“Free State of Jones,” a 2016 movie starring Matthew McConaughey, will be shown at 5 p.m., March 4, at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Sugar Creek Branch as part of the series “Beyond the Myths: The American Civil War in History and Memory.”
The film is based on the true story of Mississippian Newton Knight as told in the book written by historian Victoria Bynum, a Knight descendant. Knight was a Southerner fighting as a Confederate soldier when he tired of fighting a “rich man’s war,” deserted and formed his own alliance against the Confederacy. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library historian Tom Cole will introduce the film and discuss its historical significance.