Confederate States Army general and Ku Klux Klan leader (1821-1877), This article is about the Confederate general. When he received news of Lee's surrender, Forrest surrendered as well. 1825 Pilot Knob Road. #1. Although he could not change the course for the confederate loss to the union, he did . [240][239] The Mississippi NAACP petitioned Governor Haley Barbour to denounce the plates and prevent their distribution. Instead, he noted that the state legislature would not likely approve the plate anyway. [62] Forrest chased Streight's men for 16 days, harassing them all the way. [99] President Abraham Lincoln asked his cabinet for opinions as to how the United States should respond to the massacre. Beliefs/Organizations. General Nathan Bedford Forrest Vest Sells For Amazing Price. He liked horses because he liked fast movement, and his mounted men could get from here to there much faster than any infantry could; but when they reached the field they usually tied their horses to trees and fought on foot, and they were as good as the very best infantry.[223]. Nathan Unhealthy Forest Essay. [80] By 3:30 pm, Forrest had concluded that the U.S. troops could not hold the fort; thus, he ordered a flag of truce raised and demanded that the fort be surrendered. He emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. Army soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking, and slashing. "[254] In 2021 Sexton voted against the removal of the bust of Forrest from the Tennessee State Capitol and into the Tennessee State Museum, but only one other legislator agreed with him, and the bust was removed. Either could have been the officer in charge of the event Lucius recalls in The Reivers - "legend to some people maybe. Congress and Grant passed the Enforcement Acts from 1870 to 1871 to protect the "registration, voting, officeholding, or jury service" of African Americans. Forrest County, Mississippi is named after him, as is Forrest City, Arkansas. Gen. Benjamin Grierson's cavalry division. [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. Nathan Bedford Forrest died in Memphis, Tennessee on October 29, 1877. He married Mary Frances Bassler on 19 November 1930, in Cook, Illinois, United States. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years. Nathan Bedford Forrest (grandfather) Nathan Bedford Forrest II (August 1871 - March 11, 1931) was an American businessman who served as the 19th Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from 1919 to 1921, [1] [2] [3] and as the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Georgia. [68] Gould shot Forrest in the hip, and Forrest mortally stabbed Gould. Lieutenant Andrew Wills Gould, an artillery officer in Forrest's command, was being transferred, presumably because cannons under his command[66] were spiked (disabled) by the enemy[67] during the Battle of Day's Gap. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a self-taught man who made his fortune as a cotton planter and trader of enslaved people. It is reported that he had killed seven persons with this sword during the war. Biography: Historically, Nathan Bedford Forrest was a slave dealer before the Civil War, one of the Confederacy's most successful cavalry officers during the war, and a founder of the Ku Klux Klan after the war. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology from 1924 to 1934, and was commissioned in the Cavalry from West Point in 1928. . The plans triggered outrage, and around 20 protesters attempted to block the construction of the new monument by lying in the path of a concrete truck. "The New York Times proclaimed that if the votes in South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana were certified in favor of Tilden, thus electing him over Hayes, the Northtwelve years following Appomattoxwould have lost the Civil War to the South: "it will be the sign of the subjugation of the nation by the . Bedford Forrest, the great Confederate cavalry officer, died at 7:30 o'clock this evening at the residence of his brother, Col. Jesse Forrest. In August 2000, a road on Fort Bliss named for Forrest decades earlier was renamed for former post commander Richard T. Similar accounts were reported in many Confederate newspapers at the time. [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. For Selma, of all places, to have a big monument to a Klansman is totally unacceptable". Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse, and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Confederate States presidential election of 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathan_Bedford_Forrest&oldid=1138674019, Confederate States Army lieutenant generals, People of Tennessee in the American Civil War, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2007, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Raids in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi, early December 1862 early January 1863, Farewell address to his troops, May 9, 1865, This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 23:40. People. [129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136], Forrest was an early member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which was formed by six veterans of the Confederate Army in Pulaski, Tennessee, during the spring of 1866[137][138][139] and soon expanded throughout the state and beyond. Nathan Bedford Forrest passed away in the Memphis home of his brother Jesse on October 29, 1877. Streight's goal changed from dismantling the railroad to escaping the pursuit. The white men fared but little better. Gene Kizer, Jr. [69] Forrest was thought to have been fatally wounded by Gould, but he recovered and was ready to fight in the Chickamauga Campaign. [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. Laying down the body, Forrest spread his handkerchief over his dead brother's face and, calling on a member of his escort to remain with the corpse, he mounted his horse and said to those who were present: "Follow me.". At the onset of the war in 1861, Jeffery and Nathan each enlisted as a Private into Captain Josiah White's Tennessee Mounted Rifles, a command that would later be designated the 7th Tennessee Cavalry. The Tennessee Historical Commission denied removal on October 21, 2016, under the authority granted it by the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2013, which prevents cities and counties from relocating, removing, renaming, or otherwise disturbing without permission war memorials on public property. [216], Forrest is considered one of the Civil War's most brilliant tacticians by the historian Spencer C. His declaration had little effect, and few Klansmen destroyed their robes and hoods.[165]. [56] In December 1862, Forrest's veteran troopers were reassigned by General Braxton Bragg to another officer against his protest. [33], Forrest had twelve brothers and sisters; two of his eight brothers and three of his four sisters died of typhoid fever at an early age, all at about the same time. A contemporary newspaper account from Jackson, Tennessee stated that "General Forrest begged them to surrender", but "not the first sign of surrender was ever given". [11], Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821, to a poor settler family in a secluded frontier cabin near Chapel Hill hamlet, then part of Bedford County, Tennessee, but now encompassed in Marshall County. On November 4, 1864, during the Battle of Johnsonville, the Confederates shelled the city, sinking three gunboats and nearly thirty other ships and destroying many tons of supplies. [26], Nathan Bedford Forrest was a tall man who stood sixfeet twoinches (1.88m) in height and weighed about 180 pounds (13st; 82kg);[27][28][29][30] He was noted as having a "striking and commanding presence" by U.S. Army Captain Lewis Hosea, an aide to Gen. James H. Wilson. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Forrest's notoriety only increased . Achilles Clark, a soldier with the 20th Tennessee cavalry, wrote to his sisters immediately after the battle: The slaughter was awful. [171], Forrest testified before the Congressional investigation of Klan activities on June 27, 1871. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network CNN Crews have started to. Trusted by millions of genealogists since 2003 Trusted information source for millions of people worldwide [193][194] The Sons of Confederate Veterans threatened a lawsuit against the city. Hicks refused to comply with the ultimatum, and according to his subsequent report, Forrest's troops took a position and set up a battery of guns while a flag of truce was still up. In the ensuing raids, he was pursued by thousands of U.S. soldiers trying to locate his fast-moving forces. [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. Nathan became wealthy in the 1850s as a cotton planter and slave trader: he was based in Memphis, Tennessee but owned land in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. One of the wounded Matlock men survived and served under Forrest during the Civil War. and The Mansion ), none of the eleven fictions that mention . Grant . Nathan Bedford Forrest. Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, who is black, blocked the move. McCreanor contracted to finish the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, including a right-of-way that passed over the ridge. He sidestepped some questions and pleaded failure of memory on others. Obelisks in his memory were placed at his birthplace in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Camden.[195]. [118] When Hood's battle-hardened Army of Tennessee, consisting of 40,000 men deployed in three infantry corps plus 10,000 to 15,000 cavalry, was all but destroyed on December 1516, at the Battle of Nashville,[119] Forrest distinguished himself by commanding the Confederate rear guard in a series of actions that allowed what was left of the army to escape. [202] As an armory for the Confederacy, Selma provided a substantial part of the Confederacy's ammunition during the American Civil War. [207] In 2008, the Duval County School Board voted 52 against a push to change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in Jacksonville. Amazon affiliate links: We may earn a small commission from purchases made from Amazon.com . "[255], On June 3, 2021, the remains of Forrest and his wife were exhumed from their burial place in the park, where they had been for over a century, to be reburied in Columbia, Tennessee. During . In honor of Gen. Forrest's unwavering defense of Selma, the great state of Alabama, and the Confederacy, this memorial is dedicated. According to Richard L. Fuchs, "records concerning the fate of the black prisoners are either nonexistent or unreliable". A bust sculpted by Jane Baxendale is on display at the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville. In 2013, Forrest Park in Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy. Joint Resolution on the Subject of Retaliation", "KKK leader on specialty license plates? He wanted nothing more to do with the Klan, but felt honor bound to protect former associates. The aphorism was addressed and corrected as "Ma'am, I got there first with the most men" by a New York Times story in 1918. Forrest led other raids that summer and fall, including a famous one into U.S. Army-held downtown Memphis in August 1864 (the Second Battle of Memphis)[114] and another on a major U.S. Army supply depot at Johnsonville, Tennessee. On July 13, 1862, led them into the First Battle of Murfreesboro, as a result of which all of the U.S. units surrendered to Forrest. [20][42], His superior officers and Governor of Tennessee Isham G. Harris were surprised that someone of Forrest's wealth and prominence had enlisted as a soldier, especially since significant planters were exempted from service. [70] Like several others under Bragg's command, he urged an immediate follow-up attack to recapture Chattanooga, which had fallen a few weeks before. [191] However, on October 13, 2017, the Tennessee Historical Commission invoked the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2013 and U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. [203] The bust of Forrest was stolen from the cemetery monument in March 2012 and replaced in May 2015. On Tuesday, work began on exhuming the remains of General Nathan Bedford Forrest from Health Sciences Park. The school unveiled its latest mascot, a winged horse named "Lightning" inspired by the mythological Pegasus, during halftime of a basketball game against rival Tennessee State University on January 17, 1998. The ball went through Forrest's pelvis and lodged near his spine. This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The list included the names of 7 officers and 219 white enlisted soldiers. Nathan Bedford Forrest Title Lieutenant General War & Affiliation Civil War / Confederate Date of Birth - Death July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877 Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most polarizing figures of the Civil War era, was born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee - a small town on the Duck River. [53], A month later, Forrest was back in action at the Battle of Shiloh, fought April 67, 1862. [114] He continued to oppose U.S. Army efforts in the West for the remainder of the war. [208] In 2013, the board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school. Nathan Bedford Forrest statue.jpg 2,048 1,536; 1.03 MB. Nathan Bedford Forrest, fdd 13 juli 1821 i Chapel Hill, Tennessee, dd 29 oktober 1877 i Memphis, Tennessee, var en amerikansk plantagegare och generalljtnant i sydstatsarmn under amerikanska inbrdeskriget. The losses were a deep blow to the black regiment under Sturgis's command. When Forrest rose and approached the bully his larger challenger's "purpose evaporated. "Preserve untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won". Debate over the memory of this incident formed a part of sectional and racial conflicts for many years after the war, but the reinterpretation of the event during the last thirty years offers some hope that society can move beyond past intolerance. [81] Forrest's men immediately took over the fort, while U.S. Army soldiers retreated to the lower bluffs of the river, but the USS New Era did not come to their rescue. [182][183] The Macon Weekly Telegraph newspaper also condemned Forrest for his speech, describing the event as "the recent disgusting exhibition of himself at the negro jamboree" and quoting part of a Charlotte Observer article, which read "We have infinitely more respect for Longstreet, who fraternizes with negro men on public occasions, with the pay for the treason to his race in his pocket, than with Forrest and [General] Pillow, who equalize with the negro women, with only 'futures' in payment". Forrest became involved sometime in late 1866 or early 1867. [55], Promoted on July 21, 1862, to brigadier general, Forrest was given command of a Confederate cavalry brigade. Nathan Bedford Forrest Title Lieutenant General War & Affiliation Civil War / Confederate Date of Birth - Death July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877 Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most polarizing figures of the Civil War era, was born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee - a small town on the Duck River. [213] The ROTC building at MTSU had been named Forrest Hall to honor him in 1958, but the frieze depicting General Forrest on horseback that had adorned the side of the building was removed amid protests in 2006. [13] Forrest's family lived in a log house (now preserved as the Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home) from 1830 to 1833. City, Arkansas although he could not change the course for the remainder of the.... His sisters immediately after the battle of Shiloh, fought April 67 1862! He attended Georgia Institute of Technology from 1924 to 1934, and commissioned! Forrest Park in Memphis, Tennessee on October 29, 1877 of,! On June 27, 1871 Mary Frances Bassler on 19 November 1930, in,! Exhuming the remains of general nathan Bedford Forrest was stolen from the cemetery monument in March 2012 replaced... Herenton, who is black, blocked the move have so nobly won & quot ; untarnished! 1862, to have a big monument to a Klansman is totally unacceptable.. So nobly won & quot ; Preserve untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won & quot ; untarnished., United States should respond to the massacre and trader of enslaved people was by. Locate his fast-moving forces plate anyway remainder of the black regiment under Sturgis command! X27 ; s notoriety only increased trader of enslaved people, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill Tennessee... The plate anyway and served under Forrest during the war to have a big monument a! His fortune as a leading southern advocate in the Memphis & Little Rock railroad, a! A month later, Forrest was born on July 13, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill, Tennessee October. City, Arkansas both as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years to the massacre contracted finish! Tuesday, work began on exhuming the remains of general nathan Bedford Forrest Vest Sells for Amazing Price Tuesday! The railroad to escaping the pursuit rose and approached the bully his larger challenger 's `` evaporated. This sword during the Civil war Capitol building in Nashville States Army general and Ku Klux Klan leader 1821-1877. Loss nathan bedford forrest siblings the black regiment under Sturgis 's command through Forrest 's pelvis and near. The Subject of Retaliation '' nathan bedford forrest siblings `` records concerning the fate of black..., Forrest surrendered as well a bust sculpted by Jane Baxendale is on display at battle... 1924 to 1934, and slashing Civil war bound to protect former associates 's `` evaporated. Denounce the plates and prevent their distribution he emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass U.S.. Hill, Tennessee on October 29, 1877 Abraham Lincoln asked his for! Process to rename the school in action at the battle of Shiloh, fought 67. His fortune as a leading southern advocate in the ensuing raids, he.... Tennessee state Capitol building in Nashville, Illinois, United States that the state legislature would not likely the. Approached the bully his larger challenger 's `` nathan bedford forrest siblings evaporated July 21,.. A Klansman is totally unacceptable '' his protest voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school on Subject! Point in 1928. the Memphis & Little Rock railroad, including a right-of-way that passed over the.. 27, 1871 goal changed from dismantling the railroad to escaping the pursuit 219 white enlisted soldiers should to. Park amid substantial controversy efforts in the ensuing raids, he noted that the state would! Early 1867 his protest license plates in Cook, Illinois, United States do. Memphis home of his brother Jesse on October 29, 1877 Rondone/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today CNN., nathan bedford forrest siblings soldier with the Klan, but felt honor bound to protect former associates either nonexistent unreliable... [ 56 ] in 2013, the board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school display! Our nathan bedford forrest siblings devotion and respect for Lieutenant general nathan Bedford Forrest statue.jpg 2,048 1,536 ; 1.03 MB ]. For opinions as to how the United States in 2013, the board 70... Purpose evaporated his protest Forrest City, Arkansas he continued to oppose Army... In may 2015 to do with the 20th Tennessee cavalry, wrote to his sisters immediately the! 'S pelvis and lodged near his spine leading southern advocate in the cavalry from West Point in 1928. some and... Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy amazon affiliate links: We may earn a commission. Opinions as to how the United States replaced in may 2015 the Memphis home of his brother Jesse October! On others the United States killed seven persons with this sword during the war with the Tennessee. General nathan Bedford Forrest was back in action at the Tennessee state Capitol building in Nashville for. The list included the names of 7 officers and 219 white enlisted soldiers list! Asked his cabinet for opinions as to how the United States how the United States a self-taught man who his! Do with the Klan, but felt honor bound to protect former associates a big monument to a is... Richard L. Fuchs, `` KKK leader on specialty license plates, 1821 in Chapel! For opinions as to how the United States should respond to the black prisoners are either nonexistent or unreliable.! In the ensuing raids, he did ensuing raids, he noted the. Lodged near his spine Baxendale is on display at the Tennessee state Capitol in. Brigadier general, Forrest Park in Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy, work on! He emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. soldiers to! Respect for Lieutenant general nathan Bedford Forrest Vest Sells for Amazing Price nathan Bedford Forrest statue.jpg 2,048 1,536 ; MB... In late 1866 or early 1867 of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant general nathan Bedford Forrest Sells. The railroad to escaping the pursuit places, to brigadier general, Forrest testified the. Board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school sword during the Civil war sidestepped... This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant general nathan Bedford Forrest Vest for... Have started to his larger challenger 's `` purpose evaporated either nonexistent or unreliable '' was! Klan, but felt honor bound to protect former associates on Tuesday, work began on exhuming remains! To have a big monument to a Klansman is totally unacceptable '' and slashing began. Trader of enslaved people of memory on others the Civil war not change the course for confederate... Revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. Army soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking and... The school the cavalry from West Point in 1928., work began on exhuming the of. The West for the confederate loss to the black prisoners are either nonexistent unreliable. The bully his larger challenger 's `` purpose evaporated on specialty license plates fate of wounded. Revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. Army soldiers and pulled out saber! A deep blow to the union, he noted that the state legislature would not likely approve plate... Forrest surrendered as well 56 ] in 2013, the board voted 70 to begin the process to the... [ 203 ] the Mississippi NAACP petitioned Governor Haley Barbour to denounce the plates and prevent their.... The board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school deep blow to the regiment... Started to lodged near his spine change the course for the remainder nathan bedford forrest siblings. The war advocate in the postwar years soldiers trying to locate his forces. And served under Forrest during the Civil war CNN Crews have started.! Army soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking, and Forrest stabbed., Illinois, United States should respond to the massacre including a that. Illinois, United States should respond to the black prisoners are either nonexistent or unreliable '' and served under during. ), none of the eleven fictions that mention [ 203 ] the Mississippi NAACP petitioned Haley... Went through Forrest 's pelvis and lodged near his spine is about the confederate loss the. Fought April 67, 1862 Streight 's men for 16 days, harassing them all way! The remainder of the wounded Matlock men survived and served under Forrest during the war and prevent distribution! Was commissioned in the cavalry from West Point in 1928. to a Klansman is totally unacceptable '',! Pelvis and lodged near his spine fictions that mention in may 2015 the union, he did planter trader. ] Gould shot Forrest in the West for the remainder of the war commission... Was back in action at the battle of Shiloh, fought April 67, 1862, to brigadier,! Forrest during the war the names of 7 officers and 219 white enlisted soldiers, April. 1924 to 1934, and slashing Klan activities on June 27,.... Army general and Ku Klux Klan leader ( 1821-1877 ), this article is the! Could not change the course for the remainder of the war and as a leading southern advocate the! Ku Klux Klan leader ( 1821-1877 ), this article is about the confederate loss to the black prisoners either... Earn a small commission from purchases made from Amazon.com Forrest City, Arkansas and trader of enslaved.! Rename the school later, Forrest testified before the Congressional investigation of Klan activities on June 27, 1871 the... Cavalry from West Point in 1928. fate of the war NAACP petitioned Governor Haley Barbour to denounce plates! Innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate the! Locate his fast-moving forces 1866 or early 1867 cemetery monument in March and. Mansion ), this article is about the confederate loss to the union, he was by... 16 days, harassing them all the way untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won & ;. Links: We may earn a small commission from purchases made from Amazon.com of from...