The Free State of Jones Page #4

This... is from Boston.

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 wanna 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 of theirs,

we will rescind

the hanging notice

and Grant him a 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, a

hundred pounds of wheat flour,

three barrels of whiskey...

And five hundred dollars.

Is that Yankee currency?

Huh.

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, uh, turnin'

ourselves in is gonna stop 'em.

I know you lost

your farm, and I...

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 friend.

Evenin', Jesse.

Hey.

Uh... 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.

And I tell myself

I'm somewhere else

and it's not like

it's happening to me.

But this time, I couldn't.

Mm-hmm.

I couldn't anymore.

And I screamed...

Mmm.

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."

Yeah.

All right. Look here.

There's a full troop transport

headed this way out of meridian.

Got 50 soldiers.

It's 15 cars long.

We gonna blow the tracks

with powder, hear?

It's a train?

Yeah, it's a train.

And guns, ammo and artillery.

What's that got to do

with my farm?

It has everything to do

with your farm, ward.

- How? -'Cause they're 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.

For different reasons.

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 you understand?

You, me, all of us.

We're all out there dying

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 being disloyal.

You're just being 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?

Just said they

wanted to come out, sir.

Didn't say how many.

They're coming out.

They're coming 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 of boys

with broken shotguns.

Just hang 'em.

These boys, these...

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 n*ggers.

They was just

somebody else's n*gger.

So somehow, someway

or sometime, everybody...

Is just somebody else's n*gger.

Mr. Moses, are you a n*gger?

No, I'm not.

Then what are you?

Freeman, captain.

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 anything?

No.

He won't miss this though.

He's out there.

Somewhere.

Tell 'em to move up!

Lead with your left flank!

Damn it!

Aaah!

Aaah!

Newton, I...

I knew your daddy.

- Let's go.

Fire!

- Get up here up front. Reload.

- We need more powder!

Reloading, boys! Don't break your fire!

Keep punching, boys!

Fire!

Up here! Up here!

Aaah!

Stay down.

Cover the Cannon!

Cannon in position!

Fire! Powder!

Powder!

Move! Move!

Okay?

Cover fire!

Clear!

Go, go, go!

- Ho! Ho!

- Keep 'em up.

- Hands up!

Ah-ah-ah-ah. Oh, up.

There we go.

- Quickly, children!

- Hurry, Samantha!

Whoo!

Yeah!

Whoo!

How many?

This group there's 40.

Got another 20 at Kerman's farm.

Only 12 of us

at that railhead at Paulding.

Well, that's light.

Mm-hmm.

Could send Jeb and his brothers.

Yeah, let's do that.

- All right, hold on.

- All right, all right.

Whoo!

Here you go.

I can go up there.

How long will it take

to get there?

Three, four days,

if there's no patrols.

All right.

Tell Sherman

that we hold everything

from the Pascagoula

to the Alabama border.

Tell him we need some artillery.

Twenty pieces:
15 cannons,

five mortars would be fine.

Rifles. 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.

He sends this, we can keep

this place forever, men.

Feathers.

Shh. It's okay. It's okay.

Mmm.

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."

Hmm. - 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 of

southeast Mississippi. Yeah.

Took three counties.

Beat an entire division.

We did.

Mm-hmm.

They don't care.

Well, 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 till Lowry...

Some of the boys

don't wanna go, newt.

With that much cavalry

coming down here,

they're not gonna have farms

left to protect.

There's plenty

left to fight for, will.

Sure there is.

There sure is.

But they can get

to mobile from here

and get out of here

before Lowry shows up.

Hmm.

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 fighting.

All right, everybody,

listen up here.

Shh.

I know y'all been wondering

what it is we gonna do next.

I want y'all to know

that you all fought bravely.

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