Starring Newton Knight as Himself

Whenever I see a new movie coming out that is based on a true story, I like to go look up the real history behind it.  I just saw the preview to The Free State of Jones, starring Matthew McConaughey. It is based on the life of Newton Knight, who helped Jones County, Mississippi secede from the Confederacy during the Civil War.

I quickly googled Knight and read a couple articles about him.  His life is surrounded by a lot of controversy.  Some think he was a villain, other hail him as a hero.  In any case, it is an intriguing story.  

The movie looks like it will be exciting, and I look forward to watching it.  I think Hollywood is going to embellish the story a lot, based on what I saw in the preview.  I'm not an expert on Newton Knight, and I haven't seen the movie, so it is too early to judge, though.

There is one point that I can already say they have almost 100% historical accuracy.  It was the first thing that jumped out at me when I looked up the biography of Newton Knight.  Check out a still from the preview (McConaughey) side by side with an actual picture of Knight. 

Yep.  Nailed it.