were sent to Alabama to recover and then continued fighting in Tennessee before returning home. When Hiram returns home, he finds out that his wife, Mary Marzella Valentine, died of starvation on 17 Jan 1863. Rather than feed herself, she fed her five children (all under the age of 10). Our William Thomas Powell was the oldest of the five children.
Mary Marzella Valentine and Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell’s log cabinThe Greater Soso Area Family History website shows the small log house where she starved to death while Hiram was off fighting in the Civil War. (https://www.wcl1971.info/getperson.php?personID=I5296&tree=wcltree1)
Thanks to Google Satellite Maps, I was able to track down its location at 560 Union Line Road, Soso, Jones County, MS, as of October 2023.
1863 Oct 13
I think Mary Marzella’s death combined with the defeat at Vicksburg left her brothers and relatives angry and wanting revenge. Rather than rejoin the Confederate army, many decided to band together with Newt Knight (already a deserter) and form Knight’s Company. Since desertion from the Confederate army was considered treason and punishable by death, they felt that this was the best way to survive until the war was over. They would protect their families from the looting of Confederate soldiers. They would loot the CSA and distribute the food and goods to the needy in the local area.
These family charts show just how many relatives and direct ancestors (in bold) were either in Knight’s Company (symbolized by RoJ, Republic of Jones) or were sympathizers:
KNIGHT and WADE FAMILIES
POWELL FAMILY
VALENTINE FAMILY
WELCH FAMILY
In the spring of 1864, Knight’s Company overthrew the CSA in Jones County and raised the Union flag over the county courthouse in Ellisville. (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-free-state-jones-180958111/
Now, this got the attention of CSA President Jefferson Davis who issued orders that Newt and his men be found and executed. By April 1864 several of Newt’s men had been found and hung. But what really struck home is revealed in this account from a Confederate soldier who was part of the hunting party tracking down the “outlaws”:
“Lowry caught Ben Knight, Capt. Newt Knight’s cousin and an officer in the Confederate Army on furlough. Thinking that he had captured the leader of the deserters, Lowry hanged Ben Knight and threw his body on Newt’s front step. Newt’s wife told the Confederates of their error and they found furlough papers in the dead man’s pocket. …In revenge for the slaying of his cousin (Ben Knight), Capt. (Newt) Knight ordered one of Lowry’s 50-man cavalry patrols ambushed. During that fight 15 Confederates were killed at Rocky Creek on April 26, 1864." (From Newt Knight and the “Republic of Jones” posted by 2nd Alabama Cavalry on 12 Feb 2019 at https://civilwartalk.com/threads/newt-knight-and-the-republic-of-jones.154692/)
Ben Knight is our Cornelia’s brother.
Act Four: Almost a Red Wedding
Even though the war raged on, the normal events of life continued whenever time would allow. One such event was the engagement of Pvt. Alpheus Knight and Mary A. Elizabeth Powell, the sister of our Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell. Having hosted the marriage of my daughter in February 2023, I cannot imagine the stress and strain of trying to host a marriage of my daughter to a known deserter and outlaw!
Mr. And Mrs. James Madison Powell
Request the pleasure of your company
At the marriage of their daughter
Mary A. Elizabeth
To
Private Alpheus Knight
Thursday, December 29th , 1864
Soso, Mississippi
Reception to Follow
Fortunately, Newt Knight was there to recall what happened:
"But the rebels started to build a fire under us. I remember the night Alpheus Knight was married up near Soso. That wedding ended up in a battle. Not that I aint' heard" -- and the old man smiled with quaint humor -- "that lots of other weddings end up in battles, too.
"Only this was a right smart battle. You see, there was one woman living near us who didn't like us. She got word of Alpheus Knight's wedding. He was a cousin of mine. And she told her n___ cook: 'Gal, you take this message and don't you stop to eat or sleep until you've delivered it to the Confederate soldiers by Ellisville.' But some folks that were friendly to me, they send word about it.
"Well, Alpheus, he got married all right. It was a right cold night, just durin' Christmas week. I told 'em to go ahead and celebrate the weddin', 'n' I'd keep watch. There was only less'n a dozen of us there. We kept scattered a lot, so the rebels couldn't trail us so easy.
"...Then just after daylight, I heard a chain rattle on a flat (flatboat). I knew it was the rebels crossing the river. I could hear their horses' hooves. Then I could sight of 'em. They was about 100 of 'em stomping on that flat. I had about a half-mile to go to the house where Alpheus and his bride were with the rest of us who went to the wedding. I made that half mile right fast.
" 'Come on,' I said. 'We've got to get out of here. There's about a hundred Confederates marchin' on this house.'
"Well, we all packed up and started. There were some ladies there. One of 'em had a baby in her arms…
"We hadn't gone 200 yards from the house when I heard a clatter of hooves.
"About 20 of the Confederates had ridden up…. The minute they saw us they opened fire.
We were outnumbered. So I jumped into the brush, and I yelled as loud as ever I could:
" 'Attention! Battalion! Rally on the right! Forward!'
"There wasn't no more battalion than a rabbit. But there was thick woods all around, and the rebels must have thought there was an army in them. They reined in their horses anyway, and dashed back to the main body. That gave us a chance to get away."
(From Interview with Newton Knight of Mississippi was originally published in the March 20, 1921, edition of the New Orleans Item. By Meigs O. Frost. Reprinted online at the Times Picayune website NOLA.com on 19 Jul 2019 (accessed 28 Oct 2023)).
I’m sure a good time was had by all!
1865 Apr 9 - War is Over!
Pvt. William Martin “Dickie” Knight, our Cornelia’s brother, was at the battle of Appomattox, VA. After the South surrendered at the Appomattox Court House, the South went home to start the recovery and reconstruction process.
So, what finally happened to the Jones County “Robin Hood and his Merry Men”?
Pvt. Alpheus Knight, Officer in Knight’s Company. Newt’s cousin. Lived out his days in Jones County until he died on 21 Jun 1896. His wife Mary A. Elizabeth Powell died 4 Oct 1921 in Jones County.
Cornelia Ann Knight, wife of Sgt. Daniel Webster Wade. Newt’s cousin. She lived out her days in Soso, MS, dying on 28 Jan 1923.
Newton “Newt” Stuart Knight, Leader of Knight’s Company. He was never caught. In 1870 Jasper County, he is living with his white wife, Serena, and their six younger children and next door is his black wife, former slave Rachel, and his two young children from her. He lived out the rest of his days in Jasper County dying in 1922.
Sgt. Daniel Webster Wade, member of Knight’s Company. Husband of Cornelia Ann Knight, Newt’s cousin. He died 10 Mar 1908 in Soso, MS. 
Pvt. John Hathorn Powell, Jr. (Jones Co. Delegate to 1861 MS Secession Convention) and his wife, Eliza, left Indian Springs Baptist Church on 27 Feb 1864. With their son, James Madison Powell and his family, and their daughter Sarah, who was married to Abram Davis and her family, they left Jones County and moved to Alvarado, Texas, where John died three years later on 22 Sep 1867. (Source: The Powell Families of Virginia & the South, pp. 431-432).
Sgt. Hiram Washington Powell. In the Fall of 1865, Hiram married Mary Catherine Grimes, had nine more children and lived out his days in Soso, MS, until his death on 10 Jan 1885.
William Allen Valentine and his wife, Cynthia Eboline Welch, parents of Mary Marzella Valentine. They lived out the rest of their days in Soso, MS. He died in 1901 and she died 1887. 
Sons of Pvt. William Allen Valentine and Cynthia Welch are, left to right, standing:
Timothy Warren Valentine
James Morgan Valentine (RoJ) - died in 1901
Millard Filmore Valentine
Seated left to right:
William Bryant Valentine
John Ira Valentine (RoJ) - died in 1916
Richard Hammett “Ham” Valentine (RoJ) - died in 1924
George Andrew Valentine
(Photo submitted by Mary Allen Valentine Murphy, great great granddaughter of Allen Valentine and Cynthia Eveline Welch. Added on FindAGrave.com by Ralph on 28 Feb 2013 for John Ira Valentine Memorial ID 13496812.)
Sgt. Hiram W. and Mary Marzell (Valentine) Powell’s first born son, William Thomas Powell, married on 20 May 1875 Sarah Shows Wade, daughter of Sgt. Daniel Webster and Cornelia Ann (Knight) Wade; thus, uniting all five families.
6) William Thomas Powell b. 28 Jul 1853 Jones Co., MS d. 15 Jan 1920 Jones Co., MS m. Sarah Shows Wade b. 22 Apr 1855 Jones Co., MS d. 9 Aug 1921 Soso, MS
5) Rev. Sidney Pearson Powell b. 12 Nov 1891 Soso, MS d. 29 May 1965 MS m. Alma Susan Hill b. 27 Feb 1893 Soso, MS d. 2 Nov 1967 MS
4) Roddie Pearson Powell b. 25 Jun 1920 MS d. 5 Feb 1998 MS m. Della Gay Furr b. 22 Oct 1921 MS d. 1 Jul 1977 MS
3) Douglas Eugene Powell b. 22 Aug 1947 MS d. 14 Aug 2011 MS m. Catherine Diane Watkins b. 23 Mar 1952 MS d. 1 Feb 1993 MS
2) Private (information withheld) and Private (information withheld)
1) BAC, my son-in-law (living - information withheld)
Other Sources:
https://deepsouthmag.com/2015/08/05/the-real-free-state-of-jones/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-free-state-jones-180958111/
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