[209][210][211] In 2005, Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey started an effort to move the statue over Forrest's grave and rename Forrest Park. [240][239] The Mississippi NAACP petitioned Governor Haley Barbour to denounce the plates and prevent their distribution. [85][86] The atrocities at Fort Pillow continued throughout the night. [13] Forrest's family lived in a log house (now preserved as the Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home) from 1830 to 1833. Forrest's responsibility for the massacre continues to be actively debated by historians.[6]. The Confederate army dispatched him with a small force into the backcountry of northern Alabama and western Georgia to defend against an attack of 3,000 U.S. Army cavalrymen commanded by Colonel Abel Streight. [116] Facing a disastrous defeat, Forrest argued bitterly with Hood (his superior officer) demanding permission to cross the Harpeth River and cut off the escape route of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's army. [48][49] Forrest distinguished himself further at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. 7,500. [235], In the 1990 PBS documentary The Civil War by Ken Burns, historian Shelby Foote states in Episode 7 that the Civil War produced two "authentic geniuses": Abraham Lincoln and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Report of the Sub-committee", "Abraham Lincoln to Cabinet, Tuesday, May 03, 1864 (Fort Pillow massacre)", "Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and the KKK", "General Nathan Bedford Forrest Versus the Ku Klux Klan", "Memphis daily appeal. General Forrest graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in December 1939 with duty to the 17th Bombardment Group from December 1939 to February 1941 . In 2013, Forrest Park in Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy. [132] Aiming to right his past wrongs, Forrest encouraged African-Americans to "work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly", as well as declaring that "when you are oppressed, I'll come to your relief". "[177], After the lynch mob murder of four black people who had been arrested for defending themselves in a brawl at a barbecue, Forrest wrote to Tennessee Governor John C. Brown in August 1874 and "volunteered to help 'exterminate' those men responsible for the continued violence against the blacks", offering "to exterminate the white marauders who disgrace their race by this cowardly murder of Negroes". In 1978, Middle Tennessee State University abandoned imagery it had formerly used (in 1951, the school's yearbook, The Midlander, featured the first appearance of Forrest's likeness as MTSU's official mascot) and MTSU president M. G. Scarlett removed the General's image from the university's official seal. Birthday: July 13, 1821 ( Cancer) Born In: Bedford County, Tennessee, United States 24 18 Military Leaders #37 Leaders #221 Quick Facts Nick Name: Old Bed, Devil Forrest, Wizard of the Saddle Died At Age: 56 Family: father: William Forrest mother: Miriam Beck siblings: Colonel Jesse Forrest, John Cimprich Military Leaders American Men Forrest is often erroneously quoted as saying his strategy was to "git thar fustest with the mostest". He served as the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, a secret vigilante organization which launched a reign of . He reported for training at Fort Wright near Randolph, Tennessee,[41] joining Captain Josiah White's cavalry company, the Tennessee Mounted Rifles (Seventh Tennessee Cavalry), as a private along with his youngest brother and 15-year-old son. The Confederate States of America a slave narrator cites Nathan Bedford Forrest as the leader of a Confederate army that massacred hundreds of freed slaves in the North shortly after the Civil War, possibly an alternate reference to the Fort Pillow Massacre. Nathan Bedford Forrest was certainly an extraordinary man, a Herculean hero of the American wilderness who has blotted his copybook amongst the politically correct because of allegations stemming from his capture of Fort Pillow and his part in the original Ku Klux Klan. [81] Bradford refused to surrender, believing his troops could escape to the U.S. Navy gunboat, USS New Era, on the Mississippi River. The ball went through Forrest's pelvis and lodged near his spine. He thanked Forrest for the offer and stated that had war broken out, he would have considered it an honor to have served side by side with him. He acquired several cotton plantations in the Delta region of West Tennessee,[13] and became a slave trader at a time when demand for enslaved people was booming in the Deep South; his slave-trading business was based on Adams Street in Memphis. Parents and Siblings. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network CNN Crews have started to. . The Civil War scholar Bruce Catton writes: Forrest used his horsemen as a modern general would use motorized infantry. Cassidy. I heard him make a speech in one of our Dens". Grant . Born into a poor settler family, Nathan had a twin sister, Fanny. He emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. Army soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking, and slashing. Forrest's postwar business career was not as lucrative as his antebellum ventures. But there is more to the story than that. During . "[146] Forrest was the Klan's first and only Grand Wizard, and he was active in recruitment for the Klan from 1867 to 1868. [255] Sexton said that he believed the removal of the bust "aligns with the teaching of communism. [56] In December 1862, Forrest's veteran troopers were reassigned by General Braxton Bragg to another officer against his protest. [32] Although he was not formally educated, Forrest was able to read and write in clear and grammatical English. Tom Hanks' title character in the film Forrest Gump remarks in one scene that his mother named him after Nathan Bedford Forrest and "we was related to him in some way". [200] A Tennessee-based organization, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, posthumously awarded Forrest their Confederate Medal of Honor, created in 1977. [214] A significant push to change its name failed on February 16, 2018, when the governor-controlled Tennessee Historical Commission denied Middle Tennessee State University's petition to rename Forrest Hall. nathan bedford forrest statue 85 Nathan Bedford Forrest Premium High Res Photos Browse 85 nathan bedford forrest stock photos and images available or search for nathan bedford forrest statue to find more great stock photos and pictures. Middle Tennessee. [227] Forrest's claim that the Fort Pillow massacre was an invention of U.S. reporters is contradicted by letters written by Confederate soldiers to their own families, which described extreme brutality on the part of Confederate troops. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse, and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. Sister: Mildred Forrest (1831-1841) Brother: Bedford Forest (b. [34][54], By early summer, Forrest commanded a new brigade of inexperienced cavalry regiments. Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821-October 29, 1877) was a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. Perhaps the most highly regarded cavalry and partisan ( guerrilla) leader in the war, Forrest is regarded by many military historians as that conflict's most innovative and successful general. Plan in Mississippi raises hackles", "Proposed Mississippi License Plate Would Honor Early KKK Leader", "Group Wants KKK Founder Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest on License Plate", "Haley Barbour Won't Denounce Proposal Honoring Confederate General, Early KKK Leader", "Bust of Civil War General Stirs Anger in Alabama", "Petition Against Selma's Ku Klux Klan Monument", "Mayor Wharton: Remove Nathan Bedford Forrest statue and body from park", "Nathan Bedford Forrest statue won't be relocated", "Tennessee House Punishes Memphis For Confederate Statue Removal", "Nathan Bedford Forrest's descendant: Move the bust from Tennessee's Capitol Featured letter", "Gov. [110] Sturgis ordered his infantry to advance to the front line to counteract the cavalry. [37] They had two children, William Montgomery Bedford Forrest (18461908), who enlisted at the age of 15 and served alongside his father in the war, and a daughter, Fanny (18491854), who died in childhood. The historical record does not support his repeated denials that he knew a massacre was taking place or that he even knew a massacre had occurred at all. Nathan Bedford Forrest, Daniel Foxx. Known as "the Wizard of the Saddle," Nathan Bedford Forrest was a prominent Confederate cavalry officer whose reputation was stained by accusations regarding his role in the "Fort Pillow Massacre" on April 12, 1864. [190], On July 7, 2015, the Memphis City Council unanimously voted to remove the statue of Forrest from Health Sciences Park, and to return the remains of Forrest and his wife to Elmwood Cemetery. I loved the old Constitution yet. August 12, 2021. "Every moment lost is worth the life of a thousand men". The Republicans had nominated one of Forrest's battle adversaries, U.S. war hero Ulysses S. Grant, for the Presidency at their convention held in October. The illness also claimed Forrest's twin sister, Fanny. Professions. [189] In 1904, the remains of Forrest and his wife Mary were disinterred from Elmwood and moved to a Memphis city park that was originally named Forrest Park in his honor but has since been renamed Health Sciences Park. 769 Words4 Pages. "[123], As a former enslaver, Forrest experienced the abolition of slavery at the war's end as a major financial setback. Nearly ruined as the result of this failure, Forrest spent his final days running an eight-hundred-acre farm on land he leased on President's Island in the Mississippi River, where he and his wife lived in a log cabin. One month later, while serving under General Stephen D. Lee, Forrest experienced tactical defeat at the Battle of Tupelo in 1864. [101], Because of the events at Fort Pillow, the U.S. public and press viewed Forrest as a war criminal. [171], Forrest testified before the Congressional investigation of Klan activities on June 27, 1871. The infantry, tired, weary, and suffering under the heat, were quickly broken and sent into mass retreat. You can be good citizens. [172] In Louisiana, 1,000 blacks were killed to suppress Republican voting. Under these laws enforced by Grant and the newly formed Department of Justice, there were over 5,000 indictments and 1,000 convictions of Klan members across the Southern United States. Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate general, 1862-1867. [201], A monument to Forrest in the Confederate Circle section of Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama reads "Defender of Selma, Wizard of the Saddle, Untutored Genius, The first with the most. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Forrest sent a full charge after the retreating army and captured 16 artillery pieces, 176 wagons, and 1,500 stands of small arms. Tennessee officials voted Thursday to remove the bust of a Ku Klux Klan and Confederate leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capitol and into the Tennessee State Museum. Historians have differed in their interpretations of the events at Fort Pillow. [193][194] The Sons of Confederate Veterans threatened a lawsuit against the city. [94] These statements were contradicted by U.S. Army survivors and by the letter of a Confederate soldier who graphically recounted a massacre. He was particularly famous for his determination to be "first with the most men." He was born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, on July 13, 1821. Their fort turned out to be a great slaughter pen. When Forrest rose and approached the bully his larger challenger's "purpose evaporated. . Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis at the Battle of Brices Crossroads in northeastern Mississippi. [80], On April 12, 1864, Forrest's men, under Brig. 5.] [90] Forrest's men were alleged to have set fire to a U.S. barracks with wounded U.S. Army soldiers inside[91][92] In defense of their actions, Forrest's men insisted that the U.S. soldiers, although fleeing, kept their weapons and frequently turned to shoot, forcing the Confederates to keep firing in self-defense. A surgeon removed the musket ball a week later without anesthesia, which was unavailable. In honor of Gen. Forrest's unwavering defense of Selma, the great state of Alabama, and the Confederacy, this memorial is dedicated. [170], During the presidential election of 1868, the Ku Klux Klan, under the leadership of Forrest, and other terrorist groups, used brutal violence and intimidation against blacks and Republican voters. You have been good soldiers. A successful cavalry commander during the Civil War noted for his tactics of mobile warfare,. Consequently, his role at Fort Pillow was a stigmatizing one for him the rest of his life, both professionally and personally,[229][230] and contributed to his business problems after the war. In 1866, Forrest and C.C. Obelisks in his memory were placed at his birthplace in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Camden.[195]. Congressman, RI: Biographies of the Civil War: 1: Apr 19, 2021: Committee Recommends Statue of Nathan Forrest Be Placed in Museum, Not in Public: Concerns About Civil War Monuments and Sites . Nathan Bedford Forrest Escape From Fort Donelson Strain DuncansMarketplace (207) $995.00 Nathan Bedford Forrest American Civil War Double Sided Maple Veneer Wooden Christmas Ornament CivilWarChristmas (73) $16.95 FREE shipping Nathan Bedford Forrest Print Poster American Civil War General FroehlichArtStudio (32) $59.99 Though Forrest had no prior formal military training or experience, he had exhibited leadership and soon proved he could successfully employ tactics. Grant wrote in his memoirs that Forrest, in his report of the battle, had "left out the part which shocks humanity to read". On May 3, Forrest caught up with Streight's unit east of Cedar Bluff, Alabama. The members are sworn to recognize the government of the United States Its objects originally were protection against Loyal Leagues and the Grand Army of the Republic". Forrest continued to lead his men in small-scale operations, including the Battle of Dover and the Battle of Brentwood until April 1863. "[167] Former Governor of New York Horatio Seymour was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, while Forrest's friend, Frank Blair, Jr. was nominated as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Seymour's running mate. This is the story of the Confederate cavalry leader that Shelby Foote called one of the authentic geniuses produced by the American Civil War. Local lawyer and radio host Rose Sanders said, "Glorifying Nathan B. Forrest here is like glorifying a Nazi in Germany. [231], Whether the massacre was premeditated or spontaneous does not address the more fundamental question of whether a massacre took place it certainly did, in every dictionary sense of the word. [160][161] He said he sympathized with them, but denied any formal connection, although he claimed he could muster thousands of men himself. Legacy. [47], Forrest won praise for his performance under fire during an early victory in the Battle of Sacramento in Kentucky, the first in which he commanded troops in the field, where he routed a U.S. Army force by personally leading a cavalry charge that Brigadier General Charles Clark later commended. The crowd of mourners was estimated to include 20,000 people. Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. 200. [212] Leaders in other localities have also tried to remove or eliminate Forrest monuments, with mixed success. [181], In response to the Pole-Bearers speech, the Cavalry Survivors Association of Augusta, the first Confederate organization formed after the war, called a meeting in which Captain F. Edgeworth Eve gave a speech expressing strong disapproval of Forrest's remarks promoting inter-ethnic harmony, ridiculing his faculties and judgment and berating the woman who gave Forrest flowers as "a mulatto wench". 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