Man'. Left, left, right, left!
Left, left,
left, right, left!
Left, left, left, right, left!
Left, left, left, right, left!
General 12 stay with me!
Left,right, left!
Close that rank.
Steady, boys.
Steady!
Left, right, left!
Left, left, left, right, left!
Left of the colors, boys.
Guide right!
Left, left, left, right, left.
Top of the hill, boys.
Just over that Ridge.
Left, left,
left, right, left!
Left, left, left, right, left!
Heel!
Left, left,
left, right, left!
Left, left,
left, right...
Left, left, left, right, left!
Ready!
Left, left,
left, right, left!
General 2; Fire!
Left, left,
left, right, left!
Left, left, left, right, left!
Almost there, boy,
almost there.
It's my leg.
I know it's your leg.
It hurts.
Yep, they got ether.
Here we go.
Here we go.
Move that private!
We got an officer here!
Hold pressure, hold pressure.
Here we go.
Right there.
Let's get this off you.
If they think you're an officer,
they'll fix you sooner.
Yeah, they'll fix you.
Here we go.
One, two, three.
We need clean water!
Hold pressure here.
The lord is the
stronghold of my life.
Captain Jeffrey baylor here,
10th Tennessee, minie ball,
left thigh.
Captain! I've got
a captain here!
Captain up front,
captain up front.
Hold him down!
Hold him!
Where are they going?
Charleston.
Charleston.
That's Carolina 3rd.
A bunch of them
are headed home.
Twenty negro law.
If you own 20 negroes,
you get to go home.
Since when?
The 1st, I guess.
New conscription act.
"Poor man's fight and
a rich man's war."
Yeah.
You know they got
a house in natchez
with gold doorknobs.
Not gold-lookin'...
Gold, real gold.
"But all their gold
and all their silver
"shall not protect them
from the wrath of the lord."
You so smart, Jasper,
how come you're
still here, huh?
"The oldest son
on such plantations
"where 20 or more negroes
are owned or leased
"are hereby exempt
in the armies
"of the confederate states.
"Furthermore, any plantation
"where the total number
of negroes owned or leased
"shall equal 40, the
eldest and second eldest
"shall be exempt
from military service."
That's you and a brother.
And then it goes up
one family member
for every 20 negroes
after that.
So if we all chip in,
buy us one negro,
we get a couple weeks off?
Ah, I swear,
I'm tired of it, Jasper,
tired of helping them
fight for their damn cotton.
You don't fight anyway.
You're a nurse.
Yeah, you get gut-shot
out there tomorrow, will,
why don't you go find
an artillery officer,
see if he can help you?
I ain't fighting for cotton.
I'm fighting for honor.
Oh, that's good, will.
I'd sure hate to be
fighting for cotton.
Who's there?
Uncle newt.
Daniel? That's you,
boy? Come here.
Hey, hey, hey,
what happened?
They took me and they took
the mule and our hogs,
half the corn crib,
and they told me
I'd been drafted.
Can I stay with you?
Of course you can,
boy, you're my kin.
They put me
with another company
and I finally ran off
and I looked for you all day.
And then I found this man
and I told him
i was from Jones
and he said that was
Mississippi 7th and so...
I've got you, boy. I've got
you, I've got you.
I've got you, boy. I've
got you, I've got you.
You're with me.
You're with me now.
Are you going to be there
with me tomorrow?
Yeah, I'm going to be there
with you tomorrow.
You hear me?
I'm going to be there
with you tomorrow.
Okay.
We're going to
get out of this trench
and we're going to make
for a treeline
about a quarter mile out.
You don't listen
to no sergeant,
you don't listen
to no officers,
only me.
You understand now?
When I tell you
to go, move fast
and you stay close to me.
You've got a full load?
Half-cock, safe,
full cock, die.
Ain't no different
than shooting
a bird or a deer, Daniel.
No different than that.
All right?
All right.
They're shelling us.
Move, move.
Stay low, low. Stay low.
See that rifle pit?
'Bout 50 yards out.
That's where we're headed.
That's where we're going.
You ready? Ready?
Come on. Go! Go! Go!
Stay behind me!
You all right? Huh?
You all right?
All right, now listen.
They've got sharpshooters
out there.
We're going to make a way for
that treeline, all right?
Find some shelter
and hide out.
You ready?
All right, let's go. Stay low.
Ah! Whoa! Whoa!
Down, boy. Down.
Who you with?
Mississippi 5th, f company.
We're all that's left.
All right,
you're with us now.
We're making for that Ridge
over to the right.
Uh-huh.
So fix bayonets!
Fix your bayonet, boy!
Yeah, I got it, I got it.
Here.
Fixed!
All right, you ready?
Ready?
All right, on my command,
ready, go! Go! Go!
Go!Go!Go!Go!
Go, boy, move!
Hold, hold, hold, Daniel!
Hold, Daniel!
Go! Move!
Shit.
Uncle newt?
Oh...
Uncle newt?
I got you, boy.
You're gonna be all right.
It's all right.
It hurts.
I know it hurts.
Just hold onto me tight.
Hold onto me.
Am I going to die?
Oh, you're not going to die.
I'm going to fix you.
Could I get your help right here?
I've got a boy here.
I've got a boy here!
Well, I've got a boy here!
I've got officers
i can't even get to.
It hurts...
I got you,boy.L got you.
I got you, all right.
We'll get you a doctor.
Going to get you a doctor.
Hang on. Hang on.
Can I have some water?
Shh.
In a second.
In a second.
I'm just so thirsty.
Why am I so thirsty?
Shh.
Hang on, boy. Hang on, boy.
Hang on. Hang on. Hang on.
There we go, there we go.
There we go.
You love god,
don't you, Daniel?
Hmm?
Yes.
There we go.
I'm scared.
I know you are.
But you love god
and god loves you.
You understand?
Jesus loves you, son.
You're not dying.
You're not dying.
You're not dying.
You're not...
You're not dying.
You know they shoot
deserters, don't you?
Hell, they shoot everybody
around here anyway.
It don't seem to
make no difference
where the bullet
comes from.
And you're stealing a mule.
You know, we can bury him
proper right here, newt.
We don't have to leave him.
He's going home, Jasper.
It's where he belongs.
Here.
Take my hardtack too.
It's a long trip.
'Preemie u.
He died with honor, newt.
No, will, he just died.
I tried to
save him, Annie.
I did everything I could.
He was... he... he...
It ain't your fault.
You didn't start
this war, did you?
Or drag him out of here.
My boy.
My boy.
They hung three deserters
down in Perry.
Didn't put 'em
back in the army.
Just hung 'em.
Yeah, I got a leave.
No, you didn't.
His mama deserves
to see her son again.
Hmm.
She don't deserve
to see him like that.
No.
No, she don't.
"Lf I go up to the
heavens, you are there.
"If I make my bed in the
depths, you are there.
"Even in the darkness,
will not be dark to you.
"The night will
shine like day,
"the darkness is
as light to you.
"It is you who hath
possessed my reign.
"It is you who hath covered
me in my mother's womb."
No, not that cloth.
I made that cloth!
Ma'am. Ma'am.
No! No! I made that cloth!
That's my loom.
No! No! L worked
so hard on that.
Ma'am, ma'am,
stop it. Stop it.
That's for my baby!
That's not for your babies.
We're just taking
what's rightfully ours.
Please make them stop!
You got the court order?
Yes, but...
What did the
court order say?
That we will take 10%.
You're taking everything away!
Why are you taking everything?
They took everything
out the smokehouse.
And that ain't tax,
they just ate it.
All that meal we ground.
Honey, we'll get you some more corn meal.
Of course we will.
Well, that ain't the point!
I grew that corn.
Everybody know how
to blow one of these?
Yes, sir.
All right, look here.
If they come back,
I want you to blow that
as loud as you can
as soon as you hear
them riding up.
Yes, sir. I'm just
over this Ridge here.
I'll be here soon.
You got any
more of those?
Yeah, we need some more.
Gettin' hotter.
Let me feel him.
Come on, will.
Be a good boy.
He is a good boy. He's
just got a fever is all.
He's burning up.
Where are you going?
To get a doctor.
You can't go in town.
They'll arrest you.
I'm gonna go to Sally's place,
have her fetch one.
You're goin' to
that roadhouse?
We ain't got
a doctor no more.
Doc hacket
moved to Alabama
and prentiss
is off at the war.
Well, he's burning up, Sally,
and I can't go into town.
Well, there's this creole
slave over at eakins.
Kind of healer.
I'll get George to
fetch her with a pass.
Eakins? Plantation?
She's not a field hand,
she's a house negro.
Now, you better
get outta here, too.
Rebs come in here all
the time to get whiskey.
They sent me with a pass.
Yeah, yeah. Right this way.
He's burning up.
Can you help?
L'll try.
I need to boil some water,
to make a tea.
I'll fetch you a bucket.
I can fetch it.
No, you stay here.
I'll fetch it for you.
All right.
Rachel; Uh...
He's all cool now.
Probably gonna sleep a while.
He better?
He's fine.
Oh.
That's my boy.
That's my boy.
There you are.
Hey.
Thank you.
Oh.
Don't have to thank me.
I got loaned to you.
No,l do.L do.
Look here, I ain't
got no money,
but I want you to
have this, all right?
That's gold.
I can't take that.
Yes, you can.
Saving a life
ain't easy, yeah?
And when you do,
it's something special.
Thank you.
Thank you,
that's kind.
Here, here's your pass.
All rise.
Court is now in session.
"Case number 0646.
"The state of Mississippi
versus Davis knight.
"That Davis knight
did knowingly
"and willfully
and feloniously
"violate Mississippi law
"by engaging in a marital union
with one junie Lee spradley,
"a white woman.
"That as the great-grandson
of Newton knight
"and a negro slave
known commonly as Rachel,
"he is of at least
1/8th negro blood,
"and as such, meets
the minimum standard
"to be considered
a colored person
"in the state of Mississippi."
What happened?
They told me to gather up
all the clothes and blankets.
They'd be back for
them in an hour.
They told me to round up
all the hogs I got
and put 'em in a pen.
Who did?
The cavalry officer and the...
Tax agent?
Yeah.
They gonna take my hogs?
No. No, they ain't.
'Cause we got nothing
for the winter.
They ain't gonna
take your hogs.
Girls, you know how to
shoot one of these?
Hmm?
It ain't real hard, all right?
It's just loud the first time.
Come here to me, damn'.
Here we go.
Put this right here
on your right hand,
hold it right there
with your right hand.
There you go, you feel that?
Feel that?
Okay, how many guns
you got in the house, ma'am?
Two. Three with a pistol.
Good, good.
See, now here's the trigger.
You wanna fire it,
you just pull this back.
Two clicks, pull
that trigger. Boom.
All right,
here they come.
You ready?
Easy.
Well...
Well, what do
we have here?
Stop.
Beg your pardon?
I said, stop walking.
That's quite
an army you got there.
Three little girls with guns.
Mmm-hmm.
It's more like eight.
How come you ain't
up north fighting?
How come you ain't?
'Cause I'm responsible
for clothing
and feeding our loyal troops.
And tracking down deserters.
No, don't do that.
They gonna shoot me?
All's they gotta do
is go like that.
Last time I checked,
the gun don't care who's
pulling the trigger.
We'll be back.
Mmm-hmm.
Hold steady
on him, girls.
Lower your guns.
There we go. There we go.
Good job, girls. Good job.
All right.
Listen, y'all are gonna
be fine, all right?
It's me they're
gonna be after.
It's me they're
gonna be after.
They've got
a slave patrol, newt.
Those are nigger dogs.
It was three little girls,
you hear? Alone.
Who ain't alone?
You think I ain't alone?
Why you always
got to fight
everyone else's
fight for them?
I can't do this anymore, newt.
I can't.
Buck shot,
fresh powder horn.
Go! Go get him!
Can't stay here.
First place
they're gonna come.
I'll get George to take
you out in the swamp.
There's some folks
out there that can help.
Yeah?
I dropped my gun and powder.
Sounds like you
had a good time.
George?
Ma'am?
He's gonna need some food.
Got it right here.
You know what to do?
Mmm-hmm.
Mister newt, sir?
Mmm-hmm.
Whenever you're ready.
To the swamp?
Yes, sir.
Take your time.
Mr. newt!
Sorry. Look here.
Here, sit here.
You'll like this better.
They'll be here
for you soon.
"They"?
Mmm-hmm.
They will be here
for you soon.
Hello.
I know you.
Mmm-hmm.
I'm here to show
you through.
Come on.
You all right to walk?
Yeah, just slow.
All right, now walk
where I walk.
Out there is deep,
through here is shallow.
Careful now.
You got it.
It's all right.
They gonna fix you.
They runaways?
Ain't you?
Chewed up pretty bad.
A hound got him.
Got some fresh plantain.
Mr. newt?
Let me see that there.
Aw, it ain't that bad.
You must be
pretty brave then.
Y'all must taste like we do,
the way he latched onto you.
Just hold still now,
you'll be all right.
Thank you, baby.
Mr. whittington,
in your opinion,
Serena knight was
no longer a resident
of Jones county,
Mississippi, by what date?
Well, roughly, the end
of 1863, early 1864,
when she moved
to Georgia.
Then, if Newton knight
had a child after the war,
a child to whom
he gave his name,
that child could
not have been...
Objection, your honor.
The witness is
a census expert,
not an expert on genealogy
or paternity or...
Well, your honor,
you don't have to be
an expert on much
of nothing to know
it's hard for two people
to make a baby
when they're
1,000 miles apart.
How you feeling?
Better.
Still a little sore,
but better.
Yeah, well, you'll be sore
for a little while.
What's your name?
Call me Moses.
Your mama name you that?
No, sir. I picked
that for myself.
Hey, you chose a good one.
Why do y'all do that?
Light it in the
tree like that.
Hide the smoke so it don't
go up in a straight line.
Oh, yeah, they're
always looking.
Hmm.
We expensive.
How come they
hounding you?
'Cause I left.
Deserted.
How come?
It ain't my fight,
you know?
Don't own no slaves.
Ain't gonna die so they can
get rich selling cotton.
That's
why we left, too.
"Man, can,
pan, fan, ran."
Very good, girls.
"Mat, hat, sat, cat, rat."
Now read this line again.
"Mat, hat,
sat, cat, rat."
What are you doing?
Oh... I was just...
Don't go.
Thank you.
Ain't they got
a chicken Coop?
Y'all ought to be grateful.
I can take back that molasses.
He didn't mean it.
Molasses? I thought this was whiskey.
Don't you get dizzy?
Lying like that?
Don't it make you dizzy?
Oh. No.
It don't bother me now.
I guess you can get
used to anything.
No, you can't.
Where's Texas?
Hmm?
Texas. How far is that?
Texas?
Well, it's pretty far.
Why? What's in Texas?
My wife and my little boy.
When they...
When they sold 'em,
I just... l just ran.
I didn't think or nothing.
I just... just took off.
And they caught me
and whipped me,
I just ran all over again.
Then they put this on me.
Don't make no
difference though.
They can hitch me to a wagon
and I'll pull that damn thing
all the way to Texas.
All right, look here, I was a blacksmith.
I was. I shoed horses.
Forged all kinda stuff,
yokes, bits, ax blades.
I pounded a lot of
metal in my life.
If you want, I can get
that thing off you.
No, you can't do that.
All that bangin' will bring
the hounds for sure.
How many hounds?
And the men that
go along with them.
How many men?
You ready?
I'm ready.
You ready?
I'm ready.
Oh, yeah.
All right, everybody
in half cock?
Eli?
Malachi?
Now you ain't gonna
have a chance to reload,
so make your shot count.
All right, here they come.
Go to full cock.
Wait for my word.
Come on!
Come on.
Come on.
Now!
You know what
this tastes like?
What?
Dog.
Hmm.
Hmm.
What's with them?
Uh...
Just, nobody done nothing
like that for them before.
What's that say?
Right there,
what's that say?
It says "Remington company,
llion, New York."
Remington.
"Ri-ill
"e-m...
H' ii
left hand here, okay.
You feel it?
Put your left leg out,
get braced for it.
All right,
sit right in there,
you're gonna look
right down this barrel.
You see that little
beebee on the end?
Yeah.
Ah.
Whatever's at the end
of this beebee,
that's what you're aiming at.
That's what you're gonna hit.
All right?
All right.
You're locked and loaded.
Whenever you're ready,
get him.
Did you get him?
Get him again.
Jasper, it's all right.
Come on out now.
You ain't the only one.
Will?
Whoa.
Ah-ah-ah.
Raise your hand.
That stuff
don't belong to you.
Unhitch that wagon
and head off down the road.
Who are you?
"The free men
of Jones county"?
That's what he said.
Well, I'm not gonna
concern myself
with five or six deserters
hidin' out in the swamp
who don't have the courage
to show their face.
Sir...
You've got a quota to meet.
You're dismissed.
What do you say, sumrall?
Well, there will be no more
dry firing for you.
- That will do the job.
- Well, thanks.
That's good, son.
Are you Newton knight?
Every day.
Where are you from, boy?
Ellisville.
And where were you?
Battle of corinth.
Me, too.
My brother said you
made him a private.
Did I?
Can I be
a private, too?
I don't know.
Is he older or
younger than you?
He's younger.
He's only 13.
I'll tell you what,
you can be a corporal.
That's better
than a private.
Really?
At ease, corporal.
Brought you somethin'.
You got one.
Yeah.
Fl. Hgt?
Fight.
"Fight."
Fight.
"Fight."
Fight. Sounds like
a f-y-t-e. Fight.
Fight.
Fight. Fight.
But you got
a "g" right there.
Mmm-hmm. But it's
a silent "g" again.
The "g-h" is always
like silent, like here,
"light, right."
"Light, right."
"All right, slight."
""All right, slight."
Uh, but it's a "g-h"
and it's silent
when you use the
what a man grows
with his own two hands
oughta belong to him, yeah?
Yes, sir.
How's that scripture go,
Jasper?
This here's from
the book of galatians.
"Be not deceived.
"God is not mocked,
for whatsoever a man soweth,
"that shall he also reap."
What you sow,
you should reap.
What you put in the ground,
you should take
outta the ground.
Crowd'. Yeah. And they
say they takin' 10%.
No, they leave us 10%, sir.
Leave 10%.
You think they takin' 10%
from that plantation
owner over in natchez?
- Huh?
- No, sir!
You think they're
takin' 10% from him?
No way.
How 'bout this?
What you say we go out there
and we pick it clean?
There's 100 of us here.
We could pick it clean
all in one day.
- Can we do that?
- Yeah!
Now, we pick it clean.
We hide it away,
we divide it amongst
ourselves later on.
Meanwhile, by the time
they get down here,
we done scattered.
Yeah.
- How's that sound to you?
- Yeah!
Whose corn is it?
I mean, whose corn is it?
It's our corn!
Whose corn is it?
Sounds like perfect
charity to me.
Let's do it!
Yeah.
Find a red cob, get a
shot o' corn whiskey!
Where is your corn?
Huh?
Your corn!
Where's your corn?
Field's picked clean.
Oh, yeah. We picked it.
So where is it?
Good mornin'!
Step on down, lieutenant.
Hold on, all right?
Just hold on.
Hey, I know you.
Yeah, you the one who stole
our corn and our mule.
Gentlemen...
There it is.
You like that sound?
It's just some corn.
Yeah.
You'd kill a man
for some corn?
Well, he's askin' if I'd
kill a man for some corn.
I don't know.
See, lieutenant,
you steal our corn,
we got nothin'
to feed the hogs.
If we can't feed the hogs, we got
nothin' to put in the smokehouse.
We got nothin' to put
in the smokehouse,
we starve in the winter.
That's murder, ain't it?
You know what the penalty for
murder is, don't you, lieutenant?
Yeah.
Hmm?
Yes, sir.
Yeah, you do.
- Thomas.
- Yes, sir.
Come here.
What rank I make you?
Corporal, sir.
You're a lieutenant now.
Let's get that coat off.
- Help him out, Thomas.
- Yeah!
200 men.
Maybe 100. It's hard to say.
They made us lie facedown
in the dirt till they left.
What is that?
Give it here.
Newt, you sure
this is a good idea?
That's a lot of smoke.
Yeah.
Cavalry can't get
into those swamps,
and if we go in on foot,
we'll get ambushed.
So you're scared of 'em?
Only in there.
Oh!
Oh!
Why, hell, I'll stomp
it out with you.
Get a box up here.
Come on, throw
a box up on here.
Put those stakes
right down here, boys.
Right here, right here.
There we go!
Get you a handkerchief.
I got plenty for
everybody, now.
That fat, now that's where
all the flavor is,
right there in that fat.
Who wants that?
Look right here.
It's fallin'
right off the bone.
You don't even need
those knives.
What you doin', nigger?
That ain't for you.
Put it back.
Put it back, nigger!
How you ain't?
What?
I said, how you ain't?
How I ain't what?
What he says, ward,
is how you ain't a nigger?
I mean, they just
pick cotton for 'em.
You...
You was willin'
to get killed for 'em.
For lord's sake, play
somethin', will ya, Lucas,
before a whole new war
breaks out here?
Colonel?
You Sally?
Lam.
Mmm.
You're a businesswoman.
When was the last time
you saw any real whiskey?
Irish whiskey?
This is from Boston.
Hmm.
We can run anything
through that blockade,
but the whiskey always
seems to get here first.
I suppose the only
neutral parties in any war
are the people
makin' money from it.
Just want to give you the
opportunity to make a little more.
We need to get
a message to him.
"Him"?
Stop, I don't have
the Patience for that.
Tell your unionist friend
that if he will disband
this little, little, um...
Army.
Company 0' theirs,
we will rescind
the hangin' notice
and Grant him full pardon.
All he has to do is
come out of that swamp.
He can go right
back in the army.
Two barrels of molasses,
100 pounds of wheat flour,
three barrels of
whiskey, and $500.
Is that yankee currency?
Fine.
I'll see what I can do.
Take that back to her.
Yeah, why would you
trust someone
who just burned
your farm, son?
I'm not sayin'
i trust 'em.
I'm just sayin'...
That you want it to stop?
Yeah, so do I.
Thomas, I don't think that
turnin' ourselves in
is gonna stop 'em.
I know you lost your farm,
and I know your mama's
hurtin', all right?
But that does not make
these men your friends.
We're your friends,
right here.
Look out there.
That's your friends.
Evening, Jesse.
Hey.
I brought you
some biscuits.
Smell fresh.
They is.
Thank you.
I better go.
What's wrong?
What's wrong?
What happened? Hmm?
What happened?
I wouldn't let him.
All the other times
i just let him.
'Cause what can I do?
It's just easier.
I tell myself
I'm somewhere else
an' it's not like
it's happenin' to me.
But this time I couldn't.
Mmm-hmm.
I couldn't anymore.
And I screamed
and I screamed.
Look, look, look.
I can read this now.
"In the beginning,
"god created the heaven
"and the earth.
"And god said,
'let there be light."'
all right. Look here.
There's a full troop transport
headed this way
outta meridian.
It's got 50 soldiers.
It's 15 cars long.
We gonna blow the tracks
with powder, y'hear?
It's a train?
Yeah, it's a train.
With guns, ammo,
and artillery.
What's that got to
do with my farm?
It has everything to do
with your farm, ward.
H ow?
'Cause they are the
folks that burned it.
So we fightin'
for the union now?
No, we're not fightin'
for the union,
but we are fightin'
the same people they are.
Yeah, for different reasons.
But these folks
got plantations
from here to the Mississippi.
I know, they're rich.
So what?
Are we gonna start
killin' rich people?
It's why they're rich, ward.
Don't ya understand?
You, me, all of us...
We're all out there dyin'
so they can stay rich.
You own any slaves, ward?
You got any negroes
to fight for?
No, but it sure
looks like you do.
That's fine, ward.
You leave any time you want.
Save your farms.
All you got to do
is lay down your arms.
You ain't bein' disloyal.
You're just bein' smart.
Your mama don't
need you dead.
She's done lost her farm.
She don't need to lose
her boys, too.
You're sure he said
all of 'em?
He just said they
wanted to come out, sir.
Didn't say how many.
They're comin' out.
They're comin' out.
Is that him?
Can't tell.
How many are there?
Hard to say.
Four or five maybe.
Sweet Jesus! It's boys!
Forty soldiers
capture a bunch 0' boys
with broken shotguns.
Just hang 'em.
These boys...
These young men...
They was your friends,
your cousins,
your brothers and your kin.
But to those soldiers
who didn't know 'em,
they was just niggers.
They was just
somebody else's nigger.
So somehow,
some way or sometime,
everybody
is just somebody
else's nigger.
Mr. Moses,
are you a nigger?
No, I'm not.
What are you?
A free man, captain.
Well, why's that?
'Cause you cannot
own a child of god.
No, you cannot, can you?
You can own a horse,
you can own a mule or
cow or an ox, but you...
You cannot own
a child of god.
See anythin'?
No.
He won't miss this though.
He's out there. Somewhere.
Tell 'em to move up!
Make them boys lead 'em
to the left flank!
Damn it!
Newton, I...
I knew your daddy.
Let's go.
Get up here up front! Reload!
We need more powder.
Reload.
Keep punchin', boys!
Fire!
Up here, up here.
Cover the Cannon.
Fire! Powder!
Powder!
Move, move!
Cover fire!
Clear!
Go, go, go!
Ho, ho!
Hands up!
Uh-uh-uh.
Up.
There we go.
Quickly, children!
Mr. deason hurry, Samantha!
Yeah!
How many?
In this group
there's 40.
Got another 20
at kerman's farm.
Only 12 of us at that
railhead at paulding.
Oh, that's light.
Mmm-hmm.
Could send Jeb
and his brother.
Yeah, let's do that.
All right, hold on.
All right, all right.
Here you go.
How long would it
take you to get there?
Three, four days
if there's no patrols.
All right.
Tell sherman that
we hold everything
from pascagoula to
the Alabama border.
Tell him we need
some artillery,
20 pieces, 15 cannons,
five mortars would be fine.
Rifles. Newt: Rifles we need.
Make it 300.
We also need some cavalrymen.
Fifty. Fifty men, that's all.
He can spare that easily.
Yeah, he can
spare that easily.
He sends this,
we can keep this
place forever.
Feathers.
Shh.
It's okay. It's okay.
They control everything
from meridian to the pascagoula.
They've seized ellisville,
hold all of Jones,
Jasper, Perry,
and half of Smith counties.
They've got 250 men,
maybe even
runaway slaves who,
frankly, sir,
don't have much to lose.
That's all they sent?
You told 'em we took
three counties?
Of course.
Hundred rifles.
They say it's not strategic.
Sherman wonders if
we're a real company.
"Real company"?
You know, it ain't exactly
what they're used to, newt.
A bunch of freed slaves,
farmers...
Holdin' down most 0'
southeast Mississippi.
Yeah.
Took three counties.
We beat an entire division.
We did.
Mmm-hmm.
They don't care.
That's fine.
We're back in the swamp.
They can't get
their horses in there
no matter how many they bring.
Take the boys back in.
We'll wait until...
Some 0' the boys
don't wanna go, newt.
With that much cavalry
comin' down here,
they're just not gonna have
any farms left to protect.
There's plenty left
to fight for, will.
Sure there is.
There sure is, but they can
get down to mobile from here.
They can get outta here
before lowry shows up.
Mmm.
And that's
what they want?
They want
your permission.
And what do you want, will?
I want to stay
here and fight.
But...
But they're boys,
newt, lots of 'em.
Might as well be.
They need somebody
to get 'em through.
So you want
my permission, too.
I guess I do. Yeah.
Take this. Pretty lucky.
No, that's your best gun.
I know.
I don't want you
to stop fightin'.
All right. Everybody,
listen up here.
Look, I know
y'all been wonderin'
what it is we gonna do next.
I want y'all to know
that y'all fought bravely.
That flag right there
tells the tale.
Right now what we do know
is that they're sendin'
a whole regiment
of cavalry this way.
That's 100 horses.
We can't fight that,
at least
not in the open anyhow.
And we was hopin' to get some
help from general sherman,
but it looks like
that ain't comin' either.
He says he won't
recognize us.
So it seems that we don't got
no country on either side.
And that's all right.
- I guess we're kind of our own country.
- That's right.
And if we're honest about it,
hadn't we been our own
country for a long time?
Yes, sir. Yeah.
Now, Jasper here,
he's obviously a lot
more learned than I am.
He was sayin' that,
if in fact we are
our own country,
well then, by god, we oughta
stand up and declare it.
Yeah. That's right.
Even if they push us
back in the swamps,
if we're willin' to
die for somethin',
we sure as the devil
oughta be able to say
what it is out loud.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
That's true.
Jasper, let me see
that paper there.
From this day forward,
we declare the land north
of the pascagoula swamps,
south of enterprise
and east of the Pearl river
to the Alabama border
to be a "free state of Jones."
Yeah. Right!
And as such we do
hereby proclaim
and affirm the
following principles.
Number one, no man
oughta stay poor
so another man can get rich.
- Right.
- Yeah.
Number two, no man
oughta tell another man
what he's gotta live for
or what he's gotta die for.
Yeah.
Number three,
what you put in the ground
is yours to tend and harvest,
and there ain't no man oughta be
able to take that away from you.
- Yeah, that's right.
- Yeah.
Number four...
...every man's a man.
If you can walk on two
legs, you're a man.
- Right.
- Yeah.
It's as simple as that.
Lord.
But we won.
I know.
And they said... general
sherman, he said...
I know what they said.
He said 40 acres
and a mule
for every freed man
and they families.
They took that back.
Who did?
The president did.
There's a new president
now named Johnson.
Johnson.
So who gets
all 0' this?
He does.
Eakins.
Eakins? Eakins?
He gets to come back?
Yeah, if he takes an oath.
What kind of oath?
Swearin' to be loyal
to the union.
He ain't no union man.
No.
Hell, I can take an oath swearin' to be
a canary. That don't mean I can fly.
That's it.
So I don't understand.
Are we free or we ain't free?
You understand.
We free and
we ain't free.
Place your left hand on the
Bible and raise your right.
"L, James eakins..."
I, James eakins...
"...do solemnly swear in the
presence of almighty god..."
...do solemnly swear in the
presence of almighty god...
Judge". "...That I will
henceforth faithfully support,
"protect, and defend
"the constitution
of the United States..."
...that I will henceforth
faithfully support,
protect, and defend
the constitution
of the United States...
"...and the union
of the states thereunder."
...and the union
of the states thereunder.
Judge". "So help me god."
So help me god.
Welcome back.
Thank you.
Hmm.
I ain't leavin'.
We got to.
You got to leave, too.
Why?
'Cause the winds is shiftin'.
Well, I don't care.
And you can't
fight it this time.
Where we gonna go?
Huh? Go where?
Soso.
Soso?
You sell this place,
we could buy all of soso.
Yeah? And grow what, huh?
Can't get nothin' in
that ground up there.
You grew crops in a swamp.
Yeah.
I think you can coax
a little corn outta soso.
How far?
All the way through?
All the way.
"Man, can, pan,
"ran, fan."
Very good.
The second row,
c-o-b is...
"Cob.
"Job.
"Mob.
"Rob-ii
Chester.
I need some bailin' wire.
That's a cent a foot.
I'll take 60 feet.
Fixin' a fence?
Yeah. That's what
bailin' wire's for.
You up in soso, right?
Mmm-hmm.
Thought they was just
a bunch 0' niggers up there,
cap'n newt.
No, Chester.
Ain't no niggers
up there at all.
Got nowhere to go.
They said you was up here
now, makin' a new farm.
Yeah, lam.
I'm sorry. I just
don't know where to go.
Rebs burned my first farm.
Sherman burned my second.
Guess they agree on that.
Yeah, they do.
We walked all the way
from Birmingham.
He's seen things
nobody should see.
You stay here. Yeah.
I know y'all have
your own home now.
No. That's fine.
You stay here with us.
There's a little shack
on the other side of the farm.
We could fix it for you.
Y'all don't have to do that.
No, we do. You're kin.
Hey.
What you say
i teach ya how to fish?
Yeah?
You know I'm your pa?
Yeah, I know.
Here. Got somethin' for ya.
Look at that. That's
yours now, all right?
Take good care 0' that.
Oh, let's not start
cryin' now, huh?
Ain't that
bad of a house.
So come on inside. Come on.
The prosecution
would lead you to believe
that when Serena knight
left Jones county
in the middle of the war,
she never came back.
Their entire case
hinges on the idea
that if newt knight had
a second child after the war,
that child had to be
with Rachel knight.
But there's a problem with
that, ladies and gentlemen,
because as these census
records clearly indicate,
Serena knight came home
to soso in 1865.
Two women livin' on one
farm at the same time.
Now normally,
in a court of law,
we have trouble provin'
who the father is,
but in this strange,
strange case,
we have trouble
provin' the mother.
Time has a way
of changin' things.
Mr. newt!
Mr. newt!
Mr. newt!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Hey, hey! What? What? He gone!
He gone. He gone down there!
Who?
He got a gun!
Who?
Moses?
They took him.
They took our boy.
Who did? Bunch of
men from eakins.
First thing
this mornin'.
So he got a gun.
Moses!
Stay back now!
Moses, stop, stop, y'hear?
You gonna get killed.
It ain't you.
It ain't your fight.
I'm goin' with you.
You his daddy now?
Sir.
Huh?
I'm his daddy. It's my boy.
It's your boy.
I'm goin' with you, Moses.
This is all the help
i need right here.
I'm goin' with you.
They'll arrest me.
They'll kill you.
Can't nobody own my boy now!
Yes, sir, it's your boy.
I'm tired!
Yes, sir.
Let's go get him.
You and me. Come on now.
That's what we're gonna do.
That's my boy.
They'll arrest me.
They'll kill you.
Isaac, don't worry,
it's me. Your uncle newt.
Let's see. I'm gonna
take you outta here, boy.
Right now?
Yeah, right now.
Come on.
Here we go.
Hold it!
Where you goin'
with that boy?
I'm takin' him home.
We have papers on that boy.
"Papers"?
"That the defendant,
Newton knight,
"did on November 14th, 1865,
"intervene and interfere
in the lawful apprenticeship
"of a negro child in violation
of Mississippi law."
A what? Apprenticeship?
What is a lawful
apprenticeship, lieutenant?
To quote the statute
on apprenticeship...
"Lf any apprentice
shall leave the employment
"of his or her master
without consent,
"said master may pursue
and recapture the apprentice
"and bring him before
any justice of the peace
"whose duty it shall be
to remand said apprentice
"to the service
of his or her masters."
You done yet?
You, sir, are out of order.
No, I'm not out of
order, lieutenant.
I understand this
quite clearly.
Y'all get your land back,
then you go and work up
some fancy law just last week
that gets this boy
back in the fields
pickin' cotton for ya, huh?
Mr. knight, you're gonna
get your chance to talk.
No, I'm gonna settle this
right here and now.
How much, huh?
How much? You buyin'
and sellin' people.
How much, Mr. eakins? Hmm?
How much for me to buy back
this here lawful
apprenticeship, huh?
Here's $70. That do it?
Fair enough.
Fair enough.
Here, let's go. Let's go.
No more auction block for me.
No more, no more.
No more driver's lash for me.
No more, no more.
No more pound of salt for me.
No more, no more.
No more auction block for me.
No more, no more.
Union league! Union league!
Union league! Union league!
Union league! Union league!
The meeting of the soso
and Jones county union league
will officially come to order.
Here it is. Right here.
Congress just passed
an amendment
to the United States
constitution.
Article 15, section 1.
"The right of citizens
of the United States to vote
"shall not be denied
or breached
"by the United States
or by any state
"on account of race, color,
"or previous condition
of servitude."
That means when
we was all slaves.
We got the right to vote now.
Yeah. All right.
Congress done passed the law.
Yeah,
it's a black church, Jasper,
but it's a union church
as well,
and they fought
side-by-side us
and our boys got as much
to lose in this than anyone.
I know.
Well, then get them
to come to one meetin'.
Get them to come to
one union league meetin'.
They gonna see that
the fight ain't over.
They ain't gonna come,
newt. They just ain't.
Their war is over.
It's over.
You know better than that.
God bless you, newt.
You are the most stubborn
man I ever met in my life.
It ain't just for us,
all right?
It is for everybody.
Black, white, rich, poor.
It's for our oppressors
who don't even know
what's good for 'em yet.
It's for everybody
who came before us
who couldn't even
read this ballot.
It's for our children,
who, lord willin',
won't have to shed blood
for it like we have.
And it's for their children,
and their children's children.
Push! Push!
One mo' good push.
I see it comin'. One mo'.
There it is, oh, your baby!
I got your baby!
Look at that nose.
Does he look black
or white to you?
I don't know.
Neither, I guess.
You just a brand-new
thing, ain't ya?
Yes, you is.
Your honor, a new piece
of evidence has come to our attention
that we would like
to introduce
as people's exhibit 7.
Objection, your honor.
We weren't noticed
on this piece of evidence.
Well, I wasn't exactly noticed
on his census report either.
What exactly is this new piece
of evidence, counselor?
The knight family Bible
in newt knight's own hand.
How much y'all need?
A lot more than this.
Oh.
This spindle.
Here...
I'll take him.
Aw. There, darlin',
it's all right.
It's okay, baby. It's okay.
It's okay.
Hmm?
Hmm.
Look at that.
You got him to stop.
Well, men just want
to be listened to, right?
Especially these men.
Gettin' chilly.
Hmm. It is.
Yeah.
You ain't got
to fill it out now.
I'll fill it out for you.
You gonna register.
You get to vote.
You get to vote in public
and you get to vote
for black folks.
Vote for black folks?
Yes, sir,
black judges. Maybe
even a black sheriff.
I don't know.
That sounds like heaven,
and I ain't ready to die yet.
All right. I'm gonna
need your whole name.
Edward James.
Edward...
Edward James.
Yes, sir.
- You know how old you are?
- No, sir.
Thirty? 1835 maybe.
That's what we gonna say.
All right.
Don't forget now 'cause they
might ask you some questions.
What's your name?
Thomas Watson.
Thomas.
Samuel weaton.
That's a good name.
Strong name.
Joseph Thomas.
Joseph Thomas.
We gonna change some
things. All right?
We just got to believe.
Do you know
where you was born?
Natchez.
Okay. How old are you?
Do you know your age?
Thirty.
Thirty years old.
What's your last name?
Davis.
Davis.
Now what about your...
What about your father?
What's your mama's name?
Meryl.
All right.
Man 12 hey!
Where you goin', Dov?
Hold up there!
Lam talking to you, boy.
Man 2; Say, hey, boy!
I'm talkin'
to you, nigger.
Moses?
Moses!
Moses!
Lord, today we bring
you our brother
to take into your lovin' arms.
To hold and shelter and bless
with life everlasting.
Lord, if it's the good
that you seek in men,
then you ain't never
gonna find no better
than Mr. Moses Washington.
A man who had so many
reasons to be full of hate,
yet he never was.
And that, lord, is one of
your greatest miracles.
So let us not weep.
Let us not shed
a tear here today
'cause since the
day I knew him,
all he ever wanted
to do was get free.
Now he is.
Moses deserved
a better world than this.
Right now, he's got one.
I guess that's it.
It ain't but noon.
Others could show up.
No, they're scared, Jasper.
Scared's a powerful thing.
Don't seem too American
for an election to be over
before it starts, does it?
Nope.
Well, we got 22 registered
Republicans here.
We're damn sure
gonna vote.
Twenty-three.
Election day, ain't it?
Sure is.
His truth is marching on
John brown's body lies
a-moldering in the grave
John brown's body lies
a-moldering in the grave
John brown's body lies
a-moldering in the grave
his truth is marching on
he's gone to be a soldier
in the army of the lord
he's gone to be a soldier
in the army of the lord
he's gone to be a soldier
in the army of the lord
his truth is marching on
we'd like republican tickets.
Mmm. We ain't got those yet.
Hmm.
Just the democrat tickets.
We'll wait.
Might be a pretty
long wait.
Hmm.
Let me explain
somethin' to ya.
These men are here to vote.
They mind dying a whole
lot less than you do.
I'll see if i
can find any.
Get him up!
It ain't just
for you to decide.
That child has a choice.
I didn't have no choice.
What kind of life do you think
is gonna be better for him?
Yeah, that ain't
the point.
I don't want my boy
to get lynched.
Or beat.
I want him to
go to a school.
I don't want him
to drop his eyes
every time a
white man walk by.
I don't want him
to be a "boy" no more
once he turn into a man.
Don't you want that, too?
Of course I do.
We got to go up north.
Mmm-hmm.
It ain't your fault
we lost that war.
I know you tried to
win it all by yourself.
This is our home.
It's our home.
We would
like to offer you
a proposal, Mr. knight.
This book is pretty
conclusive evidence.
In fact, in all my
years of prosecuting,
I never seen a more
damning piece of evidence.
Now, Mr. knight, I don't
believe you really knew
which side of the
family you were on.
What's your offer?
We have no desire to send
your client to jail, Mr. oaks,
but we can't tolerate
this kind of example, either.
So if he will get
this marriage annulled,
leave the state
of Mississippi,
then we'll agree to drop
all charges against him.
You mean, I end my marriage?
In case
you haven't been here
for the past three
weeks, Mr. knight,
your marriage is neither
a lawful nor a proper union.
"Proper union"?
Proper...
I was married in
this courthouse.
I was married in
this courthouse!
But where we gonna go? We can't
get married anywhere else.
Up north, I guess.
We don't know
anybody up north.
I understand your client
wishes to change his plea, counselor.
Yes, he does, your honor.
Ls this true,
Mr. knight?
No, it's not, your honor.
Mr. oaks...
If I could just...
Your honor,
I'm not changin' my plea
'cause I'm not guilty
of anything.
Young man, I don't
appreciate these games,
and I am tempted to rescind
your bail right now.
Your honor...
You can rescind
anything you want,
but I'm not changin' my plea.
Fine.
Bailiff will take the
defendant into custody.
Bail is hereby rescinded.
Your honor...
You missed your chance,
Mr. oaks.
I love you, honey.
I love you, too.
I love you, honey.
I love you, too.