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Re: The War Over "The Free State of Jones"

One character these Harvard historians came up with was the evil sheriff of Jones County, Nat Kilgore. The Knights claimed he killed Newt's brother prior to the war over a small incident. During the war evil Sheriff Kilgore was taking food and produce from the poor people of Jones County for taxes leaving them starving. Newt, in revenge against the upper class people of the county, shot and killed him while he was driving a wagon load of tax goods back to town. Makes a good story, but there seems to be a problem with it.

There is no record of a Sherriff Nat Kilgore in Jones County, strange for an important person as he. However, there was a Mathew Kilgore (Matt Kilgore?), a blacksmith, a man with no more value in property than Newt. Who, in 1864 was recovering from frost-bite and a Confederate soldier at home on a legal furlough. Mathew Kilgore was last seen alive when whe left home on horseback to go back to his unit. The horse later came back without him. Mathew Kilgore was later found dead near a swamp, one of the favorite hiding places of Newt's company. No one was ever caught for killing Mathew Kilgore, my GGG Uncle.

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David Upton

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