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Forrest was born near Chapel Hill, Tennessee as the son of a blacksmith. His father died when he was 16 making him as the eldest son in charge of the house. He then began as a laborer, later becoming a horse and slave trader and amassing an estimated 1.5 million dollars from that and his plantation. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a military genius, a natural warrior, and had a very questionable racist past.
Forrest upon joining the army was a private. He then used his own funds to secure a regiment and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. His exploits through the war secured him higher and higher accommodations until he attained the rank of Major General and the cavalry for four states. In his first fight, Forrest improvised a double envelopment, combined it with a frontal assault which he had probably never heard of.
In one battle a brigade known as the Lightning mule was heading for Rome, Georgia. The citizens pulled out antiquated cannons and arms that would probably have done more harm to themselves than the enemy and were in general terrorized. Forrest however had been harassing the brigade at every turn and when they tried to cross a bridge to the town they were completely exhausted. In a bluff, Forrest then captured the 1,700 troops with only 500 of his own men. The terror turned to celebration when word arrived that Forrest had saved the town. A massive banquet was prepared for the general, but he and his army left a few days earlier to keep on fighting, only taking a horse as a gift.
One of his noteworthy military accomplishments was at Fort Donelson where Forrest disagreed with the surrender of the fort to Northern hands. When he heard that they would surrender he took his own troops out and without a shot being fired at him from the supposedly surrounded fort. That forts loss was the first major blow to the south where they lost 13,000 men to the north, all that was in the fort except for Forrest's men.
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee he freed local garrison that was imprisoned, for attacks on patrols near their farms. When he was advised to leave after the successful escape the colonel replied, "I did not come here to make half a job of it, I want them all" and then demanded the unconditional surrender of the garrison. The Union commanders had more men, guns and an entrenched position but surrendered anyway, not knowing that Forrest was bluffing.
One Senator Daniel has said, "what genius was in that wonderful man! He felt the field as Blind Tom touches the keys of the piano. 'War means killing," he said, and the way to kill is to get there first with the most men. He taught at the famous general institution WestPoint but never took lessons from WestPoint. By European authority he is pronounced the most magnificent cavalry officer that America has produced.
In battle he once charged a line of gunmen to secure his men retreating. At one time he was shot by a disgruntled subordinate, who he then mortally wounded with a penknife. He had 31 horses shot out from under him during combat. He also killed 30 people with a combination of pistols and swords and was seriously wounded four times. No one could boast as many killed as him and only a few even come close. One of the times where he was wounded was when he was surrounded by soldiers trying to kill him and was shot in the back looking like he was about dead. The transcript said
“He dashed that appearance, though, when he grabbed one of the soldiers by the jacket and pulled him up behind him, onto the horse. Slashing with his saber and his pistol firing, Bedford amazingly cut through the blue mass and rode away, the US soldier acting as a human “shield” to gunshots. When he’d arrived into safety, Bedford dropped the poor guy, still dazed and dumbfounded from the incident. Forrest was treated for his wound, which barely missed his spine.”
After executing several successful raids behind Union lines he was given command over all the cavalry in Tennessee. Later on in spite of the controversy at Ft. Pillow he became commander of Alabama, Missippi, and Louisiana cavalry. This might be in part because of his engagement of Federal troops at Brice’s Crossroads on June 10, 1864. It is considered by many people to be the perfect battle.
One of his very questionable activities was at Ft. Pillow. Where his men massacred the defending black troops. He claims that they picked up their guns even after the surrender of the fort, which is not surprising considering the fact that the south issued the statement that no black prisoners would be taken. He and his men claim that they fought back and it stands in his favor that he had in his own men 50 slaves of his slaves whom he freed 6 months before the war was finished. It does not seem likely that they would take part in a massacre unless Forrest inspired a great amount of loyalty in them. If he did do it, it stands to reason that he treated them in a good enough way that he respected them. Which would lead one to believe that he would probably have respect enemy soldiers.
In the beginning of the war neither side regarded cavalry very highly for fighting purposes, they were mostly used as scouts. Probably Forrest more than any other man made the cavalry respected and used during the Civil War. They more resembled dragoons than cavalry though, they were mostly mounted foot soldiers. If one could call Jackson’s troops web footed infantry by the same token Forrest’s troops could be called four legged infantry.
After the war he was wiped out financially and went back to planting crops. He became the president of the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad which he helped promote. He also joined the KKK and was apparently one of its early leaders. He however did not sanction the cowardly violent and even claimed that he would duel the white men responsible for taking a black man out of jail and killing him. When the KKK became more violent Forrest tried to disband the KKK. They reformed under new leadership and continued their depredations. The next year congress passed a law outlawing the KKK and they continued in their actions even in spite of that.
Forrest was also a freemason which was spun off into the KKK after the war. The KKK was an economic elitist society, with merchants, retailers, and inventors. The KKK used racial tensions to leverage racial divisions and prevent unity amongst working people. The KKK’s targets also included union and political organizers, who tried to bring people together. Some even think that the KKK was simply a more racist version of freemasonry in the beginning.
Forrest died, thought to be of diabetes, at Memphis Tennessee on October 29, 1877 and is buried there. Nathan Bedford Forrest III, the grandson and last direct descendant died in WWI over Germany. He was also a Brigadier General, probably in part due to his fathers fame, only he was part of the air corps instead of cavalry.
Forrest is even causing controversy today in his home state. Nashville is still a segregated city with the north side being considered “black” and the west side being considered “white”. In the eighty’s a black student at Vanderbilt University would be considered “suspicious” Where a statue of him is being erected is causing much disagreement. Some decry him a brute for his massacre of black soldiers, others decry him as a great man. The actual statue of him pays best tribute ignoring partisan ranting though. It shows him as a crazed general with his eyes popping out, not the standard standing in a way as to garner respect. This shows that while the issue of the statue is very partisan the statue in itself is not homage. It is an accurate portrayal of a warrior.
In conclusion of this research paper. This thesis is about Nathan Bedford Forrest who was a military genius, a natural warrior, and had a questionable racist past.